Connecting planned preventive maintenance, operational energy management, indoor environment quality and satisfaction of office building users: a literature review

Purpose The quest to mitigate the catastrophic effects of climate change has increased global initiatives to improve energy efficiency in the building sector, as buildings account for 38% of greenhouse emissions globally. From the systems theory, the study argues that to improve energy efficiency in buildings and satisfaction of users, an integrated regime of operational energy management practices (OEM), planned preventive maintenance (PPM) and indoor environment quality (IEQ) is inevitable. Accordingly, this study elucidates the extent to which extant literature has covered the connections of OEM, PPM and IEQ with the satisfaction of tenants in office buildings. Design/methodology/approach The study used the systematic literature review approach to select relevant literature for the study. Literature was selected from indexed scholarly databases including Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. A total of 93 studies was arrived at and used for the review after duplicates were removed, and age and relevance were applied as screening criteria. The studies used were limited to a period of 25 years (2000–2025). This notwithstanding, adequate and relevant materials were obtained for the review. Findings The review found a positive relationship between PPM and satisfaction of office building users; and positive relationship between IEQ and satisfaction of office building users. The holistic interaction of OEM, PPM and IEQ with satisfaction has however not been studied. Even though a direct relationship exists between energy efficiency and the rental values of office buildings, energy efficiency in these studies was measured using energy performance certificates and other environmental certifications, ignoring the OEM practices as elaborated by ISO 50001 and other scholars. The study also discovered scanty literature on the topic in developing countries particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the emergence of glazed office construction results in higher cooling loads. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to the systematic review approach. Thus, no field data were collected to validate the findings in this study. The study forms part of broader research, with this phase focusing only on a synthesis of the current literature to identify current gaps. More practical recommendations and discussions would be made after the collection and analysis of the field data. Practical implications Practically, the review provides significant value for facility managers, policymakers and real estate developers by revealing how strategic maintenance planning can enhance IEQ and, ultimately, productivity and well-being. As buildings use approximately 40% of global energy, maximizing the performance of office buildings would make a significant contribution to global energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions. The integrative perspective presented in this review therefore offers both theoretical and applied contributions, establishing a foundation for more holistic building performance models and informing future empirical. Social implications This study highlights how structured preventive maintenance can facilitate improvements that can extend asset life cycles, improve operational costs and IEQ. Better indoor conditions are not only important for the health and well-being of occupants but transcends to the productivity outcomes of the workforce. With this in mind, the research has demonstrated potential in influencing the management of office spaces and outcomes from employees in the corporate real estate industry. Originality/value The study highlights the effects of OEM, PPM and IEQ, on occupant satisfaction. Thus, instead of referring to these themes separately, as other studies do, this review also highlights the integrative effect of OEM, PPM and IEQ and the satisfaction of users in office buildings. The review improves the literature by identifying the gaps that link human-centered building outcomes – a topic that has not been systematically studied, especially in the less-developed world and the emerging real estate markets.