Subjective Evaluation of the Physical Work Environment and the Influence of Personality

Abstract

Subjective evaluations of physical working conditions are common in the field of human factors and ergonomics (HFE). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of personality factors on judgements of important physical factors in the work environment. The sample consisted of 80 informants working in a white-collar organization. User evaluations of Lighting, Indoor air, Privacy, Negative affect (NA) and Positive affect (PA) were collected twice, over two consecutive years. The results confirm that personality characteristics do affect appraisals of physical conditions, although only for Negative affect. The results also revealed high stability in subjective judgements across time, both with regard to trait-like emotions (NA and PA) and with regard to appraisal of environmental conditions.