How physical home workspace characteristics affect mental health:A systematic scoping review

BACKGROUND:During the 1990s, voluntary teleworking became more grounded, because of expected advantages as increased productivity and comfort. However, COVID-19 obliged employees to work from home (WFH), even in unsuitable houses, which might have reduced their mental health. A holistic overview of methods and measures of the physical home-workspace characteristics and mental health is currently lacking. Insights in the potential influence of the physical home-workspace on mental health are also not yet holistically examined.OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study is to provide insights in previously studied relationships between the physical home-workspace and mental health and to identify measures for both using a systematic scoping review.METHODS:This study used the PRISMA method to systematically review existing literature.RESULTS:Most studies focussed on noise, acoustics, and privacy, in relation to productivity, concentration, and sleep quality. Only a few studies used objective measures for physical home-workspace characteristics.CONCLUSION:The list of relevant measures can be used by academics to examine relationships between the home-workspace and mental health further. Workplace managers can use it to help employees in optimizing their home-workspace

Level-adaptive sound masking in the open-plan office:how does it influence noise distraction, coping, and mental health?

In the open-plan office, intelligible speech is a major distractor, reducing cognitive performance. Sound masking emits an electronic broadband sound to increase the background sound level in a controlled manner. To date, most studies on sound masking are short-term laboratory studies that do not consider aspects of mental health. The current study aims to evaluate, using a longitudinal field study with intervention (N=42) and control (N=41) floors at two organizations, whether leveladaptive sound masking could reduce intelligible speech and increase mental health, while being exposed to level-adaptive sound masking for two to three months. The study consists of two subjective measurements, prior- and post-intervention, using survey questions on coping strategies, noise distraction, and ten mental health indicators (short-and long-term consequences). The increase in background noise level (at company 1 from 28.7dB(A) to 41.9dB(A) and at company 2 from 32.4dB(A) to42.6dB(A)) at both organizations significantly reduced intelligible speech distraction. Short-term mental health aspects were rated more positively, and level-adaptive sound masking also reduced the frequency with which people put on radio or headphones to cope with noise

Car Allocation between Household Heads in Car Deficient Households: A Decision Model

This paper considers car allocation choice behaviour in car-deficient households explicitly in the context of an activity-scheduling process, focusing on work activities. A decision tree induction method is applied to derive a decision tree for the car allocation decision in automobile deficient households using a large travel-and-activity diary data set recently collected in the Netherlands. The results show a satisfactory improvement in goodness of fit of the decision tree model compared to a null model. Overall, the probability of males getting the car for work is considerably higher than that of female in many condition settings. However, activity schedule, spatial and socio-economic variables appear to have an influence as well. An analysis of impacts of condition variables on car allocation decisions reveals that socio-economic variables have only a limited impact, whereas attributes of the transportation and land-use system have a relatively big impact. The propensity of men driving a car to the work place is higher than that of women. However, the relative accessibility of the work location by bike compared to car appears to have a relatively large influence on who gets the car for work. Household income and presence of children also appear to have significant effects

Grootschalige evaluatie van de effecten van verduurzaming:inzicht in de verschillen tussen de bewoners en hun gedrag

Woningcorporaties moeten meer dan een miljoen woningen energiezuinig en duurzaam ma­ken. Correcte informatie op maat over de effecten van renovaties voor de huurders is hierbij van groot belang. We voerden een grootschalige evaluatie uit van isolatie-upgrades in de so­ciale huursector en vonden grote verschillen in de effecten tussen de huurderssegmenten. We laten zien hoe deze inzichten worden vertaald in betere communicatie met de huurders en een interactieve digitale optimalisatietool om renovaties te prioriteren

How do urban parks, neighborhood open spaces, and private gardens relate to individuals’ subjective well-being:Results of a structural equation model

As urban areas become more densely populated worldwide, the allocation of limited urban green infrastructure to promote well-being among users is becoming increasingly challenging. This study aims to understand the relationships of three types of urban green infrastructure (urban parks, neighborhood green open spaces and private gardens) with subjective well-being (SWB). We construct a structural equation model to examine these relationships in an integrated fashion. We consider both direct and indirect effects of green spaces on SWB. Data were collected through an online questionnaire involving a sample of 322 individuals in the Netherlands. Results indicate that the direct relationship between neighborhood green satisfaction and SWB is positive and stronger than the relationship between satisfaction with urban parks and SWB. Private garden size has an indirect positive effect on SWB mediated by neighborhood green satisfaction. Interestingly, an individual with higher satisfaction with green tends to have higher SWB independently of the frequency of using the green space. Overall, our method and results bring new insights to optimize urban green space planning to enhance users’ SWB.</p

Online co-creatie met de huurders:methode voor vroege participatie en draagvlakmeting

Nederlandse woningcorporaties moeten meer dan een miljoen woningen verduurzamen. De duur­zaamheidsrenovaties bieden financiele voordelen en meer comfort aan huurders, toch is het door de wet vereiste draagvlak van 70% onder bewoners niet altijd vanzelfsprekend. Bewonersparticipatie vroeg in het beleidsproces is wenselijk om het draagvlak te versterken. TU Eindhoven en woning­corporatie Woonbedrijf hebben hiervoor web-gebaseerde co-creatie- en participatie-instrumenten ontwikkeld, die voortbouwen op gedragswetenschappelijke modellen. De instrumenten helpen ver­duurzamingspakketten te ontwerpen die aansluiten op de beleving, voorkeuren en behoeften van de huurders