PubMed · 42730680
Human-Centered Workspace Optimization: A 2 × 2 Factorial Study of Adjustable Furniture and Indoor Environmental Quality.
Abstract
Small workspaces function as integrated systems, yet ergonomic furniture and indoor environmental conditions are usually evaluated separately. A six-site, assessor-blinded, randomized 2 × 2 factorial controlled study was conducted of two multicomponent packages-adjustable furniture and optimized indoor environmental quality (IEQ)-among 240 office workers for four weeks. Each group included 60 participants. Overall comfort in week 4 was highest for both packages (5.62 ± 0.53 versus 3.99 ± 0.60 with fixed furniture and basic IEQ). In a site-adjusted factorial model with HC3 robust standard errors, the adjustable-furniture effect was 0.86 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-1.09), the optimized-IEQ effect was 0.34 points (95% CI, 0.12-0.55), and their interaction was 0.44 points (95% CI, 0.14-0.74). Adjustable furniture improved postural comfort and reduced neck and lower back discomfort; optimized IEQ improved environmental comfort; both packages improved perceived productivity, satisfaction, and fatigue. The task-accuracy interaction did not remain significant after false-discovery-rate adjustment, and exploratory mediation and spline analyses did not support indirect or nonlinear effects. These results support coordinated ergonomic and environmental implementation while preserving distinct outcome pathways.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Yun Du. 2026-09-11. Human-Centered Workspace Optimization: A 2 × 2 Factorial Study of Adjustable Furniture and Indoor Environmental Quality.. https://doi.org/10.3791/72955
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
Discover connections
Connections use source metadata and explicit phrase matches, not verified experimental comparisons.