Office environment and workers’ productivity in the era of hybrid work: analysis considering office environment and home environment

Abstract

Abstract Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers now work both at the office and at home. Although this hybrid workstyle reduces energy consumption and enables businesses to function during natural disasters and pandemics, it is not without controversy. Differences in worker productivity between the office and home are reported to be due to personal attributes such as gender and occupation. Worker productivity may also be affected by the office and home environments. Determining the relationship between worker productivity and the work environment would make it possible to assess the value of offices in the era of hybrid work. This study compared differences in worker productivity between the office and home environments. A survey was conducted of workers in 61 offices in Tokyo, Japan, and productivity was found to be 9.1% higher on average when working at the office than at home. Productivity tended to be higher at the office among workers with high levels of job satisfaction. The probability of increased worker productivity was about 1.46 times higher when the total office environmental performance was superior than when it was inferior. The results suggest that improvements in office environments are needed even in the era of hybrid work.