The Physical

Environment of the
Workplace as a Stress
Buffering Mechanism
Phil Leather BA MA PhD CPsychol AFBPsS
Tony Zarola BSc MSc
Angeli Santos BSc MSc PhD
Research Agenda
Interface of environmental and occupational
psychology
Direct & indirect effects of physical environment
Interaction with psychosocial elements (Evans &
Lepore, 1992; Evans et al., 1994)
If X under stress, do characteristics of the
physical environment moderate its impact on well-
being?
Environment as an affordance (Gibson, 1950, 1972)
Illustrations
Windows in the workplace
Ambient noise & office work
Waiting areas in hospitals
Windows in the workplace
Exploration of
Direct & indirect effects of illumination,
sunlight & view upon job satisfaction, intention
to quit & general well-being
Interaction with job strain
Results
No effects for illumination
Consistent direct effect for sunlight penetration
Indirect effects for view on some outcomes
Multiple regression on uptight


Cum
R

R
change

F
change





t


p
Step 1
Gender
Adaptation
Status
.28

.28 12.52***


.25
.43
.25

2.85
4.94
2.92

.01
.001
.01
Step 2
Strain
Sunlight
View
.44 .16 8.80***
.24
-.26
-.17

2.90
-3.13
-1.71

.01
.01
ns
Step 3
Strain x Sunlight
Strain x View
.48

.04 2.15*
.23
-.33

1.27
-.2.43

ns
.05


*p<.05 , ***p<.001
Interaction of view X job strain on
intention to quit
Noise and office work
Negative impact of occupational noise contingent
upon situational factors
Job strain valuable way of operationalizing context
Study details
128 government employees (clerical)
Median split of noise and strain levels (objective noise
range 45-63dB, median=55dB)
Aims
Explore impact of low level noise exposure &
interaction with job strain
Results
No direct effects for objectively measured sound
Sound x strain interaction on JS, OC & SID
Anova for job strain x ambient
noise level
Job satis Org
Comm
Symps of
Inf Dis
Job strain 26.03*** 9.07***
1.48
5.69*
8.50**
Noise
(dB)
.42 2.16
JS X
Noise
20.33*** 4.20*
df (1, 124); *p<.05, ** p<.01, *** p<.001
The effect of job strain and ambient
noise on job satisfaction
40
50
60
70
80
J
o
b

s
a
t
i
s
f
a
c
t
i
o
n

s
c
o
r
e
12
low job
strain
high job
strain
low noise
high noise
69.17
60.27
59.04
49.29
60
The effect of job strain and ambient
noise on symptoms of infectious
diseases (SID)
40
50
60
70
S
y
m
p
t
o
m
s

o
f

i
n
f
e
c
t
i
o
u
s

d
i
s
e
a
s
e
s
12
low job
strain
high job
strain
low noise
high noise
45.59
43.17
63.76
49.17
Hospital Design: Neurology Out-
Patients
Two sample comparative study
Traditional and nouveau designs
145 neurology out-patients
81 in traditional
64 in nouveau
Samples equivalent in terms of:
Gender
Age
Patient diagnoses
Self and Medics reporting of pain, anxiety and
disability
Weight
Smoking
Results
Significant improvement in PEQI scores
No change in self-reported arousal
Significant waiting area x time
interaction on self-reported stress
Significant waiting area x time
interaction on pulse
Significant improvement in
environmental satisfaction ratings
Closed


Negative
Boring
Small
Unattractive
Uncomfortable
Depressing
Bad
Unlively
Dull
Unmotivating
Unpleasant
Open
Colorful
Positive
Stimulating
Attractive
Comfortable
Cheerful
Good
Lively
Bright
Motivating
Pleasant
Large
Relaxed
Drab
Tense
1
7
Mean PEQI item score
Traditional clinic
waiting area
Nouveau clinic
waiting area
Waiting Area x Time
(Self-reported Stress)
3.5
4
4.5
5
0 10
Time 1 Time 2
Traditional
waiting area
Nouveau
waiting area
4.68
4.34
4.96
3.68
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
Waiting Area x Time (Pulse)
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
0 10
Time 1 Time 2
77.82
73.30
80.34
71.42
Traditional
waiting area
Nouveau
waiting area
81
80
79
78
76
75
74
73
72
71
77
Conclusions
Physical work environment both a potential
source of stress and a potential moderator of job
strain
Physical design needs to foster better coping with
potential job strain
Assist in coping with task at hand
Shouldnt raise obstacles to coping with task at
hand
Shouldnt create added stress in itself
Utilise stress reducing elements
Sense of control over physical surroundings
Access to social support
Access to positive distractions
Questions?
angeli.santos@nottingham.ac.uk
or
phil.leather@nottingham.ac.uk
References
Leather, P., Pyrgas, M., Beale, D. & Lawrence, C.
(1998) Windows in the workplace: Sunlight, view
and occupational stress. Environment & Behavior,
30(6), 739-762.
Leather, P., Beale, D. & Sullivan, L. (2003) Noise,
psychosocial stress and their interaction in the
workplace. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
23, 213-222.
Leather, P., Beale, D. & Santos, A., Watts, J. &
Lee, L. (2003). Outcomes of environmental
appraisal of different hospital waiting areas.
Environment & Behavior, 35(6), 842-869.