How do we define “productivity” and how can it be measured in an office environment?

Productivity is defined in economic terms as output produced per unit of labor (or other factor of production). When it comes to productivity in a non-industrial setting such as offices, the definition of productivity extends beyond worker output per labor hour to include numerous aspects of individual and organizational success, such as the quality of the output, occupant satisfaction, employee attraction and/or retention, health and comfort of workers, company image, and financial success.

An emerging approach to studying knowledge worker productivity focuses on mental building blocks and psychological processes—those skills and abilities that are characteristic of information processing work in general. Examples of these mental building blocks include attention, vigilance, memory, creativity, mental computation and comprehension. Examples of relevant psychological processes include motivation, persistence and effort. Researchers from several different scientific fields have developed measurement tools for assessing these various skills and processes.

What is direct/indirect lighting?

Direct/indirect lighting is an approach to office lighting that provides some light directed downward, toward the work surface, and some light upward, toward the ceiling. This is most often accomplished from a single lighting fixture suspended from the ceiling.

What is personal lighting control?

Personal lighting control refers to the ability for an individual to change the light levels in their workstation or desktop and surrounding surfaces. This can be accomplished in many ways. Dimming equipment that controls overhead lighting can be permanently wired, wireless, with hand-held control, or computer based. When controlling light from overhead fixtures, care should be taken to not affect the light at adjacent work areas that might impact other office workers.

Other personal control options include undercabinet task lights or free-standing desk lamps. Undercabinet task lights are especially important with respect to reducing shadows that otherwise would create a dark surround on the inside of a workstation. Free-standing desk lamps have the benefit of being moveable so the occupant can put additional light where they need it most.