Showing 13 results for Workplace
Mahsa Bagheri, Abasali Shahrudi,
Volume 3, Issue 2 (9-2015)
Abstract
Introduction: Creating an appropriate
and efficient workplace environment is a fundamental part of businesses in the
modern world. The proper design of interior spaces and exterior facades in
workplaces invigorates the workforce and reduces the risk of depression for
them, while also improving the quality of their work and the attraction of
customers.
Nevertheless, architects tend to design
workplace environments solely based on personal taste and emotional
preferences. The present study designed a branch of Bank Maskan in Sari, Iran,
by using efficient scientific methods and with a focus on the quantitative and
qualitative aspects of design.
Materials and Methods: The present study was
conducted to design a workplace environment using the Kansei engineering
method. It used the facade openings of a branch of Maskan Bank in Sari as its
case study and extracted the users' preferences using the Kansei method in
order to find physical patterns for designing facade openings based on
scientific analysis of the data obtained. The researcher examined the dominant
emotional preferences using the Kansei engineering method and had 200
individuals selected from the sample population fill out a questionnaire that
was scored using Semantic Differential (SD) and based on a 7-point Likert
scale. The data obtained were analyzed in SPSS-16 using a test for mean and the
Pearson correlation test.
Findings: The findings of the
present study confirmed the significant relationship between the quantitative
(the type of openings) and qualitative (Kansei terms) characteristics of design
using the Kansei engineering method and also showed that arched openings, with
attributes of religiosity such as “loyal”, “trustworthy” and “moderate” (with
correlation values of 0.6, 0.6 and 0.63, in respective order), and rectangular
openings with vertical elongation, with attributes of economics and banking
such as “stability” (with the correlation value of 0.62), have obtained the
highest degree of correlation.
Conclusion: Given the positive
effects of physical patterns, and as traditional arched openings imply
attributes such as religiosity while rectangular openings with vertical
elongation imply positive economics and banking attributes, these openings were
deemed suitable for designing the facade of the examined branch of Maskan Bank
in Sari.
Mojgan Firouzbakht, Aram Tirgar,
Volume 5, Issue 1 (6-2017)
Abstract
Introduction: The working population spends an increasing amount of waking times at work that is full of social relationship and meaningful resource of social capital. With regard to relationship between workplace social capital and employee health, this systematic review was performed with aim to evaluate the effects of workplace social capital in health workforce.
Materials & Methods: This is a systematic review study. The articles were in full text and in English language that were cited in Pubmed, Scopus, and Google scholar database with key words such as "workplace social capital" ,"health", "hypertension", "diabetes", "depression" without time limit were selected, at least 14 articles were eligible.
Results: Workplace social capital was related with cardio-vascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and depression among the employees.
Conclusions: Workplace social capital should be considered as one of the most important issue in health promotion.
Naser Sadra Abarghouei, Hamirdreza Jafarpour,
Volume 5, Issue 1 (6-2017)
Abstract
Introduction: A significant number of employees of any organization experience burnout, in many different countries. It is obvious that burnout prevention and mental health promotion play an important role in the improvement of the quality of services. One of the strategies that could be useful in reducing premature aging is deployment of a total ergonomics (ergonomics micro and macro). The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between variables considered in the context of total ergonomics and burnout.
Methods: The sample was selected from one of the hospitals in Yazd, including various departments with 506 employees. The sample size of 216 was determined according to Morgan. The data were collected through questionnaires and samples were selected through a stratified random sampling method.
Results: The results showed that moderate job burnout and perceived organizational support by the employees was lower than average, and there was a significant negative relationship between burnout and variables involved in comprehensive ergonomics. The study showed that demographic variables of burnout were effective on employees.
Conclusions: This study investigated burnout level, organizational support, organizational justice and physical environment. The reduction of Burnout was assessed by improved total ergonomic (macro and micro ergonomic) conditions. The results obtained in this study correspond with the results of various research studies. At the end of the study, based on the results, suggestions were made to reduce burnout.
Mohammad Amin Mououdi, Mohsen Hosseini,
Volume 5, Issue 3 (11-2017)
Abstract
Background: Sitting for long periods of time is a part of the illness, which can happen in the workplace and the lack of attention to the ergonomic principles causes musculoskeletal disorders such as backache, pelvic ache, shoulder ache, elbow ache, arm ache, wrist and ankle ache, and muscle aches in the other parts of the body. The present research was carried out according to the ergonomic principles and designs, in order to design an ergonomic chair, suitable for the computer users in the monitoring room of one of the industries in the Mazandaran province.
Methods: The participants in this study included a total of 32 male staff from the monitoring room of one of the industries in the Mazandaran province. A total of 24 anthropometric parameters were measured from the body of each of the subjects, sitting in a vertical position on an adjustable chair, using anthropometric calipers and meters and the data were analyzed with the Excel and the Minitab statistical programs.
Results: The mean age of the subjects was 42.59 ±5.34 years and the 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of their anthropometric dimensions and Pearson's correlation coefficients were obtained to design the height, the depth, the height, and the width of the ergonomic chair. All parts of the chair had two degrees of freedom. The neck and back supports, adjustable for this type of chair were designed specifically. Also, using MIT standards, the level of seat compressibility was measured to be 4.26 cm, based on the 95th percentile weight.
Conclusion: Considering that other countries design and produce suitable chairs, focusing on the anthropometric characteristics of the individuals, studies, similar to this research could be recommended in the different parts of the country, in order to design and produce appropriate chairs for the physical dimensions of the people and their needs.
Zivar Sabaghinejad, Abdolkazem Neisi, Somaye Parvin,
Volume 6, Issue 3 (10-2018)
Abstract
Background & Objectives: Each organization needs to provide an environment that is smooth, tensile, comfortable and affordable with appropriate physical and emotional conditions for each employee, a safe and relaxed working environment, so that they can work best with a sense of job satisfaction. The present study examines the ergonomic conditions of libraries in public universities in Ahwaz and its impact on job satisfaction and librarians.
Methods: This research is descriptive and has been surveyed. The population of the study consisted of 84 librarians of Shahid Chamran Universities and Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences who participated in the study census. To evaluate ergonomic conditions, a questionnaire was extracted from ergotools software, job satisfaction survey from Arenson et al. Scale and job evaluation questionnaire by Faraj Pahloo, Nooshin Fard and Hasanzadeh. Relationships between research variables were investigated using structural equation modeling.
Results: The results showed that there is a direct, positive and significant relationship between ergonomic conditions and job satisfaction, job satisfaction and job performance, and ergonomic conditions and job performance. There is also a positive and significant indirect relationship between ergonomic conditions and job performance due to job satisfaction.
Conclusion: All relationships between the variables examined were confirmed. Therefore, ergonomic conditions are effective both directly and through the job satisfaction of librarians’ job performance. Considering the positive and direct relationship, it can be said that the librarians of the public universities’ libraries of Ahwaz are pleased with better ergonomic conditions and show better job performance.
Farin Khanehshenas, Peymaneh Habibi, Seyed Abolfazl Zakerian,
Volume 7, Issue 4 (2-2020)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Ergonomics is associated with the study and systematic design of the workplace to improve human health and well-being. The health and well-being of employees are influenced by a variety of factors. Nature is a new paradigm in occupational ergonomics that has not been well explored in the main texts of ergonomics in relation to human well-being. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the results of joining with nature on staff health, especially well-being in the form of a systematic review study.
Methods: By searching articles published from 2000 to 2019 in the field of Biophilic design, 25 articles were selected for the present systematic study based on the research criteria. Non-English language articles excluded.
Results: The results of this study showed that Biophilic design is associated with improved human well-being, performance, concentration and stress reduction.
Conclusion: Organizations, with the help of ergonomists, should consider such changes in the workplace, and nature-based solutions as strategic programs for improving well-being rather than merely applying a temporary strategy that changes the physical condition of a building or its landscape.
Hamed Amani, Seyed Hossein Shojaei, Hemn Zarei,
Volume 8, Issue 1 (5-2020)
Abstract
Background and Aim: A good work environment is a place where one can feel relaxed and focused. In the field of environmental psychology, color is one of the environmental factors that greatly influence human perception and behavior. The purpose of this systematic review study was to investigate the effect of color on work environment.
Methods: This article is a systematic review study. Full-text and English-language articles published in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar were searched using the following keywords: Color perception, color ergonomics, color psychology, color effect, mental health and Workplace. The search was without time limit, and 45 eligible articles were reviewed.
Results: Initially, 262 articles were identified from different databases. Among them, 93 articles met the criteria for entering the study. After that, 48 articles were removed from the study due to lack of experimental studies and 45 articles were selected for final review. A total of 18 studies focused on color priority, 25 studies on mood and emotions, 6 studies on health outcomes, and 19 studies on the effect of workplace color on work-related outcomes. The results showed that color has a significant effect on emotions (eg mood), well-being (eg stress, comfort, well-being) and performance (eg productivity, creativity).
Conclusion: Workplace color should be considered as one of the main ways to promote the (mental and physical) health of individuals.
Reza Sepahvand, Massome Momeni Mofrad,
Volume 8, Issue 4 (1-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Improving and developing service delivery requires the free flow of information and knowledge. Therefore, addressing this factor and examining the role of its determinants can lead to the reputation of the organization in providing services. One of the most important factors is the dismissal of employees in the environment, which leads to a lot of job tension. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of exclusion in the workplace on knowledge concealment with respect to the mediating role of job tension.
Methods: This study is based on the applied purpose and from the perspective of how to collect data in the field of descriptive survey studies. The statistical population of this study consists of all staff of public hospitals in Lorestan province. Using stratified-random sampling method, 124 people were selected as the research sample. The data required in this study were collected using the Liu et al. (2016) Workplace Rejection Questionnaire, the O'Reilly et al. (2014) Knowledge Concealment Questionnaire, and the Peng Job Tension Questionnaire (2013) based on 5 options Likert. The data collected in this study were analyzed by structural equation modeling using Smart-pls software.
Results: The results of this study showed that rejection in the workplace can lead to the spread of knowledge concealment behaviors. Also, rejection through increased job stress can lead to the development of knowledge concealment.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, managers of service organizations should develop strategies to improve the level of mutual acceptance of people in the workplace and prevent rejection of individuals to reduce knowledge concealment behaviors.
Solmaz Tabe-Afshar, Sahar Toofan, Arash Saghafi-Asl,
Volume 9, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Workplace architecture is one of the most important factors influencing employees' health and wellbeing. Therefore, it is necessary to study the role of workplace design on the emergence of various types of health problems among employees. The present research aims to study the prevailing conditions at the case studied workplaces and to identify the role of factors influenced by interior layout (location-ergonomics, lighting, indoor air quality (IAQ), temperature, noise, design style, and cleaning) on the emergence of Sick Building Syndrome among employees.
Methods: In the present study, three administration buildings (roads and urban development office, construction engineering organization, and airport) in Urmia, Tabriz are investigated as case studies and a total of 226 employees working in these buildings are selected as samples. Then, they are asked to fill out a questionnaire to collect the required data. The reliability of the questionnaire is confirmed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.
Results: The findings indicate that despite the advantages of open plan layout for the organization of work environments, it still has many negative consequences such as too much noise and distraction, lack of ergonomics, congestion, reduced privacy, and the lack of personal control of environmental conditions. In general, it is not considered an efficient layout design for the workplace.
Conclusion: The results indicate that to effectively deal with the emergence of sick building syndrome and provide a healthy work environment, it is necessary to establish a balance between various parts in the workplace layout design including private office space, shared workplace, and/or open plan according to the nature and type of work while taking into account the factors and parameters influenced by the layout design and environmental properties.
Mehdi Fadaei, Mahdi Homayounfar, Mansour Soufi, Amir Daneshvar,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (7-2022)
Abstract
Objectives: Considering the importance of employees' behavior in service organizations and its significant impact on their success and failure, the present study investigates the environmental and ergonomic factors affecting the mental health and behavior of employees in one of the branches of Islamic Azad University.
Methods: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-correlational in terms of data gathering and analysis. The statistical population of the study includes: 315 employees of Rasht Branch of Azad University, out of them 196 people were selected by random sampling method and the necessary data were collected using a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling and SMART PLS3 software were used to test the hypotheses.
Results: According to the findings, workplace layout affects on use of work equipment (0.389), use of office chair (0.252) and environmental conditions (0.538), but the effect of workplace layout on the posture of employees was not confirmed in 5 percent significance level. Also, the effect of posture (0.586), layout (0.440), work equipment (0.458), office chair (0.345) and environmental conditions (0.550) on public health and also the effect of general health (0.690) and environmental conditions (0.158) on employees’ behavior is significant. Examining the indirect relationships of the research model also shows that workplace layout affects employee behavior through the general health and environmental conditions. Workplace layout influences employees’ behavior through work equipment, office chair, environment conditions and general health.
Conclusion: The indirect effect of workplace layout on employees’ behavior through public health has the highest impact (0.304), therefore, making policies for the general health, can improve employees’ behavior.
Solmaz Tabe Afshar, Sahar Toofan, Arash Saghafi Asl,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2022)
Abstract
Objectives: Undoubtfuly, people spend a significant portion of their time in workplaces. Many factors affect the health and well-being of employees. The present study aimed to identify the architectural problems of the environment by examining the symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome and ranking the parameters influenced by five physical factors (thermal comfort, noise, lighting, layout-ergonomics and decoration).
Methods: The present descriptive-analytical research was carried out in the summer of 2021. The statistical population included 52 employees of Urmia Engineering Organization Building which is based on Morgan's table and a sample size consisting 46 people was randomly selected. The required data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and Friedman test.
Results: Considering the average ranks, symptoms of fatigue (4.47), muscle pain (5.47), headache (5.87), high stress (6.14) and poor concentration (7.45), along with some defined parameters for each of the factors, including overcrowding and lack of speech privacy (78.12%), the noise of people's conversation (62.93%), improper workplace temperature in winter (58.59%) and summer (49.91%), inappropriate placement of uses and allocation of inadequate space for people and equipment (49.91%) played the most significant role.
Conclusion: The results indicated that the inefficient design of the environment and non-observance of ergonomic principles as a result of unprincipled renovations regardless of the nature of the work and its requirements, inappropriate placement of uses, the non-standard distribution of employees in an inflexible environment, lack of speech privacy and crowding were identified as the most important causes of the symptoms.
Mohammad Babamiri, Ramin Rahmani, Rashid Heydari Moghadam, Mehraneh Shabani,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: In work environments, job stress is the main factor that can make employees lose control and provide the opportunity for the occurrence of aggression in employees. Therefore, this study investigated the role of the effort-reward imbalance model in the occurrence of bullying in the workplace.
Methods: This study was descriptive-analytical in nature. The research population consisted of employees of one of the petrochemical plants located in the south of the country. The samples (n=202) were selected using the census sampling method. In this research, two self-report questionnaires, namely the Effort-Reward Imbalance Scale and the Questionnaire of bullying actions, were used to measure the variables. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 18 software using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and linear regression.
Results: The mean scores of the participants’ age and work experience in this study were 40.13±9.32 and 15.9±9.50 years, respectively. Among the participants, 72.8% were female and 86.1% were married. In terms of educational status, 10.9% had an associate's degree, 81.2% had a bachelor's degree, and the rest had a master's degree or higher. About three-quarters of the participants were public service employees, and the rest were working on a contract basis. Based on the results of the multivariate regression model, among the variables investigated in this study, effort-reward imbalance and extreme commitment were able to significantly predict the changes in the bullying score (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Employees who feel imbalanced between inputs and outputs in the job, as well as those who have the characteristic of excessive responsibility, are more likely to display negative behaviors in the form of bullying in the workplace.
Karen Fatahi,
Volume 12, Issue 4 (2-2025)
Abstract
Objectives: The primary aim of this study is to examine the impact of carbon dioxide concentrations in the air on thermal comfort, cognitive performance, and heart rate among healthcare workers while they engage in their duties within therapeutic environments. These settings are often characterized by high occupancy, inadequate ventilation, underground locations, limited natural light, and exposure to pollutants.
Methodology: In this laboratory-based research, 20 employees from a specialized clinic were randomly assigned into two groups of ten. They were exposed to varying levels of carbon dioxide at a controlled temperature of 25 degrees Celsius: one group experienced 1100 ppm with adequate ventilation, while the other was subjected to 1800 ppm without ventilation. Key parameters such as heart rate, thermal comfort (assessed using the ASHRAE standard questionnaire), and cognitive performance (measured through the MOCA test) were recorded. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).
Results: The statistical analysis revealed significant effects of cognitive performance and carbon dioxide levels (1800 ppm vs. 1100 ppm) on thermal comfort (F(1,15)=13.257, p<0.05 and F(1,15)=16.694, p<0.05). Furthermore, both the carbon dioxide levels and the gender of participants significantly influenced the heart rate of healthcare workers in their work environments (F(1,15)=53.381, P<0.05 and F(1,15)=9.642, p<0.05). Specifically, individuals exposed to 1800 ppm of carbon dioxide reported a thermal dissatisfaction score that was 0.878 units higher and exhibited a heart rate that was 9.25 beats per minute greater compared to those exposed to 1100 ppm..
Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of continuous air quality monitoring in workplace settings. Such measures can enhance thermal comfort levels, improve cognitive performance, and mitigate health risks for healthcare workers engaged in their professional activities.
