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CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It has been observed that human beings have natural indication towards living comfortable. Man seems to prefer comfort to discomfort. Every complete human being tends to move away from anything that discomforts them and returns to anything that comforts them. Likewise, they prefer comfortable, convenient and conducive environment to an uncomfortable environment. From various field of endeavour, it is seen that men struggle to have better living condition of life.
According to Adeyemi (2011): man wants to feel comfortable in their homes, they want to have comfortable trip in planes, in cars, and also want to feel comfortable in their offices, workplaces, classrooms, in hotels.
In fact, man wants to be comfortable everywhere and continuous improvement are being made in almost every areas to meet these needs.
The importance of office to any setup or endeavour be it business, charitable, religious or whatever, cannot be over emphasized.
According to Geoffrey (2002) for any organization to function effectively there must first of all be an office to decide on what type of business to run, how to run and which environment will be conducive for the workers and the organization at large.
According to Elendu (2000); office can be defined as any place or building where all administrative activities such as receiving information, giving information, storing information and passing information to the appropriate authority for necessary action take place. Office controls all other aspect of the business organization to ensure that there is development. There are the administrative aspects of any business which controls the activities of the organization and see to the managerial, clerical and coordinate activities of the organization. Many large business undertakings today, have administrative offices, branch offices. There are also offices in government establishments, for example, Ministries, Schools, Hospitals and Public co-operations.
Success or failure of any business is dependent on its relationship with the office, thus, the office serves as the administrative centre to the organization.
An office is a place where professional duties and administrative work are carried out in the organization building. The work depends on the type of business, but it will usually include using computers, communicating with others by e-mail, telephone or fax, keeping records and files etc., in hard and soft format. Features of an office such as people, building space, equipment, furniture and the environment, must fit together well for workers to feel healthy and comfortable and to be able to work efficiently perform their expected tax.
According to Ama (2005); Environment can be defined as the aggregate of all the external and internal conditions affecting the existence, growth and welfare of organisms.
According to Fredrick Herzberg’s motivation theory, there are two sets of factors that affect the behaviour of workers in the working environment. These are the dissatisfied (Hygiene or maintenance factor) and the satisfiers Motivations).
The dis-satisfier are the environmental factors (physical) that surrounds the job, which include the company policies, relationship with supervisors, working condition and compensation.
The positive presence of the above factors cannot themselves motivate but serve as boosters to motivational factors e.g. increase in salary may not lead to improved productivity if working tools are not provided.
The satisfiers or motivators on the other hand are those factors that concern the job itself, which include the achievement, recognition, responsibility, and advancement on the job.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
Employees’ performance is the most important aspect towards maintaining the profit made by an organization which solely depends on the office environment. Therefore, the environmental factors surrounding office in the industry could affect the employees’ health and performance and thus gives a great impact towards the employees’ performance. Employees’ performance is the most important dependent variables in an industrial and organizational psychology.
The job aid, supervisor support and physical office environment are the factors in an organization that could affect the employees’ performance. Furthermore, as part of the work itself, it consists of the relationship between work, tools of work and workplace. The workplace environment also could leads to the unsafe and unhealthy environment in an organization (Chandrasekar, 2011).
Therefore, based on this problem, a study is needed to be done to determine the impact of office environment on the performance of office workers.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The general purpose of this research is the study of the impact of office environment on the performance of office workers.
Specifically, this research work will find out:
v The role of office layout to good office environment.
v The contributions of lighting and ventilation to good office environment.
v The contribution of sitting arrangement to good office environment.
v The impact of good office environment on the workers’ productivity.
This study therefore teaches us the factors to be considered before citing and the ideal human relations required for all workers to make an office a comfortable environment for workers to work and increase productivity.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions will guide the study
a. What are the roles of office layout in an organization?
b. What are the contribution of lighting and ventilation to office environment?
c. How good sitting arrangement does contribute to the performance of workers?
d. What will be the workers performance if their personal relationships with other co-workers are conducive?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research “A study of the impact office environment on the performance of office workers” will benefit millions of people around the world because of its enormous important. Therefore this research work will benefit the following groups of people:
Workers: Workers will benefit from this research work as it will enlighten them on the impact work environment has on general their general wellbeing and performance.
Organizations: all organization irrespective of their nature and mode of operation will benefit from this research work as it serves as eye opener on how the work environment in an office impact negative or positively on the organizational performance and achievement of corporate goals.
Researcher: Researchers will benefit from this study as it will serve as a guide and foundation for future research and improvement of knowledge.
Policy makers: They shall consider this research work as basis for making economic policies.
Other researchers: The research work is significant because other researchers of related subject matter will make use of it as a resource material.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research work covers the study of the impact of office environment on the performance of office workers with special regards to Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund Abuja which serve as a case study.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Literature will be reviewed under the following sub-headings;-
1. Significance of office layout
2. The importance of office layout on the office environment
3. Types of office layout
4. Characteristics of good office environment
5. Factors limitating against good office environment
For a proper layout of the office to be done, the space available is first put into consideration, then the size of the equipment that will be required. In a well planned office, there must be free space for easy movement of workers from one seat to another. In the office where there is no space, there will be difficulty in the movement of workers which may eventually lead to brushing of papers from tables or entering with other peoples works. In laying out an office, spaces are allocated to workers according to the nature of their work and space also be provided for machines and additional equipment. Care should be taken in apportioning spaces to see that fire exist and fire-fighting appliances are readily accessible.
The layout must have regards to the provisions of services principally powered cable, telephone cables and cables linking terminals of any kind with a computer, where visitors are to be received or meetings held, the layout should provide for these situations. These should also be a compact working area for the occupant. One advantage of this arrangement is that confidential papers on the desk need to be removed when visitor arrived. The layout should provide for networking of an office environment which helps in the efficient flow of communication within and outside the organization.
According to Alexi (2008); office layout simply means how an open floor in the office is managed and utilized for efficient performance of all the activities in the office.
According to Ambrose (2004) stated that an office layout is the arrangement of equipment within available floor space. The office manager, who has the knowledge of the flow of work and the necessary requirement of the workers, does the layout of the office.
2.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF OFFICE LAYOUT
According to Joanna (2005) the significant of the office layout on the performance of office workers is therefore, to a very great extent to get the best out of every office workers.
The environment for which they work should be comfortable and healthy. Rooms should be arranged in such a way that wasteful movements are reduced to the barest minimum in the office.
Generally, the significance of a good office layout should be able to meet the following requirements:
Efficiency in getting work done on time that is consideration should be given to the area needed for doing the job.
Economy in the use of floor space, all the equipment and forms needed for the job should be within easy reach and the workers should be able to use both hands at the same time. There should be easy control and supervision of general office workers. The workers should be able to make best use of the equipment and machines that is, sufficient space should be provided for the office machines and also to the reach of the workers.
2.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF OFFICE LAYOUT ON OFFICE ENVIRONMENT
Since the common need of office workers is to feel comfortable, office layout becomes very important to the office workers.
According to Alexi (2008) the importance of office layout is to ensure proper arrangement of chairs and tables in the office and thereby leaving efficiency in the performance of office workers.
Office workers especially clerks should be given their own office. Machines should be placed near users to avoid stress of moving from one end to another to use a machine and so, it saves time of the office workers.
It also aids easy flow of work as the various dependants are placed side by side. There are enough gang ways to provide spaces for the office workers as well as visitors within the office.
According to Denyer (2004); also stated that another importance of office layout on the office environment is, offices should be located where there should be lighting even when there is electricity supply. By locating the office in a brighter environment, and by the provision of windows.
Office layout makes the office environment comfortable, reduce stress as well as enhance productivity. Proper layout of an office affects both the workers and the organization.
2.3 TYPE OF OFFICE LAYOUT
According to Elendu (2000); there are two types of office layout. They are: open offices and close office or private offices.
Open Office
According to Elendu (2000) this is the type of office whereby an open floor is divided into several segments for many workers. The floor space is not partitioned. Workers and visitors are alike have easy and free access into it. One thing that is lacking in this is privacy. All the workers in this type of office can be seen by everyone in the course of performing their duties.
Advantages of Open Office
· There is easy supervision as the supervisor is able to see all the workers at a glance.
· It saves money as the cost of building only one hall will not be much
· There is more floor space as there is no need for partitioning.
· Movement of workers from one office to another for visitation is limited.
The Disadvantages of Open Office
i) An open office may not be attractive; it will just look like a factory full of machines.
ii) There is no privacy
iii) They are bound to be distraction from here and there especially from entering the office
iv) In case of any disease or infection, it may be contacted easily since all the workers are in the same room.
v) The air can easily circulate such infections to the office.
Close Office
According to Elendu (2000); this is the type of office layout whereby individual workers have their own office separately. Here , people cannot enter into another office without permission. This type of office is mostly for those who handle secret or confidential matters and also for those who conduct interviews.
Advantages of Close Office
In the introduction above, environment was defined as “the aggregate of all external and internal conditions affecting the existence growth and welfare of organisms” office environment is therefore defined as the office building, the furniture that are contained therein, the layout as well as the physical conditions that must be available for suitable performance of various activities in the office. There are two types of office environment and physical environment.
^ Human Environment
Human climate otherwise known as relations in the offices refers to the interpersonal relationships or interrelations among office workers. Since no office worker can perform successfully in isolation inevitable if the entire work must be carried on smoothly for the achievement of the overall organizational objectives.
According to Ohakwe (2000) stated that basically, there are four types of relationship exist in the office namely:
Ø Relationship between peers
Ø Relationship between subordinates
Ø Relationship between supervisors
Ø Relationship between supervisors and subordinates.
The office workers in the performance of his daily work are bound to experience these relationships.
However, it has been noted that the interactions between the workers and his boss and vice versa, have more impact on the performance of the office workers for influence, his relationship with his boss or supervisor must be cordial. The workers must be satisfied and always looking forward to do his job and to obey the instructions of his supervisor, this means that in addition, to the provision of physical factors mentioned above, good interpersonal relations is paramount if maximum performance is to be achieved. To achieve this, the supervisor on his part must ensure that his subordinates are satisfied with their work be checking the most conducive atmosphere for effective work performance. This he can do by applying quality of good leadership and not being too autocratic, delegating certain responsibility to subordinates where necessary avoiding double standards, give partitioned commensurate reward to deserving staffs.
Finally, a good human climate should be devoid of petty jealousy, environment greed, as this would lead to quarries, fights or misunderstanding and therefore, bringing the smooth running of a business to a standstill.
^ Physical Environment
According to FEPA (2007) the physical environment of the office include physical factors like lighting, noise, seating, ventilation, sanitary convenience, temperature, decoration, drinking fountains surrounding the workers’ job. Many authors have written on the importance of physical office workers, by pierce (2004) state that “the efficiency of office worker is directly or indirectly affected by the conditions under which they are required to do their work. Even the most conscientious workers cannot do his desk work if he is uncomfortably, whether he is conscious of the discomfort or not one of the easier ways to improve working performance is to improve working conditions.
It is in realization of the importance of good office conditions that the offices, shops and railway premises Acts 1963 were enacted into law minimum working conditions were set and made enforceable. For the purpose of this project, the following conditions will be examined.
2.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD OFFICE ENVIRONMENT
According to Geoffrey (2002); stated that the followings are the characteristics of good office environment:
2.4.1 Ventilation –ventilation simply means the amount of fresh air an office worker needs to function effectively for instance, it has been observed that if the worker is in the state of dry, his working space shows as his senses are dulled.
According to smart (2002); state that when there is no ventilation, the office become too hot and stuffy, causing drossiness resulting in less accurate work.
The requirements of good ventilation are that there shall be a constant flow of fresh air to remove stales.
According to smart (2002); ventilation comprises of natural and artificial air circulation.
o Natural Ventilation
Natural ventilation is the type of ventilation derived from the atmosphere without the use of force or any space which there is no control over. It is always Pevely fresh and natural.
o Artificial Ventilation
This type of ventilation is derived by the use of manpower; it can be through the use of electric fans, air conditioners which can easily be controlled to individual requirements.
2.4.2 Temperature
According to Ohakwe (2004); Temperature can be defined as the degree of hotness or coolness in a body, room, country etc at a given time. This factor has been discovered to be very significant to the performance of an office worker. Both over heating of the working area can decrease the worker’s output and also his resistance to respiratory disease. For instance, the temperature either lies above or below that point or remains so for sometime, a distinctly uncomfortable feeling is experienced. This lacks physical comfort inevitably resulting in the lowering of the general output of work. To this end, many experiments on these factors have determined that the ideal temperature of the office is approximate.
2.4.3 Noise– This is another factor that has been found to affect the performance of office workers. This is because office workers require mental concentration on the job because a delay during the actual length of time of the interruption causes a lot of damage to the work, but considerable time is necessary to get back into the work. It has been established that the effect to the concentrate aim noisy surroundings and cause a strain that result in fatigue.
According to Aina (2005); Noise is defined as any unpleasant sound (especially when it is loud) that disturbs or distracts attention. It could exist from internal sources for example, conversation by other workers or visitors, shifting of chairs on the floor, the noise dater of typing machine or keyboard, rattling of papers or other noise making and office machinery. While the other sources of noise outside the office include passer-by and traffic, among others.
2.4.4 Decoration– This is another factor which is the significance of a great effect on the performance of office worker. To decorate means to make something look more beautiful by adding ornaments to it.
Colourful decoration not only adds beauty to the appearance of the room but also has a psychological effect on the people who work in it, dull surroundings are depressing to workers. Bright and cheerful colours have a cheering effect on items resulting in more and better work. Soft, cool colours are most suitable for offices.
The rooms that receive little sunlight are appropriate and should therefore, be decorated in warmer colours than sunny rooms, although, ultimately the colour scheme of a room should be matched to its purpose and to allow for the amount of daylight getting into the room colours and dark rooms should be decorated in every light colours to compensate for the lack of sunlight.
2.4.5 Lighting– This factor refers to the amount of daylight a worker needs to function both effectively and efficiently. It is obvious that, if the light with which the worker is working is adequate in any respect, both the quantity and quality of his work will be encouraging in other words, less than adequate lighting will result in delay because the usual image is indistinct instead of sharp and clear.
In addition, the effort made in trying to adjust the eye to adequate or improper illumination cause eye-ethane fatigue, headache and aliments, which result in further delays, errors and interruptions to work. On the contrary, if the intensity of light a worker is working with is high, this will result in glare which is bad. A good office is supposed to be provided with enough lights so as to facilitate the work in the office and to influence the importance of the worker.
According to Adeyemi (2011); state that there are two types of light, namely:
Natural light –This is the day to day light which is received into the office though windows and doors.
Artificial light – This refers to the light received from electricity through bulbs and fluorescent tubes which could be controlled to suit individual requirement.
2.4.5 Drinking Water – Many organizations have overlooked this factor, neglected it and counted it as irrelevant in the office forgetting to know that by the work of nature, man cannot do away with water forgetting to know that water is a necessity to man. For this reason, it is not unusual to see a worker becoming uncomfortable and loosing concentration on his job because he is tasty and needs just a glass of water to restore his concentration and interest on his job because this need tends to supersede most other needs when it occurs.
It is not surprising when you see workers walking outside their office when they were supposed to be busy in the office, looking for water to buy. This also affects the performance of an office worker and also the productivity of the organization. Some organizations which have realized the importance of drinking water have made adequate provision for it in strategic positions at short intervals in the offices.
2.4.6 Cleanliness– Clean as the name implies, simply means to be free from dirt and cleanliness is the habit of being clean or keeping something clean, (FEPA 2007). It is natural that a clean environment is expected to be a healthy place; therefore, the office must be kept clean at all times. There should be pool of water around the surrounding and dirt should not be allowed to litter around the office surroundings. A good office environment is always looking neat. This will entice workers and make them feel comfortable in the office.
2.5 FACTORS LIMITATING AGAINST GOOD OFFICE ENVIRONMENT
According to Pierce (2004); stated that the factors limitating against good office environment are as follows.
2.5.1 Office Desk
A desk is a work bench in which most office work is handled. The primary function of any desk is to provide a suitable surface for writing, checking, sorting, examining and conferring. Right from the time, studies were directed to this factor. It has been discussed that the size and design of office desk should be considerable, which affects the performance of office workers. For instance, it has been observed that it is not sufficient to form, furnish a flat writing surface of a standard height for all kinds of work. For not all office work is alike, not all office workers are of the same stature of their work, requires tables or desks with larger surface in other to function effectively. Also, other workers by their stature need higher or lower desks or tables if they must function effectively. To this end, various types of desks and tables have been designed to achieve this purpose.
2.6 SPECIAL PURPOSE FURNITURE
Furniture designed for special use in the office includes: Typist desk, calculating machine desk, cable calculating desks among others, these are designed to achieve their special functions.
· Built Furniture: These are permanent fixtures constructed to fix into wall recesses thereby providing a great saving in floor space.
· General Clerical Desk: These are standard desks designed for various clerical jobs and which enhance the appearance of the office.
· Office Chairs: office chairs have also been discovered to play a significant role in the achievement of office efficiency though little or no attention has been given to this fact for effective work performance therefore, it has been recommended that since office work is sedentary in nature, office chairs should be comfortable so that the height of an office chair should be adjustable to the stature of the person using it so that he can rest his feet squarely in the floor without discomfort, that the back support should be adjustable and high enough to maintain the worker in an upright position and that the left handed seat is uncomfortable and should be discouraged.
2.5.3 Noise –This is another factor that has been found to affect the performance of office workers. This is because office workers require mental concentration and not only does every interruption but a delay during the actual length of time of the interruption, because consideration time is necessary to get back into the work. It has been established that the effect to concentrate on noisy surroundings cause a strain that result in fatigue.
2.5.4 Sanitary Conveniences
This concern the provisions of toilet facilities like thirst, the desire to ease oneself is ones nature and cannot in most cases be overlooked when it occurs. Also, it has been observed that none provision of toilet facilities has resulted in adverse condition in many organizations. This is because, the absence of these facilities will necessitate any worker to leave his seat and go far away to a convenient place to do so. These too result to loss of many hours and a subsequent fall on the productivity of the worker and consequently, that of the entire organizations. Because of the emphasis placed on these factors, the office shops and railway premises Act prescribes the minimum of one toilet seat for every 20 persons and separate toilet for male and female workers which should be kept clean at all times.
From the winter’s personal experience, many organizations are less concerned about the provision of sanitary conveniences. Even in circumstance where these are provided they are often left in deteriorating conditions so that workers are forced to find alternatives places to ease themselves. Unfortunately, these alternatives often tend to be the surrounding bushes in such organizations. This is no gain-saying the various diseases this has caused to the many communities and office workers.
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