Describe what psychologists have found out about the adverse effects of the physical environment and temporal conditions at work. Psychologists have done a lot of research into adverse effects of working conditions. It is an area of particular interest for employers as a lot of money is lost each year as a result of these effects. Noise can be a major cause of stress in the work place. Noise is define as any unwanted sound. Cohen et al (1980) carried out a natural experiment into the effects of noise in a school on a busy flight path in Los Angeles- he compared these findings to 3 other schools not directly on flights paths.
He found using physiological and behavioural measures that the flight path children were most stressed and irritable, more lessons were cancelled and the concentration and motivation were affected. The source of the noise can also have an effect on the levels of stress that are caused. Nemececk (1973) did a survey on noise in the workplace. He found that 46% of workers said the most annoying source of noise was from conversation of others. 26% disliked the sound of office machinery, 19% disliked noise from telephones. Noise has also been correlated to worker dissatisfaction and accidents (Cohen 1981).
Psychologists have done some research into lighting to try to find the best levels of lighting. Mayo et al conducted a natural experiment to try to suggest the best level of lighting for worker productivity. He wanted to see how physical aspects of the work environment would effect productivity. He found that the wrong levels of lighting can cause visual fatigue caused by glare. Work has also been conducted into the use of VDU screens and the effects of continually working with the glare from them. Often eye strain and visual fatigue results. It is due to the large amounts of time focusing on small illuminated characters. (Dainoff et al 1981)
Temperature is another condition that must be monitored by employers. Temperature can have a detrimental effect on both manual and cognitive performances (Kobrick and Fine 1983). A study by Baddeley on divers in 1975, showed that low temperatures affects the performance of tasks such as thinking and mental reasoning. Sanders and McCormick found that in general hot humid conditions tend to increase the demands of physical work, causing excessive fatigue and reducing output, Prolonged exposure to heat can in extreme cases lead to serious injuries and even death. There is also evidence to show that prolonged periods of exposure to less extreme temperatures may effect task performance adversely (Enander 1984)
The use of space in an office situation can also have effect on the productivity of workers. Joiner 1971 states that desks give status but also act as barrier. Sundstrom 1980 found that open plan offices can cause problem regarding privacy which affect satisfaction at work. Oldhan 1987 carried out a correlation study on workplace characteristics and job satisfaction. He found a link between darkness, overcrowding and fewer partitions and high staff turn over and dissatisfaction.
The times at which employees work can also have a negative effect on their productivity. Shift work- scheduling in which groups of employees alternate working times can cause disruption to natural sleep patterns, this can lead to errors and stress. There has also been found a high job dissatisfaction, and it takes time to become accustomed to a new schedule. A compressed working week in which the numbers of working days are decreased means that the hours per day are increased, this means it is difficult to find child care. Also because of the longer hours employees are more prone to fatigue causing decreased productivity. Flexi- time in which workers are committed to a certain number of hours per week means they could become in debt in the number of hours worked.
Evaluate what psychologists have found out about the adverse effects of the physical environment and temporal conditions at work. How reliable the results of a study are depends on how the data is collected and analysed. Cohen used a natural experiment to collected his data. This means that the independent variable is changed by natural occurrence, and the researcher just records the effect on the dependant variable. There is great ecological validity since the natural change is not caused by the experimenter, but occurs naturally.
There very bias from sampling or demand characteristics, although this is only true if the subjects are unaware of the observation or the aim of the study. It is hard to infer cause and effect due to little control over the extraneous variables and no direct manipulation of the independent variable. It is also virtually impossible to replicate exactly. Also there is a lot of potential for bias if the subjects are aware they are being studied. There are also ethical problems regarding deception-because children were used and invasion of privacy.
Baddely’s field experiment showing divers in cold conditions has greater ecological validity than a laboratory experiment. There is also less bias from sampling and demand characteristics. There is however more bias likely from extraneous variables, due to greater difficulties of controlling all aspects of the experiment. It is harder to replicate, and more difficult to record data.
Nemececk’s correlation surveys gives a precise information on the degree of relationship between variables it is also available in the form of he correlation coefficient. It can readily quantify observational data. No manipulation of the behaviour in necessary. Strong significant correlations can suggest ideas for experimental studies to determine cause and effect, because no cause and effect can be inferred by simply looking at the correlations. The results must be plotted on a scatter gram to illustrate the true results.
The questionnaires by Beers into shift work collected large amounts of standardised data relatively quickly and conveniently. They are highly replicable and easy to score – unless open ended answers. Generally questionnaires lack flexibility, are based on self report data and are biased by motivational levels.