This article investigates the hypothesis that office type has an influence on workers' health status and job satisfaction and 469 employees in seven different types, defined by their unique setup of architectural and functional features, have rated their health status and job satisfaction. Multivariate regression models were used for analysis of these outcomes, with adjustment for age, gender, job rank, and line of business. Both health status and job satisfaction differed between the seven office types. Lowest health status was found in medium-sized and small open plan offices. Best health was among employees in cell offices and flex offices. Workers in these types of offices and in shared room offices also rated the highest job satisfaction. Lowest job satisfaction was in combi offices, followed by medium-sized open plan offices. The differences between employees could possibly be ascribed to variations in architectural and functional features of the office types.

The effect of office type on sickness absence among office employees was studied prospectively in 1852 employees working in (1) cell-offices; (2) shared-room offices; (3) small, (4) medium-sized and (5) large open-plan offices; (6) flex-offices and (7) combi-offices. Sick leaves were self-reported two years later as number of (a) short and (b) long (medically certified) sick leave spells as well as (c) total number of sick leave days. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used, with adjustment for background factors. A significant excess risk for sickness absence was found only in terms of short sick leave spells in the three open-plan offices. In the gender separate analysis, this remained for women, whereas men had a significantly increased risk in flex-offices. For long sick leave spells, a significantly higher risk was found among women in large open-plan offices and for total number of sick days among men in flex-offices. Practitioner Summary: A prospective study of the office environment's effect on employees is motivated by the high rates of sick leaves in the workforce. The results indicate differences between office types, depending on the number of people sharing workspace and the opportunity to exert personal control as influenced by the features that define the office types.

In this exploratory study, we investigated the relationship between office design and employee perception of its contribution to job satisfaction, comfort, and performance. The study includes 4,352 employees in seven different office designs. Associations between workspace satisfaction and perceived access to supportive facilities (ancillary spaces for concentrated work and for different meetings) were also investigated since these factors may be related to employees’ workspace satisfaction. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were performed separately for men and women with adjustments for age and education. Supplementary correlation analyses were performed between workspace satisfaction and perceived access to supportive facilities. Results showed differences between employees’ workspace satisfaction in studied office designs. Those with the lowest ratings of access to supportive facilities reported the lowest degree of satisfaction. The best results were found in cell-offices and the worst ones in hot-desking offices. Gender differences were also observed.