Indoor productivity measured by common response patterns to physical and psychosocial stimuli

Productivity is the essential organizational outcome. It is vaguely understood and difficult to quantify, especially at the individual level in office companies. Our objective was to quantify and describe the part of productivity, which is systematically influenced by the indoor environment. We, therefore, introduce the concept 'indoor productivity,' which is defined by measuring operations. We used the multivariate method Marker Object Projection to transform questionnaire data into an 'indoor productivity index' (IPI), which reflects the relative impact of the variables that systematically influence indoor productivity. The reasoning behind IPI is that indoor productivity cannot be separated from experienced indoor environment and wellness at work. IPI is calculated for each respondent based on own, colleagues', and two fictive respondents' answers. Conservatively, IPI was calculated to constitute about 25% of what determines the productivity of an individual. By using IPI as dependent variable in multiple regression analyses, the relative contribution of all indoor variables was identified. Physical indoor variables were as important as psychosocial ones. During the cold seasons, 'dry air' was the most important factor reducing IPI.