Office Distractions and the Productivity of Building Users: The Effect of Workgroup Sizes and Demographic Characteristics

Knowledge workers are experiencing ever-increasing distractions or unwanted interruptions at workplaces. We explored the effect of unwanted interruptions on an individual’s perceived productivity in various building types, user groups and workgroups. A case study of 68 buildings and their 5149 occupants using the Building Use Studies methodology was employed in this study. The database contains information on the occupants’ perceptions of physical and environmental parameters, including unmined data on the frequency of unwanted interruptions. Pearson’s correlation was used to test the correlation between the variables. In order to determine whether there are any statistically significant differences between the means of two or more independent (unrelated) groups, one-way ANOVA was employed to examine the significance of differences in mean scores between various user groups and workgroups. The evidence of clear correlations between the frequency of unwanted interruptions and perceived productivity is detailed in various user groups and in multiple building types. The Pearson correlation coefficients were −0.361 and −0.348 for sustainable and conventional buildings, respectively, demonstrating a lower sensitivity to unwanted interruptions in sustainable buildings. Females and older participants were more sensitive to unwanted interruptions and their productivity levels were reduced much more by unwanted interruptions. Comparing different sized workgroups, the highest sensitivity to unwanted interruptions for occupants in offices shared with more than 8 people was found. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of different user needs and preferences in the design of workplaces.

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