Comparative Study of Daylighting and Indoor Air Quality in Corporate Office Workspaces with and without Natural Daylight and Ventilation for Health and Well-Being

Abstract

Office buildings are mainly built for the purpose of maximizing efficiency and facilitating organization needs, whereas environmental factors such as day lighting and ventilation are generally ignored. Therefore, most office buildings will have to depend on artificial lighting and mechanical ventilation, thus creating an environment that will most probably have negative effects on the comfort, health, and job satisfaction of the office workers. Since the office workers will be required to work indoors for several hours, it is necessary to have natural light and natural ventilation in order to maintain visual comfort, health, and productivity during work. This paper makes a comparison between two offices in the same corporate office: the first office, which has access to natural light and ventilation and the second office without natural light and ventilation. This study adopted a quantitative research approach. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaire surveys involving employees working in both office environments to assess their perceptions of visual comfort, thermal comfort, health, mood, and overall workplace satisfaction. Environmental measurements, including illuminance (lux) and indoor CO₂ concentration, were also conducted using a Lux Meter and an Air Quality Detector. The findings show that there exists a correlation between natural daylight and ventilation, and the comfort ability and satisfaction of employees. Employees working in spaces where there was availability of natural light and ventilation showed good focus, high alertness levels, increased motivation, and job satisfaction. However, employees working in enclosed spaces lacking exposure to natural light and ventilation complained of fatigue, drowsiness during the lunch hour, headaches, low levels of motivation, and discomfort, among others, which adversely affected their work efficiency and attendance rates. It can be concluded that natural daylight and ventilation are key components in the environment for improving the standard of corporate office environments. This can be done by incorporating the above-mentioned passive design principles in the design of offices, which would lead to an increase in employee comfort and productivity.