Quantitative relationships between occupant satisfaction and aspects of indoor environmental quality and building design

The paper examines which indoor environmental parameters and building features contribute occupants’ satisfaction in office buildings. The study analyzed data from a web-based survey administered to 52,980 occupants in 351 office buildings over ten years at the Center for the Built Environment. The survey uses 7-point scale questioning satisfaction with parameters related to the indoor environment, workspace and building features. Building occupants were generally satisfied with their workspaces and their buildings. Proportional odds ordinal logistic regression showed that satisfaction with all parameters listed in the survey contributed to overall workspace satisfaction. The most important parameters were: satisfaction with amount of space (odds ratio OR 1.57), noise (OR 1.27) and visual privacy (OR 1.26). Satisfaction with amount of space was not noticeably affected by size of workspace, and improved by having a private office and sitting close to a window.