1. Influence of the Physical Work Environment on Work
Engagement and Performance
Kay Meulensteen
Pascale Le Blanc
Astrid Kemperman

2. Efficient use of workspace  Cost reduction
Background
Efficient use of workspace  Cost reduction
Increase flexible use of the workspace
while at the same time
Stimulate and support employee satisfaction and performance
Optimize company performance

3. Initiatives: Background New Ways of Working + Efficiency
Activity-based offices + Effectiveness
Flexible workspaces Costs

4. Research Physical Work Environment:
Background
Research Physical Work Environment:
Use of the physical work environment (e.g., Appel-Meulenbroek, 2011)
Activities performed in these physical work environments (e.g., Tabak, 2009)
Level of control over the indoor environment - occupants’ perceptions of the work environment (e.g., Lee & Brand, 2005)

5. Background
Research work satisfaction, work motivation, productivity & performance:
(e.g., Ryan & Deci, 2000; Schaufeli et al., 2006; Van Den Broeck et al.,2008):
relationships between physical office environment & performance or productivity, but did not include atmosphere of the work environment, work motivation, or employee well-being (Stokols et al., 2002; Van Ree, 2002)
Limited research captures all these constructs at once:
the underlying process relating the physical work environment and performance of office workers

6. Dutch Government Housing
Government-wide housing policy plan
(Fysieke Werkomgeving Rijk, FWR; De Been et al., 2015)
health and safety norms
how workspaces are supposed to be used
what kind of overall atmosphere is attempted to be created
to stimulate civil servants to work more flexible, and time, place, and device independently
implementation of “hubs” in governmental offices

7. WorkSpace Hub
A Hub is a center around which other things revolve or from which they radiate; a focus of activity
aims
to stimulate interdepartmental interaction between office workers
A Hub should support various types of activities:
meeting people
short-term desk work
having a (coffee) break

8. Research Aim
Aim:
to examine the underlying process of the relationship between aspects of the physical environment in office environments and work performance
to provide insights in how hubs are being used in governmental offices, and subsequently what factors determine the success of a hub
to provide guidelines for the Dutch government regarding the design and management of hubs

9. Literature Research

10. Literature Research – Physical Work Environment

11. Literature Research – Behavioral Work Environment

12. Literature Research – Work-related Need Satisfaction

13. Literature Research – Work Engagement

14. Literature Research – Work Performance

15. Conceptual Model

16. Data Collection
Survey (IPad)
4 Hubs of different governmental
offices
Visitors of the hub were invited
to fill in the questionnaire
Last week of August, until the
third week of September 2016

17. Belastingdienst Utrecht-Overvecht

18. Rijkswaterstaat Utrecht

19. Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland
Den Haag

20. Belastingdienst Amsterdam

21. Survey Physical Work environment - statements (7-points likert scale):
the facilities
accessibility
attractiveness
availability of workspaces
number of power outlets
connectedness to the rest of the building
level of comfort of the furniture
climate in the hub

22. Survey Behavioral environment - statements (7-points likert scale):
experience of visual and noise disturbance
how inclined they are to have meetings in the hub
degree to which they feel at home
degree to which they feel stimulated when working in the hub
which activities the respondents performed & where (type of workspace)
working in a group or alone
visit was planned or not
nature of the visit
duration of visit
frequency of visiting the hub

23. Survey Work-related Need satisfaction-9 items (5-points likert scale):
Based on a 16-item scale - Van den Broeck et al. (2010):
Autonomy: to what degree the respondent feels (s)he can make its own work-related decisions
Competence: to what degree they respondent feels that (s)he is good in its job
Relatedness: how connected the respondent feels to his/her coworkers
3 items with the highest factor loadings on each of the 3 work-related needs were selected

24. Survey Work Engagement - 9 items (7-points likert scale):
Based on a 9-item scale - Schaufeli et al. (2006)
Vigor: degree to which the respondent feels energetic at his/her job
Absorption: how happy (s)he feels when working intensely
Dedication: the degree to which the respond gets carried away by his/her work
Work Performance – 7 items (5-points likert scale):
Based on Williams & Anderson (1991)
how productive and how efficient the respondent is in his/her work
Socio-demographics

25. Sample (N=236)

26. Data reduction – Factor Analyses & Reliability Tests - Sum-scores
Bivariate correlations –basis for the model estimation
Path Model Estimation

27. Estimated Path Model

28. Results: Physical Environment  Behavioral environment
All variables from the physical environment have a significant effect on one or more of the variables of the behavioral environment
meetings and stimulation are connected in series with pleasantness, disturbance, and home
serving drinks of a high quality  attracts more visitors & stimulates perceived productivity, performance, quality of work, and creativity
the better people can find the hub  the more visits & meetings

29. Results: Physical Environment  Behavioral environment
The degree to which visitors find the hub a pleasant place to work is affected by:
the basic facilities
connectedness
meetings
stimulation
comfort of the furniture & indoor climate

30. Results: Physical Environment  Behavioral environment
visitors experience more disturbance, the larger the distance to the hub from their regular workspace
on the other hand
the more comfortable and stimulating the hub is, the less disturbance is experienced
feeling at home in the hub, is positively affected by:
comfort of the furniture and the indoor climate
quality of the drinks
accessibility of the hub

31. Results: Effects on Work Related Needs
Effects on Need for autonomy
the need for autonomy is more satisfied for visitors that experience the hub to be a pleasant place to work in
at the same time
the satisfaction of the need for
autonomy is negatively affected
by noise and visual disturbance

32. Results: Effects on Work Related Needs
Effects on Need for competence
Disturbance also negatively affects the need for competence
Visitors that feel more at home in the hub have a higher satisfaction of the need for competence

33. Results: Effects on Work Engagement & Performance
The more visitors experience the hub to be a pleasant workplace and have their work-related needs satisfied, the higher their work engagement is
Effects on Work Performance
Satisfaction of the need for competence has a positive effect on work performance
work engagement positively affects work performance

34. This study showed that:
Conclusion
This study showed that:
the satisfaction of work-related needs, work engagement and performance are closely related,
but also that these aspects are related to the physical environment, through the behavioral environment
All variables from the physical environment were related to behavioral environmental variables
Most importantly:
the quality of the served drinks on the frequency of meetings
the influence of facilities on a pleasant working environment

35. Conclusion
Managerial relevance: This study shows that even though all the physical aspects have an effect on the success of a hub the facilities in the hub (sufficient power sockets, variation of workplaces, comfortable furniture, indoor climate, high quality of drinks) turn out to be most important (compared to for example the location of the hub) Furthermore, inform workers in governmental buildings about the presence and possibilities of the hub

36. Future Research
Test the model in other
organizations/situations
Sample all employees
Longitudinal study