An Exploratory Study Focused on Movements and Interactions in the Work Environment

This study explores how the interior layout of the workspace can affect employees’ number of steps and face-to-face interactions. Eighteen participants were recruited for the study and the data was collected over ten business days. The participants completed self-report forms to report the number of steps and interactions they had daily. A positive relationship was found between distance and the number of steps and interactions. A negative correlation was found between depth, a construct of the space syntax theory, and the number of steps and interactions. The findings further examined whether the results support a social ecological model with the relationships between distance, depth, the number of steps and interaction, and moderate variables (personal, environmental, and organizational factors). Findings indicated that the number of steps, as a function of human behavior, was affected by distance and depth (as environmental factors), age and years of working (as personal factors), and work hours (as an organizational factor).

Keywords: 

Work environment; physical activity; face-to-face interaction; job satisfaction; social ecological model