ABSTRACT
We all have days when we feel that the office environment is reducing our productivity. Whether the problem we experience is due to the lighting, noise, temperature, air quality or some other physical factor; if we can’t change anything, the only remaining option is to change everything by going to a different location to work. Even in the rare circumstance when this is an option, it has many obvious disadvantages. Providing alternative locations is expensive; books, papers and equipment at one location are not available at another; moving between alternative locations takes time; and variable locations makes ‘teaming’ more difficult. Working at home requires either a rare degree of trust, or a shift toward piecework accountability and ultimately self-employment, which suits only a tiny minority of office workers. The best solution is a workplace where you can change something. In this context, anything is better than nothing, and more is better. Indoor environmental control is traditionally provided on a group basis. The problem is that individual differences are such that a ‘good’ indoor environment is accepted as one where 80 per cent are satisfied. The remaining 20 per cent are expected to endure conditions which may adversely affect their work, their comfort, and their health. The solution is to provide some means of individually adjusting each occupant’s microclimate. It will be shown that this is perfectly possible, and very beneficial.
