Peer Reviewed Journal

Young Scholar's Contribution

EFFECTS OF WORK PLACE DESIGN ON BEHAVIORS

Madiha Salam*

ABSTRACT them haphazardly, can effect adversely on the health,

mind and ultimately the soul. This makes architecture
Nowadays people spend most of their time inside an a potentially dangerous tool to manipulate people. One
enveloped building, their thoughts molded by the walls. must aim to design constructive spaces that not only
In the eagerness of running with time the capitalist are comfort zones, but have long-lasting effect and
minds have forced humans to live like a machine which people feel relaxed not only in their work place but
has resulted in much distress and mental tension as a also when they go home.
part and parcel. So today, an average office worker has
less productivity at the workplace and he/she comes Most of the office designs in Karachi are cramped
home carrying the burden of work, which can spaces with necessary office furniture and basic
hypothetically be improved by designing better spaces. requirements with barely any space to move around.
Good architecture can heal a person and develop These spaces are very rarely well ventilated or have
positive attributes in him/her. To be an architect with access to day light. The imbalance has lead to an
moral values, one must have deep appreciation of a alarming situation where employees are suffering from
human lifestyle and its capacity to adapt from its frustration, depression and mental agony. Internationally
surroundings. This paper focuses on workplace the office spaces are more focused on how to
environment and spaces in Karachi, considering the magnetically attract more money, seeing the short-term
question how different spaces influence cognition? advantages, than on how to give more comfort to the
And is there an ideal architectural space for various employees and make them more productive for long-
kinds of thinking? The paper considers antiquity of the term gains. In researches (Alker, 2014) it is proven
architectural determinism as a theory, and works upon that the design of a space effects the general behavior
the attributes which can diverge and positively enhance of the human being and its constant contact makes a
architectural perseverance through the review of archival lasting psychological effect. An office space can have
data, articles, books and historical reference with a negative effect on the office worker and he/she can
support of questionnaires. The conclusion points towards become stressed and the productivity can be impacted.
the need of architecture to be developed into not just This research looks into the possibility to formulate
an envelope, but as a space which shapes the behavior, better designed office spaces with comfortable
attribute and positivity of its users. environment leading to increase in the productivity of
an average office worker and in helping to bring the
Keywords: Architecture and behaviours, Cognitive average stress levels down. By experiencing better
architecture, work place environment. designed spaces on a daily basis the workers will
become less frustrated, feel more comfortable in their
INTRODUCTION office spaces and will have an overall positive impact
on their after-office life. The main research question
It is a well-known fact that the environment impacts outlined for this research is what role does an office
on our mood and health. Aesthetically improved, environment play in shaping the behavior and the
psychologically designed spaces effect our disposition productivity of its users?
and vigor. Since the surrounding is readily taken for
granted, it can influence us very powerfully. Every The aim of the research is to take stock of the existing
single space one breathes in matters, whether one situation of workplace spaces in the city of Karachi
designs the spaces to have positive effect, or designs and to focus on how environmentally responsive

* Madiha Salam, Lecturer, Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University, Karachi.
Email correspondence: [email protected]

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue) 41
architectural spaces can be salubrious and bring change
in behaviors, attributes and positivity of its users.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Archival data, journals, books and historical references

have been used as secondary sources of information.
The literature review is divided into three major
headings: architectural determinism, effects of work
place environment on people and fundamental concepts
of person-built environment relationship.

For architects and designers, the awareness that built

environment influences health, wellbeing and
productivity of their inhabitants is not new. Studies
demonstrate that poor air quality and lighting intensifies Figure 1: The demolition of Pruitt-Igoe in 1972 fueled resistance to
the number of sick days and can affect sleep, but the deterministic thinking (Golembiewski, 2014).
evidence is still not persuasive enough for most of the
design, financing and leasing choices. Good indoor air
quality, thermal comfort, high quality views, daylight,
good acoustics and indeed location and amenities - all
play a crucial role in creating a healthy, productive his opinion that for the companies to be more efficient
workplace. The connection between individuals and the employees should be living in village like garden
buildings in which people are employed is vital. Most communities. Interestingly, it took a lengthy list of
of the businesses are missing the trick in overlooking failures over the millennia, before theorists took to
the massive prospects that this relationship can bring. critiquing architectural fantasy with nasty reprisals of
This literature review circulates around all the ideas Modernism. They believed just the opposite and focused
which incur the knowledge on the subject and the more on the celebration of form, such that at the high-
impact of a well-designed space on office workers. point of this inclination was the delight shared over
the demolition of the famously dangerous and
Architectural Determinism dysfunctional urban housing complex in St Louis in
the US, which was initially the epitome of modern
Architectural Determinism is a social theory which architectural determinism and was made on a very
states that all human behavior can be derived in relation strong concept of how the urban living designs,
to one's environment. Many sociologists and architects community interactions and enclosed playyards amongst
claim that the built environment is accountable for all the lower income groups can help in reducing criminal
human connections, some discard this theory by activities (figure 1). In reality this served in reverse
claiming it as superfluous and something that glorifies and became the hotspot for crime and poverty (Marmot,
the role of an architect, and others believe that 2002).
architecture is a tributary that influences social and
cultural history. Architects and theorists over time have According to sociologist William Cameron, the physical
been very vigilant about the impacts on behaviors of forms in many cases can limit, permit or determine the
the environment. This theory was supported by architect kind of activities that one can be engaged in, thus a
Leon Battista Alberti, who claimed that a balanced designed office administration must consider that the
Classical form can even compel the most aggressive built environments may increase the productivity of a
invaders to put down their arms and become more worker (Cameron, 1963). This can be done by creating
civilized. Later architect Frank Lloyd Wright, in early a communicative environment and letting people meet
19th century, supported this theory by stating that most each other more often. It is difficult to ascertain whether
corruption can be easily curtailed by appropriate architectural determinism is evident in this manner;
architecture and people can turn to wholesome activities. the effect on workers' productivity may stem from the
Similarly, Sir Ebenezer Howard in 1898, forced upon newness of the environment inspiring one to work, or

42 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue)
the fact that workers feel appreciated by the management
to improve their surroundings that drive their work
(Marmot, 2002).

Although the environment may influence some

behavior, it is not the chief factor influencing social
interactions. Another sociologist Alice Coleman agrees
with this statement to some extent. Coleman conducted
an extensive study of a housing estate in Clover Hill,
in Rochdale, England and found many links between
the atmosphere of "social malaise" and crime rates,
and the conditions of the built environment. According
to Marmot, "Environmental determinism is a concept Figure 2: Working in a decorated office can promote happiness and help
people concentrate on the task at hand (Haslam, 2010).
that is too simplified to describe the complex
relationships between individuals and their physical,
social, and psychological world" (Marmot, 2002: 253).
Some aspects of the built environment make human
interactions or attitudes more likely to occur, but do fewer sick days (Haslam, 2010) (figure 2).
not govern them. Despite this, architects, planners and Neuroscientists have also concluded that workers with
designers still must consider the physical and offices that have windows which receive more daylight
psychological impact of their building designs, if they exposure during work hours sleep an average of forty
are to positively contribute to the daily lives of human six minutes more per night and are more relaxed. If
beings and keep them safe from stress and frustrations, daylight access to windows is maximized, it not only
experienced commonly today. reduces the need for electric lighting, it also improves
productivity and even workers' sleeping patterns. Even
Effects of work place environment on people if people are given more personal control over
temperature it typically makes them happier, while
The efficiency of staff, or anything that distresses their also saving energy (Alker, 2014).
capability to be prolific, should be a major concern for
any employer, and therefore the building design in According to another research, most of the present-
which they function, should be the key focus. day offices offer very little user control, but studies
Concentrating on the office sector, it can be stated that suggest this practice needs to be challenged. When
the physical work environment has a direct impact on people sense uncomfortability in their environs they
the health and productivity of the office workers. Health are less involved, not only with the space but also with
includes physical and mental health, wellbeing includes what they do in it. If they are given some control, this
broader feelings or perceptions of satisfaction and behaviour changes and people report being happier at
happiness, and productivity denotes more explicitly to work, relating more with their employer, and are more
business-oriented outputs. For example, a meta-analysis effective when doing their jobs.
in 2006 of twenty four trainings found that deprived
air quality sank performance by up to ten percent, such Another study suggested that participants take on a
as typing speed. Short term sick leave has also been series of tasks in a workspace that are either lean (bare
found to be thirty five percent lower in offices ventilated and functional), enriched (decorated with plants and
with greater supply rates of outdoor air. A research in pictures), empowered (allowing the individual to design
2006 on thermal comfort indicated a ten percent the area) or disempowered (where the individual's
reduction in performance at both 30oC and 15oC, design was redesigned by a 'manager'). According to
compared with a baseline between 21oC and 23oC. And the literature review people working in enriched spaces
in terms of lighting, another, which investigated the were seventeen percent more productive than those in
relationship between view quality, daylighting and sick lean spaces, but those sitting at empowered desks were
leave of employees in administration offices of even more efficient - being thirty two percent more
Northwest University, Washington, found those in productive than their lean counterparts without any
offices with better daylight and views took six percent increase in errors (Haslam, 2010).

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue) 43
Figure 3: The concept of Competence (Lang, 1987).

Thus, it is the need of time to recognize the potential with different aspects of the built environment. Some
improvements that can be made by handing some of these aspects are physiological and some are social
control of space over to workers and thereby giving and some are cultural. These differences affect the
them an opportunity to realize their own identity in the way the environment is perceived, the images people
workplace. Not only does office design determine have of it and the way it can be and is used. The
simple things like whether people's backs ache, it has environment in which people socialize shapes
the potential to affect how much they accomplish, how competencies, because what one knows and what one
much initiative they take, and their overall professional learns to look at is shaped by what the environment
satisfaction. offers. It is possible for people to be able to perceive
the affordances of the environment for others, while
Fundamental Concepts of Person-Built Environment being unable to use these affordances themselves,
Relationship because they do not have the competence to do so, or
because cultural pressures prevent them from doing
Lang (1987), suggests that some buildings are designed so or because they lack resources in money or time.
more for the successful functioning of machines and Attitudes may change because of factors within the
equipment than for the people who run them. In other person. An important factor here is the principle of
buildings, the needs of people are paramount (figure cognitive consistency. This theory starts from the idea
3). He labels the former type as "anthropozemic that one seeks consistency in one's belief and attitude
buildings" and the latter type as "anthropophilic." In in any situation where two cognitions are inconsistent
anthropozemic buildings people adapt to the conditions, (McLeod, 2014).
in anthropophilic buildings the equipment has to be
adapted to the conditions of people (Lang, 1987). Even though an environment impacts on the set of
behaviors, this does not mean that the behaviors will
An environment can be considered to consist of take place, even though people perceive the affordances
interrelated geographic, built, social and cultural and are component enough to use them. On the other
components that contribute to certain behaviors in hand, if the affordances are not there, the behavior
consistent ways. The set of affordances of the cannot take place. The environment can be adapted to
environment at a location constitutes the potential afford the desired behavior, or else the people concerned
environment for human behavior at that place. Not all may adapt their behavior to cope with the environment
these affordances are perceived by people involved. as it is. These adaptations may be accompanied by
Each individual has a variety of competencies in dealing physiological or psychological stress. This particularly

44 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue)
Figure 4: The concept of competence (Lang, 1987).

occurs, as dissonance theory explains, when people

are in situations that are not self-chosen. The role of
architectural environment is thus accommodative and
not deterministic except in a negative sense; if the built Figure 5: Perception of Environmental Quality (Lang, 1987).
environment does not encourage the behavior, the
behavior cannot take place (figures 4 and 5) (Saarinen,
1976). investigated. The questionnaires were made on google
forms and were filled online, and were limited to the
A building design impinges on people's lives through office workers of Karachi. The questionnaires were
the affordances it possesses. It cannot be assumed, answered by thirty five individuals working in different
simply because the environment contains a set of types of Karachi's offices. The questions asked were
affordances for the activities for policymakers or related to office design, ergonomics, thermal controls
designers. Not all people perceive the affordances of in the office, relations with the colleagues and
the environment in the same way. management, and the way people commute from their
house to their office and back. Questions mostly
Effective environment is different for different people. focused on how the above-mentioned aspects impacted
If the differences occur haphazardly, then the conclusion on the behavioral changes in people. It was made sure
one would reach is that all that can be achieved through that the questions covered all types of queries that
design is to allow some behaviors and to exclude others generally depict the moods of office workers and how
a purely possibility stance. Behavior does not however, their surroundings affect them. Questions regarding
occur haphazardly. It has certain predictability. It is the after-work life and the behaviors after work were
possible to make predictions, but who will use what also made part of this exercise. The collected data was
facility, who will bother to look at which architectural analyzed using quantitative analysis and was put
composition, and who will respond to spaces warmly together in the form of pie charts, whereas the
and who will not respond at all can only be predicted explanations and the qualitative analysis were also
without much certainty. done in detail.

Research Methodology Initial observations through informal

interviews
Quantitative interviews were conducted with thirty
five office going people in Karachi, to find out the Common observations deduced from the research were
pattern of office life that people have and what type of that almost all the people who work in offices in
behavioral changes they are enduring because of office Karachi suffer from frustration, stress and anxiety.
environment. The effect of office design on mental This data was gathered from questionnaires as well as
health, psychological and physical needs was also through three informal interviews from people who

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue) 45
are inhabitants of Karachi and work within the city. them, they loved their jobs but also had the most hectic
The hypothesis, that normally everyone who goes to and over board schedules, which made them cranky
work in the vicinity of Karachi is bound to have a and frustrated on some days and over the moon on
higher stress and frustration level than the other cities other. According to them, most workers in their field
of Pakistan, was made. The reasons behind the stress sat in combined open spaces, so that they could interact
are variant but mostly revolve around the design easily and share and get views on their ideas more
incapabilities of the workplaces. Office spaces have efficiently, without leaving their seats. This was a
no concern for the comfort and mental relaxation of nuisance in some places, as the creative ideas got
the workers. The focus is just on earning money, thus copied. Some creative design offices and the
expensive equipment, which is the liability of the architectural firms let people sit where they wanted
company, is given much more importance and comfort to give more boost in their thinking capability. The
than the people working in that space. Most of the spaces designed for these sitting spaces were normally
businesses focus on short-term feasibilities and are not relaxing and comfortable and produced better results.
concerned about the long-term goals. This is the reality The formal offices had closed cabins intended to isolate
of most of the offices in Karachi and users are forced people from each other so that they were able to do
to accept this situation as the unemployment rates are more work without being disturbed. Individual offices
high. The irony is that even the architectural firms belonged to the workers in the upper management.
mostly work in small cramped spaces or small houses Eighty seven percent of the office workers did not
are utilized for the purpose of giving more space to have comfortable seating arrangement and ended up
the plotter, desktop systems and furniture, then the tired after the day, whereas twelve percent complained
person working there. Over all, these spaces mostly about a constant backache. Though almost all the
do not see the daylight and are either ventilated through employees liked their own sitting space, mostly because
air-conditioning or are suffocated with almost no proper either it gave them a view to the outside world or they
cross ventilation. On the contrary, it is observed that had customized their spaces with some personal
few spaces which are designed properly and make the belongings of their own. Some of the employees did
users comfortable have been more productive not in not like their seating spaces, especially those who had
terms of the business but in the long run positive seating near the entrances, washrooms or those who
behavioral changes of the employees. Secondly these lacked privacy (figures 7 and 8).
people have a better after office life, and are more
productive and healthy, as the employees do not suffer On asking whether their office spaces were well
from after work stresses. ventilated, seventy percent responded that their offices

FINDINGS
Combined Open Space
Cubicles
The age brackets of the respondents was between Individual Office
twenty one and forty years with fifteen percent being Anywhere you like
between twenty one and twenty five years, thirty two
percent being between twenty five and thirty years and
fifty three percent being between thirty and forty years.
The respondents were all from the private sector. Fifty
percent of the people who responded worked in formal
type of workplaces, the rest worked in semi-formal Figure 7: Seating arrangements in offices.
places and just a very minute six percent people worked
in informal offices. Yes, very
Yes, Somewhat
No, I always end up breaking
Mostly the informal and semi-formal office setups
belonged to the people who worked in creative and
arts related fields. Two of the people related to the
creative field gave a detailed insight about the office
environment and how they felt about it. These people
had mixed reaction about their jobs, as according to Figure 8: Is the chair comfortable?

46 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue)
were ventilated through artificial air conditioning only, Yes
whereas eighteen percent thought they had suffocating No, its just space using
spaces and almost twelve percent claimed that their I have no idea, but it seems to be
designed
offices were well ventilated (figure 9). Forty two percent I have no idea, but it does not seems to
be designed
of the respondents claimed that they had control of the
micro temperature, though thirty four percent of the
offices were centrally air-conditioned. About forty
seven percent of the offices caught daylight which did
not hamper the indoor temperatures, whereas thirty Figure 12: Is your office designed by an interior designer?
five percent of the office workers did not see the sun
throughout the day (figures 10 and 11). Yes
No
Depends on the day or situation
About fifty percent of the respondents were comfortable
with their workplace. Almost the same percentage
claimed that their comfort depends on several other
things. Just twenty percent of the offices were designed
by interior designers, whereas most offices (i.e. about
forty eight percent) used the space only as per need
and did not care about the design according to the Figure 13: Do you feel comfortable at your workplace?
user's comfort. Almost fifty percent of the office
workers claimed that they barely had enough space to Yes, I like to stretch and walk around for
relaxation
walk and move around, out of which twelve percent Yes, enough to move around for work
claimed that they bumped into things while moving. No, I always bump into things
No, It's quite jammed pack
Though fifty percent claimed that their office spaces It doesn't apply to my kind of job i guess
were relaxing and soothing, the rest found their office
spaces chaotic (figures 12 to 14).
Yes, Artificially, through air conditioners
Yes, Through Natural Air
No, Sometimes its suffocating
Figure 14: Do you have ample space to walk around the office comfortably?
We don't have airconditioners nor the area
is well ventilated Yes, but I never get time for it
Yes and we can take small breaks to avail
them
No, but would an indoor game at the
huddle room count?
No, but we often team up and play online
games
Figure 9: Is your office well ventilated? November 2016.
Admin/ centrally air conditioned
My boss
Figure 15: Does your office have a gaming zone or a gym?
I have it and I decide for others
Everyone has their own micro area
controls

None of the offices from the above surveyed group

had a gym or a gaming zone for their workers
relaxation, but about fifty percent of the workers played
Figure 10: Who has the control of the room temperatures? online and indoor games in their break hours (figure
15). About sixty percent of the respondents worked
Yes, its well lighted through day light
No, we never see the sun in the office overtime when needed, which happened almost twice
Somewhat sunlight enters but it makes the a week, and twenty percent had a constant overtime
environment hot
Somewhat sunlight enters but it does not requirement which they considered extended office
hamper the ventilation is well ventilated hours only. Interestingly, more than seventy five percent
of the office workers were not paid overtime, though
they sacrificed their family times for it. The survey
also found that mostly office workers did not have
Figure 11: Does sunlight enter your office?

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue) 47
 Yes, we can even nap in there Yes, its very relaxing to see it from my
Yes, we interact and can drink coffee, tea seat
etc. Yes, we enter from a find garden but it's
No, but we do get time to relax on our not visible from where I sit
seats No, can we count indoor plants as green
No, I even normally don't get time to sit space?
leisurely for a minute or so No, there is nothing in the name of green
in my office

Figure 16: Does your workplace have a relaxation room?

Figure 17: Does your office have green outdoor spaces?

any relaxation rooms except for the doctor's clinic. Very often
The artist's studio had napping spaces in the workplace Often
Seldom
(figure 16). This was not because they were being I ask for tea/ coffee on my table, can't
given a relaxation time or an extra leverage, but because work without that
I don't
they had double duties and needed breaks.

Just eighteen percent offices had green or open spaces

which were visible from the seating areas, though
Figure 18: How often do you take breaks?
twelve percent did have a green space at the entrance
only. The rest of the seventy two percent of the office
had no green spaces, though some potted indoor plants thirty eight percent travelled more than twelve
were placed (figure 17). Eighty five percent of the kilometers one way. Fifty six percent used car pools,
office workers took tea breaks whereas about thirty twenty eight percent moved around with their bikes
percent moved around and got some relaxation in tea and twenty two percent travelled on public transport.
breaks, though twenty five percent of them took tea Seventy percent of the travelers suffered from hectic
break on their seats (figure 18). Almost all the workers travelling routine and disliked daily travel for this
found their office space smaller in size as per their much time, with a lot of traffic jams, which they
need and thought the designs were of average to poor thought was one of the major reasons they felt
quality. The lighting system in the offices were generally frustrated. The ones who drove mostly complained of
good, though they were artificially lit and even if the more stress due to traffic (about thirty three percent).
daylight did enter the office, it was not enough for Almost all the workers felt very tired, frustrated and
every day office tasks. stressed after work, out of which seventy five percent
thought that it effected their daily lives and after office
Most of the workers thought that their offices were in life, because they were never out of the "after office
good locations with adequate security conditions, but tired" syndrome. Forty percent of the employees
their offices had poor parking spaces, which made it thought that office load was enough for a day and they
a daily stress to park before the office hours in a rush could not get involved in any outside activity after
and reach office on time. Almost all offices had access office hours, whereas twenty nine percent of the
to public transport, although only twenty five percent respondents indulged in outside activities with their
of the respondents thought that the public transport families.
was either not easily available or a nuisance to get.
About fifty five percent of the workers had good Almost thirty five percent of the office workers wanted
working relations with their colleagues, whereas thirty to change their office furniture, whereas fifty percent
percent thought that good and bad people existed thought that an addition to an open or green space
together so they had good relations with some and not would be quite relaxing. Forty four percent thought
with others, but the bad relations effected on their stress that the change in the overall design of their office
levels leading to over thinking and making things could affect their stress levels and moods, whereas
difficult. twenty percent thought that can only get better with
better upper management policies, leaving twenty
About sixty five percent of the employees travelled eight percent claiming that they had other things to
more than six kilometers for work, out of which about stress over.

48 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue)
ANALYSIS develop a reccurring headache. The temperatures must
not be in super comfort zone that they effect the
According to the literature reviewed, one can conclude productivity of the workers, neither should they be
that it is an evident fact that architects have always too suffocating. The ability to control temperatures
thought about how the environment effects people. gives the workers enough authority to regulate it to
The fact cannot be denied that environment does affect their working comfort. It is also more feasible to let
people, whether in a negative or a positive manner. the workers personalize their spaces. Some offices can
Taking the example of Villa Savoye, Architect Le also have informal setups, which gives freedom to the
Corbusier thought that the house was a healing machine, workers to move according to convenience. These
whereas it turned people sick. The environment of Villa offices can have lounges and lobby seating that can
Savoye did effect the inhabitants but in a negative way. be isolated or combined at will, with lots of green
Similarly Pruitt-Igoe was thought to be the epitome of spaces, water bodies and connection with nature to
Modern Architectural Determinism and was made as enhance creative thinking. The term creative block is
a very strong concept of urban living, community quite common amongst these workers. Sometimes
interactions and enclosed playgrounds intended to creative office workers have been found to claim that
reduce criminal activities, but it was not successful they got an idea by only changing a mere seating
and became a breeding ground for criminal activities. arrangement.

With respect to this research and in the case of Karachi, In formal offices, the office designs should be according
office workers spend forty five to sixty percent of their to the need of the people working in them. They should
days in office spaces which are mostly too crammed be given feasible breaks to relax. Some gyms, or
and more suitable for the expensive equipment than gaming zones should be part of the design of offices
for the people who use them. If these situations are to make the workers stress free. It is quite healthy and
carefully studied and offices are designed according relaxing for an office worker to follow a proper break
to the needs of the workers and the type of people schedule, as it not only increases the productivity but
using it, it will surely impact the behavior of the office also gives them a recharge to work better. Thus, it is
workers on a positive note. Health, physical wellbeing suggested to take about seventeen minutes break after
and productivity should be the focus of the designs of almost every fifty two minutes of work, as it turns out
offices with adequate ventilation, air quality, comfortable that to be more productive, one does not need to work
temperatures, ergonomics of furniture, green spaces, more, but to work smarter with frequent breaks. Our
beautiful views, ambiance and ownership of spaces brains are not made to work for eight hours
being the premium tools for design. continuously, so to be a smart productive worker one
must take frequent breaks which is spent away from
From the questionnaires it can be deduced that the computers, emails and anything related to work and
average users of office spaces face a lot of stress and spent on activities such as walking, light exercise,
frustration, because of the social and physical conditions power napping, yoga, tea, chatting with colleagues or
of these workers, but a sizeable unit of this comes from even breathing in clearer air (Evans, 2014). To take
the environment of the offices which effects them these breaks, spaces should be designed within the
directly. Particularly, office workers prefer green spaces offices (Evans, 2014).
in their offices as these spaces help them relax. The
ventilation, temperature control and lighting also plays Most of the workers in Karachi travel more than six
an important role in making the environment kilometers for getting to their work place, which
comfortable. becomes very tiring, considering the amount of stress
that is experienced on the roads for anyone who is
A common trend in Karachi is to ventilate the offices either traveling through public or private transport.
with artificial air conditioning, which is quite disastrous This again adds to the behavior of workers in the after-
to health and the environment in the long run. Other work life, and it effects the daily productivity. It must
than that, in the short term too, office workers face be considered in the plans for the workers and their
non-comfortable temperatures, sometimes they are comfortability that a proper system of transportation
under the flu zone because of the low temperatures or is provided which is comfortable. Most of the
due to sitting constantly in a suffocating office they companies that provide this facility claim that their

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue) 49
workers are happier in their environment and female massive prospects this relationship can bring, specially
population prefers such jobs. when they are well equipped with all the relative data
collected by their departments. In the context of
Thus, a clear understanding is needed by the employers Karachi, with the city being a busy metropolis and
to address the workers' health and wellbeing, not only having many transit issues, it adds to the stress and
to save their viable asset but to bring more productivity frustrations of the workers. Furthermore, offices must
in their businesses. A deep environmental psychological include safety and security, as well as good conditional
study should be part of any start of the design of an transportation facility from work to home and back.
office space to give the workers more strength in the Offices must aim to design better constructive spaces
offices, to design the space according to people's that not only are comfort zones, but the long-lasting
requirements and make it more adaptable by the users effects are in the form of more productive people with
themselves. Work routines should be scheduled in a employees feeling relaxed in their workspaces, working
manner that no stress or frustration is accumulated peacefully and carrying the same positivity to their
from the work place. This not only helps to gain better homes or after work lives. This is again necessary to
productivity in a work place, but is also an asset for avoid the mistakes from the past, emerging in the
the company. period of Modernism supporting the Architectural
Determinism, where architects thought they were
CONCLUSIONS creating better spaces but in reality they were adversely
impacting the users. For this it is essential that an
Considering the research questions of how different office design is assisted with proper Environmental
spaces influence cognition and if there is an ideal kind Psychology Department, which assists the design team
of architectural space for various kinds of thinking this and space typology that should be applied according
research concludes that every space impacts upon its to the need of the worker and the hierarchal system to
users. For architects and designers, the awareness that produce strategies which are cognitive, supportive and
built environment influences health, wellbeing and effects the behavior of an employee in a constructive
productivity of their inhabitants is not new. Studies manner.
demonstrate clearly how poor air quality and lighting
intensifies the number of sick days and can affect sleep
of employees. Sitting spaces, their vicinity, the views
which are seen from the space, along with how many
breaks a person takes in working hours, all effect the
behavior of a person. Creating good indoor air quality,
thermal comfort, high quality views, daylight, good
acoustics and aesthetical locations and amenities - all
play a crucial role in creating a healthy and productive
workplace. It all comes to the point that the connection
between individuals and the building in which they
are employed is vital and impacts on the cognitive
behavioral changes of a person. Most of the businesses
are missing this understanding and are overlooking the

50 Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue)
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Evans, L., 2014, "The Exact Amount of Time you should Work Every Day", viewed 11 October 2017, from
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Golembiewski, J., 2014, "Building a Better World: Can Architecture Shape Behaviour?", viewed 30 September 2017, from
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Haslam, D. C. K., 2010, Designing Your Own Workspace Improves Health, Happiness and Productivity, Exeter, University
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McLeod, S., 2014, "Cognitive Dissonance", viewed 30 September 2017, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-
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Saarinen, T. F., 1976, Environmental Planning: Perception and Behavior, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company.

Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 25, 2018 (Second Issue) 51