Investigating the Role of Indoor Environmental Quality in Job Satisfaction and Productivity: A Case Study from Ankara, Türkiye

This research examines Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) factors—visual comfort, thermal comfort, and acoustic comfort—and their effects on office employees' job satisfaction and productivity, guided by the Person-Environment Fit (PE-Fit) theory. An online survey of 380 office employees in Ankara, Türkiye, analyzed by correlation and regression (IBM SPSS), indicated visual (β=0.42, p<0.01) and thermal comfort (β=0.38, p<0.01) as the main predictors of both. Conversely, acoustic comfort was shown to have minimal impacts (β=0.12, p>0.05). Professional maturity moderated acoustic adaptation, with higher correlations for experienced employees. These findings align with the core principle of the needs–supplies and demands–abilities fit models within the PE-Fit theory. The finding of visual and thermal comfort aligns with the core principle of the needs–supplies fit model. On the other hand, the acoustic comfort findings correspond with the demands-abilities fit model. Based on these outcomes, the study offers two key contributions: (1) it contributes to the PE-Fit theory by quantifying how different IEQ components—visual, thermal, and acoustic comfort—interactively influence workplace fit through a novel hierarchical approach, which has been absent in prior single-factor studies; and (2) it recognizes professional maturity (age/experience) as a moderator of acoustic adaptation, thereby advancing knowledge on demands-abilities fit. These results guide organizations to invest in cost-reduction workspace upgrades that align employees' needs with environmental parameters. Future studies are urged to study task-specific IEQ demands and longitudinal adaptation effects.