Effects of Furniture Ergonomics on Student’s Satisfaction in a Library Facility

Abstract

Building occupants are not immune to ill-health as a result of time they spend in a building. This paper seeks to examine the effects furniture ergonomics have on student’s satisfaction in the library of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. A pilot survey was initially conducted in the library through a one-to-one interaction with students to fetch their opinions on the general effects of the furniture. An observation through several walkthroughs was also conducted by the researchers to compare and validate responses obtained. Two hundred and sixty-five students that come from fifteen nationalities are surveyed. A structured questionnaire is used to collect data on the respondents’ opinions on the size, shape, arrangement and comfort of the furniture. Eta cross tabulation, Spearman’s rho and Kendall’s Tau-b are used to establish relationships. Results show that amongst the effects studied, there are significant positive relationships between students’ satisfaction of furniture ergonomics as against back-strain and lack of concentration. This implies that the more the furniture arrangements, size and shape are perceived unsatisfactory, the more their effects on back-strain and lack of concentration towards the students. This paper further recommends that library management should see to designing IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality) guidelines that will mitigate the effects of furniture ergonomics thus improving student’s satisfaction.