A Study of Workspace Design Characteristics Exemplified by Nurses’ Satisfaction Within Three Intensive Care Units in a University Hospital

Background: The critical conditions of intensive care patients require providing them with a higher acuity of care. Thus, it is essential to focus on critical care nurses and improve their work environment in a way that maximizes productivity, collaboration, satisfaction, and leads to improved patient care. Purpose: This study aims to explore the role the workplace layout design play in determining nurses’ satisfaction in three intensive care units (ICUs) at a university hospital. Method: A prospective, cross-sectional, single-center, survey-based design was employed in this study. Data were obtained, via a standardized questionnaire, from 36 morning shift nurses. The nurses’ self-reported satisfaction scores in three different ICUs with differing overall layouts, nursing station locations, and workplace design were statistically compared. Results: The study found that ICU 1 (private rooms, single corridor, central nursing station, close to supported services) had higher nursing satisfaction levels than ICUs 2 and 3 (open wards with separate service zones), F (2,34) = 5.054, p = .012. However, overall satisfaction was higher with the ICU 2 primary workspace design, possibly due to the perceived acoustic privacy in this configuration, F (2,34)= 4.492, p = .019. The ability of the ICU layout design to enhance teamwork and minimize traffic in patients care areas was found to be an important predictor of nurses’ satisfaction. The primary workspace design capacity to minimize congestion and the presence of large numbers of providers in a confined workplace might account for variation in nurses’ satisfaction. Conclusion: Physical environment variables in the ICU design may contribute to staff workplace satisfaction scores and may help in guiding informed choices regarding the future ICU design.

Workspace Integration and Sustainability: Linking the Symbolic and Social Affordances of the Workspace to Employee Wellbeing

Our goal in this paper is to connect workspace design to employee wellbeing and social sustainability. Toward this connection, we introduce and empirically test a new concept of “workspace integration”. This concept refers to the continuum of integration of an employee’s workspace with the organizational, physical space. We further define three workspace affordances that predict the social sustainability of workspace arrangements by influencing employee wellbeing. The three affordances are perceptions of symbolism of the organization and of symbolism of the self, and opportunities for social interactions. We evaluate our theory using data collected from an online survey of British employees (n = 392) working in offices at home and/or in the organization in various industries. As predicted, workspace integration positively influences wellbeing directly as well as indirectly via mediation of symbolism of the organization and opportunities for social interactions. The third affordance—symbolism of the self—positively influences wellbeing, but is not affected by workspace integration. Our findings confirm the impact of workspace affordances on employee wellbeing, and thus their utility for the analysis of social sustainability. The findings also contribute to understanding of the differences between workspace symbolism of the organization and of the self, their impact on wellbeing, and thus their implications for social sustainability.

Kinematic Modeling and Simulation of Human Arm Reach

Modeling the human arm and calculation of the human arm reach are important for designing workspaces. An appropriate workspace design would reduce musculoskeletal disorders and wrist injuries in repetitive tasks. Among different human arm workspace designs and reach calculations, computer-based methods have recently attracted significant attention. This is because conventional experimental methods do not provide sufficient flexibility for interactive design modifications and integration of different aspects for workspace design. Despite advances in computer-aided design, many computer-based methods still rely on mock-ups and experimental set-ups. In this work, a computer-aided method is investigated for predicting the human arm reach. The kinematic modeling convention of Denavit-Hertenberg is adopted for formulating the reach. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The methodology enables visualization of the reach volume of the human arm and could be easily adjusted for different human operators.

Kinematic Modeling and Simulation of Human Arm Reach

Modeling the human arm and calculation of the human arm reach are important for designing workspaces. An appropriate workspace design would reduce musculoskeletal disorders and wrist injuries in repetitive tasks. Among different human arm workspace designs and reach calculations, computer-based methods have recently attracted significant attention. This is because conventional experimental methods do not provide sufficient flexibility for interactive design modifications and integration of different aspects for workspace design. Despite advances in computer-aided design, many computer-based methods still rely on mock-ups and experimental set-ups. In this work, a computer-aided method is investigated for predicting the human arm reach. The kinematic modeling convention of Denavit-Hertenberg is adopted for formulating the reach. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The methodology enables visualization of the reach volume of the human arm and could be easily adjusted for different human operators.