Indoor Environment Conditions and Computer Work in an Office

Nineteen employees performing comparable sales order-entry tasks participated in a study of the effects of the environmental conditions at their workstations on their computer work performance. Air temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, total volatile organic compounds, and respirable particulates at 10 microns were logged at each workstation. A web-based software system gathered contemporaneous computer work performance data (correct keystrokes, correction keystrokes, and total mouse clicks). Results showed an effect of day of the week on the correct keystroke rate (p = 0.01) and on the mouse-click rate (p = 0.007) with more being done on Mondays than Fridays and an interaction of workday and air temperature on the correct keystroke rate (p = 0.011) and on the mouse-click rate (p = 0.008). There was an association between air temperature and the correct keystroke rate (p = 0.03); the correct keystroke rate was greater at warmer than cooler temperatures, but there was no significant effect of air temperature on the mouse-click rate. No other IEQ variables exerted significant effects on the computer work performance measures. Findings suggest that the quantity of computer keystroke work is affected by thermal conditions in offices. Future research should investigate whether this result is a direct consequence of thermal conditions or whether temperature is acting as a surrogate for other ventilation performance variables.