Office Design’s Influence on Employees’ Stress Levels

This is an explorative study on the office design’s relation to employees’ stress levels and the architectural and functional features of the different office types, which are hypothesized to influence the employees’ stress level. The main questions at issue: 1) Are there differences in stress levels between employees in different office types, 2) If so, can these be explained by the features of the office types? and 3) Are there gender-related differences in which office types are perceived as stressful or not? The results are discussed in a holistic context and also how to apply knowledge about employees’ psychological and physical health into the design process.

keywords: office design, stress level, gender, employees, office type, architectural features, functional features