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1.0 Introduction.

This study is to assass the impact of the workplace environment on employees productivity in UgandaRevenue Authority (URA). Workplace environment is conceived in this study while employees productivityis the dependent variable. This chapter will present the background to the study the problem statement the

purpose or general ob!ectives of the study the ob!ectives of the study the research "uestions the hypothesesthe scope of the study the significance !ustification and operational definitation of the terma and concepts.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

#or any organi$ation if employees are considered assets then their utili$ation in terms of better productivity

and enhanced performance are the main focus of all managerial activities.

The performance of a corporate organi$ation which determines its survival and growth depends to a large

e%tent on the productivity of its workforce. &n fact the wealth of a nation as well as socioeconomic well

being of its people depends on the effectiveness and efficiency of its various sub'components. abour is

generally regarded as the most dynamic of all the factors that are employed for the creation of wealth having

the potential to energise and serve as catalyst to the other resources (esufu *+++). ,roductivity is thus of

fundamental importance to the individual worker of whatever status to the organi$ation whether commercial

or not and to the national economy at large and accordingly therefore to the upliftment of the welfare of the

citi$en and the -------------..

Workforce makes critical difference between success and failure. The effectiveness with which

organi$ations manage develop motivate involve and engage the willing contribution of the employees will

enable them to capitali$e on their e%pertise most efficiently. There is little research demonstrating the causal

links between people management and business performance. ne of the fundamental human re"uirements

is working environment that allow people to perform their work optimally under comfortable condition

(Roelofsen *++*).

According to /undstrom (0112) (as cited in 3ameed and Am!ad *++1) ma!ority of people spend 4+5 oftheir lives within indoor environments which greatly influence their mental status actions abilities and

performance. (6arnevale 011* 6lements'6roome 0117) (as cited in 3ameed and Am!ad *++1) highlighted

that better outcomes and increased productivity can achieved through better workplace environment.

rgani$ational survival in highly turbulent environment has become the ma!or concern of organi$ations

today. 8lobali$ation and increased use of technology has brought tremendous change and created new

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demands for business world. The strategic intention of organi$ations today is to achieve innovation at

lightning speed and want people to work better smarter and faster. The war for talent is now more

competitive than ever before. Reali$ing the current challenges of business environment and to make survival

possible organi$ations have started paying more emphasis on managing the performance of their employees

fulfilling their comfort needs by providing them an effective workplace environment that also helping them

to attract and retain the talent.

&t is the "uality of the employee9s workplace environment that most impacts on the level of employee9s

motivation and subse"uent performance. 3ow well they engage with the organi$ation especially with their

immediate environment influences to a great e%tent their error rate level of innovation and collaboration

with other employees absenteeism and ultimately how long they stay in the !ob.

&f an organi$ation provides its employees with better working conditions and most conducive working

environment they can perform e%ceptionally well and companies can capitali$e on their enhanced

productivity in the shape of cost reduction which will ultimately contribute towards rich profits. The

relationship between employee attitudes and company performance as suggest by ,atterson et al., (0117) is

highly correlated. They suggest that managers of organi$ations who are eager to promote productivity and

profitability should pay close attention to the attitudes of their employees in order to make them more

positive.

:anagement9s new challenge is to form an environment that attracts retain and motivate its workforce. Theresponsibility lies with managers and supervisors at all levels of the organi$ation. ;usinesses must stepoutside their time'honored roles and comfort $ones to look at new ways of working. They have to create aworking environment where people en!oy what they do feel like they have a purpose have pride in whatthey do and can reach their potential.

The work environment affects employee morale productivity and engagement' both positively andnegatively. &t is not !ust a twist of fate that new programs addressing lifestyle changes work life balancehealth and fitness previously that were not considered key benefits are now primary considerations of

potential employees and common practices among the most admired companies.

Today9s work environment is different diverse and constantly changing. The typical employer

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the level of employee9s motivation and subse"uent performance. 3ow well employees engage with theorgani$ation especially with their immediate environment influences to a great e%tent their error rate levelof uni"ueness and collaboration with other employees absenteeism and ultimately how long they stay in the

!ob. 6omfortable office design motivates the employees and increases their performance to a large =%tent.

1.2 STATEMENT OF ROB!EM.

The work place environment in a ma!ority of industry is unsafe and unhealthy. These includes poorly

designed workstations unsuitable furniture lack of ventilation inappropriate lighting e%cessive noise

insufficient safety measures in fire emergencies and lack of personal protective e"uipment. ,eople working

in such environment are prone to occupational disease and it impacts on employee9s performance. Thus

productivity is decreased due to the workplace environment. &t is a wide industrial area where the employees

are facing a serious problem in their work place like environmental and physical factors. /o it is difficult to

provide facilities to increase their performance level.

Therefore :anagement9s new challenge is to build a work environment that attracts retain and motivate itsemployees. &t takes an entirely different approach than it did !ust a few years ago to keep employees satisfiedtoday. :any workplace factors influence employee9s productivity. As discussed by 3aynes (*++>)workplace environment affect employee9s performance at the workplace. Research has shown that work

environment is having a great impact on the performance and attitude of employees and this research will beto ascertain whether employees in our organi$ations are facing the same problem.

&t is important for the employer to know how its work environment impacts greatly on the employee9s levelof motivation and performance. A well designed office signals the values and ob!ectives of the company andthe use of design in office interior communicates a company9s values and identity. ffice design thereforeshould be one of the factors in affecting employee9s productivity.

=mployee9s health and morale are often interrelated when it comes to productivity in the work environment.&t9s therefore important to find out if employee9s health and comfort level can directly or indirectly disturbtheir work performance or productivity.

1." RESEARCH OB#ECTI$ES OF THE STUDY

1.".1 G%n%r&' O()%cti*%.

The main ob!ective of this study is to assess the impact of workplace environment on employee9sperformance URA.

T+% ,-%ciic o()%cti*%, &r%/

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To determine how the physical workplace environmental components impacts on employee

productivity.

To identify measures and make appropriate recommendations to improve on the physical workplace

conditions for better productivity.

To ascertain the relationship between workplace =nvironmental component and =mployees9

productivity.

1. RESEARCH UESTIONS

?

What are the impacts of the physical workplace environmental components on employee9s

productivity @

Which measures can be put in place to improve the physical workplace conditions of employees for

better productivity@

What is the relationship between the workplace =nvironmental components and employees9

productivity @

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1. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study at its completion should or will benefit different groups of people i.e. the manageremployees and the organi$ation as a whole. &n the long run it will help students of this universityother sister universities and students who seek to attain further education.

&t is anticipated that the findings of the study will pave way for the authorities of differentorgani$ations to accept the variable that affects employee9s work environment and their performanceat the organi$ation. /uch an acceptance could be utili$ed to improve on the working conditions ofemployee9s.

&t is also envisaged that the findings of this research will enable the organi$ation to know how toaddress issues concerning the employees and its work environment as it crops up and also to consideroffice design as an important factor in increasing employee9s productivity.

#inally the study is hoped to set a stage and basis for a comprehensive study on the issue. &t willtherefore serve as a reference material for future researches in this area. Also the results will throwmore light on factors affecting employee9s performance as far as their environments are concerned. &twill serve as a blue print for determining actually the work environment and the impact it has onemployee9s performance.

1.3 SCOE OF THE STUDY

i. /ub!ect scope The proposal research study primarily focuses on the physical component ofthe workplace environment factors affecting employees productivity in URA. There are

two types of components of workplace that affects productivity i.e. the physical and thebehavioural components.

ii. 8eographical scope The study will be focused on managers and employees of URA branchoffice in Bakawa.

iii. Time scope the study will cover the URA =mployees and managers operations for thebranch for five years period (*++>'*+0?).

0.7 ,=RAT&BA C=#&B&T&B/The following terms and variables are used in the study and have been operationalised as given below

,roductivity is that which people can produce with the least effort.

,roductivity is a ratio to measure how well an organi$ation (or individual industry country) convertsinput resources (labor materials machines etc) into goods and services.

:ali (017>) sees productivity as Dthe measure of how resources are brought together in organi$ations

and utili$ed for accomplishing a set of results. ,roductivity is reaching the highest level of

performance with least e%penditure of resources. The term employee productivity is commonly used to

refer to the volume of goods and services produced or rendered per employee within some specific

unit of time (year month week day or hour).

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Work environment can be defined as circumstances influences stresses and competitive culturaldemographic economic natural political regulatory and technological factors (called environmentalfactors) that effect the survival operations and growth of an organi$ation.

ffice Cesign.The arrangement of workspace so that work can be performed in the most efficient way.

Accordingly Eohun (011*) defines work environment as Dan entiretyF which comprises the totalityof forces actions and other influential factors that are currently and or potentially contending with the

employee9s activities and performance. Work environment is the sum of the interrelationship that

e%ists within the employees and between the employees and the environment in which the employees

work. ;renner (*++2) was of the opinion that Dthe ability to share knowledge throughout organi$ations

depends on how the work environment is designed to enable organi$ations to utili$e work environment

as if it were an asset. This helps organi$ations to improve effectiveness and allow employees to benefit

from collective knowledgeF. &n addition ;renner (*++2) argued that work environment designed to

suit employee9s satisfaction and free flow of e%change of ideas is a better medium of motivatingemployees towards higher productivity. Work environment when appropriately designed motivates

employees toward higher productivity.

1.4 A,,u&5-tion.

A widely accepted assumption is that better workplace environment produces better results. :ostly the

office is designed with due importance to the nature of !ob and the individuals that are going to work

in that office. The performance of an employee is measured actually by the output that the individual

produces and it is related to productivity. At corporate level productivity is affected by many factors

such as employees technology and ob!ectives of the organi$ation. &t is also dependent on the physical

environment and its affect on health and employees9 performance.

!IMITATIONS OF THE STUDY.

ne of the pro!ected limitations to the study will be that some respondents might be unwilling todisclose the e%act reasons for failing to carry out both proactive and reactive maintenance policies. &naddition time constraint will be another problem.

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CHATER T6O.

!ITERATURE RE$IE6.

2.0 Introduction.

This chapter focuses on theoretical framework conceptual framework and the related literatures.

This chapter deals with the literature related to the topic of study which is the review of the issues that

help in the understanding of the research problem. 3ence it9s giving an account of what has been

published on workplace envvironment and it9s impact on employees productivity by credited scholars

and researchers.

2.1 T+%or%tic&' r&5%7or8.

What theoretical models e%ist to help guide current research on the work environment towards a better

understanding of its effects on productivity@ A close look at three e%isting models suggests their usefulness

and viability for modeling employees9 productivity and positive and negative outcomes. #urther refinements

for advancing a useful theoretical framework can then be outlined.

2.1.1 U,%r S&ti,&ction Mod%'

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The most prevalent theoretical model which has guided G e%plicitly or not G the ma!ority of studies of

environmental effects on productivity to date can be characteri$ed as the User /atisfaction model (Hischer

01>4). &t is easily recogni$ed by its use of surveys to "uestion users on whether or not they Ilike9 or

Idislike9 one or another environmental feature whether they are Isatisfied9 or Idissatisfied9 with their

workspace and if they have a preference for an e%isting or future environmental feature. As most interior

office configurations resemble each other workersJ lists of likes and dislikes tend to be predictable and yet

studies continue to report with genuine surprise that occupants dislike high noise levels lack of natural light

shortage of parking spots slow elevators and so on. Widespread use of this approach has given us an

e%haustive knowledge of workers preferences without yielding much concrete information about worker

productivity. :oreover carefully'designed workspaces all over the globe have been submitted to

Ievaluation9 characterised by whether or not users Ilike9 them G a poor and unsupported criterion often

causing unnecessary condemnation of a well'intentioned office design. This is particularly evident in

situations where workers have moved into new and unfamiliar workspace as their likes and dislikes

inevitably relate to the known and familiar and have little to do with whether or not the new

environment works.

2.1.2 E5-'o9%% Moti*&tion Mod%'

An important but not widely'studied theoretical model was outlined early on in the *+th century by

sociologist #rederick 3er$berg (01KK). 3er$berg was not concerned only with the effects of

environmental factors on behavior but he also elaborated on a range of influences on workers9

motivation. Among his categories of influence the physical environment was identified as having a

unidirectional effect on worker motivationL that is to say when the physical setting was appropriate to the

task and problem'free workers9 motivation was not affected. 3owever when the physical setting was

adverse and slowed down work it had a Idemotivational9 influence on workers. Thus 3ert$berg concluded

that it was important to maintain a comfortable safe supportive physical environment to help workers

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stay motivated in other words productive. Recent studies have looked at personality characteristics employee

morale and availability of choice (:c6usker *++*) in terms of changing workspace design thus drawing

on 3er$berg9s original model incorporating the psychosocial aspects (which he calls motivation) into

definitions and outcome measures of worker productivity.

2.1." Ad&-t&tion &nd Str%,, Mod%'

The third theoretical model has been evolving since the 017+9s and can be called the behavioral

adaptation7). The theory that adverse environmental conditions cause

stress at the point at which users are not able to adapt or can only adapt with difficulty has its origins in

psychological studies of several decades ago. They provide an important formulation of the long'term rela'

tionship between people and their environment. &n the conte%t of worker productivity environmental

adaptation behaviour is a useful (positive) outcome measure as is evidence of stress (negative) when

adaptation behavior fails. Thus the theory states that an effective and supportive environmental design does

not mean users make no adaptation to the environment but keeps the need for such behavior within

comfortable boundaries.

2.2 Conc%-tu&' r&5%7or8.

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!E$E! OF

DISTRACTIO

OFFICE

!AYOU T

I$ :1; I$ :2;

D$

/ource

2.".1 6ORK EN$IRONMENTA! FACTORS AFFECTING EM!OYEESRODUCTI$ITY.

*.?.0 Relationship between ffice Cesign and ,roductivityver the years many organi$ations have been trying new designs and techni"ues to constructoffice buildings which can increase productivity and attract more employees. :any authorshave noted that the physical layout of the workspace along with efficient management

processes is playing a ma!or role in boosting employees9 productivity and improvingorgani$ational performance (U$ee 0111L eaman and ;ordass 011?L Williams et al. 01>4).

*.?.* Work =nvironment and 6ompetency

#urnitureL ffice furniture comprises of desks chairs the filing system shelves

drawers

10

Social interaction, work interaction, creative

physical environment, overall atmosphere,

position relative to colleagues, position

relative to equipment, overall office layout

Ventilation, heating, natural lighting,

artificial lighting, dcor, cleanliness,

overall comfort, physical security.

LVL !"

#$%&'(%#!$

(!)"!&%

LVL

*ehavioral

(omponent

s of

nvironmen

+hysical

(omponents

of

nvironmentork output of

the mployees

LVL !"

-#S%'(%#!$

#nterruptions crowding, noise#nformal meeting areas, formal meeting

areas, quiet areas, privacy, personal storage,

general storage, work areadesk and

!""#(

L'/!%

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etc. All these components have a specific role to play in the proper functioning of anyoffice and the productivity and the efficiency of the employees. ffice furniture helps theorgani$ation tremendously in increasing its productivity and at the same time taking careof the employeesJ health.

ighting /ystemL Up until recently the only purpose of indoor lighting was to aid with

visually directed tasks when there wasnJt enough e%ternal light. ;ut a recent discoveryhas shown that light has an impact beyond merely helping us see. Workers who usecomputer display terminals typically prefer relatively low lighting levels to minimi$eglare and reflections on their display screens. n the other hand workers who read writeand draw on paper typically prefer higher lighting levels so they can see small letters andfine details. lder workers and others with weak vision also need higher lighting levels.

8iving workers control over lighting has been found to result in energy savings andincreased workplace satisfaction.

Boise). /tudies conducted on

plants lighting indoors air temperature and even indirectly humidity all found to have an

effect on productivity. (#!eld and ;onnevie *++*L Abdou *++7L :ills et al. *++7L

6ushman n.d.L Tarran et alL *++7).

&t is therefore important to give attention to organisationJs physical factors in working

environments because improving these factors may assist in improving productivity. &t is also

important to study the factors that hinder productivity so that organisations may have the

knowledge to better understand the work environment they are providing for their staff and how to

better it. /ome of these variables are elaborated on below.

=rgonomics is defined as Nthe understanding of how the interior environment interacts with the

dimension and physical abilities of human beings is the field of human factors and ergonomics.N

(:ontgomery*++2). &t is further stated that it is the interactions with the design of the space and the

11

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individuals that inhabit this space. /cheidert (01>4) in :ontgomery (*++2) states that using a

computer puts the body in abnormal position.

&t is stated that 1+5 of city inhabitants spend their time indoors (6arvallo et al.L 0117L in #!eld

and ;onnevieJs paperL *++*). #or the greater part of the workforce the ma!ority of this time could

be spent in office spaces. &t is therefore of vital importance to study the effects of indoors air on

employees. Bumerous papers have shown that indoor air has more pollution than outdoor air

(;rown 0117L /mith 0117L =A *++? in Tarran et alL *++7). &ndoor air pollution tends to be higher

because of detergents printers air fresheners and office e"uipment which cause indoor air

pollution.

ther studies have shown that plants reduce the amount of pollution in the air (Tarran et alL

*++7). Researchers conducted studies on the effects of plants and indoor air "uality. (;urchett

et al. *++4L Wood et al. *++KL in Tarran et al paper *++7). Three offices with three different

planting systems were used. The study set out to show whether plants could reduce pollution

indoors. Cangerous organic compounds were added into test chambers containing plants. &t was

found that plants were able to remove volatile organic compounds and that soil microorganisms

were the main agents in removing these harmful compounds. The entire plant with all its

microorganisms can be used Nas an air filtering systemN (#!eld and ;onnevie *++*). #urther

studies will have to be conducted on the effects of artificial plants. Although they do not have

the ability to cleanse the indoor air they may enhance the aesthetics of the office (work

environment). The effects this will have on productivity and creativity will have to be studied

further.

N&ndoor temperature is one of the fundamental characteristics of the indoor

environment.N(/eppOnenL #isk William M ei *++K). There have been contradicting statements

about the optimum comfort temperature for humans. ;ennett (0177) in AbdouJs (*++7) paper

states that the optimum temperature for a comfortable environment is twenty five degrees

6elsius. /eppOnenL #isk William M ei (*++K) disputes this saying that the optimum

temperature for productivity is about twenty two degrees 6elsius. ;oth sources agree that

incorrect temperature decreases productivity and both suggest that temperature is an important

factor to consider when analysing work environments. A Cutch study showed that

absenteeism could be reduced by thirty four percent when employees were able to control

their own temperature in their environments. (Abdou *++7) &t is therefore of importance to

find the impact of an individual employee temperature re"uirements on the productivity of

other their co'workers.

3umidity

1

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Abdou (*++7) states that it is of importance to study the effects of humidity on absenteeism.

This section combines how plants affect relative humidity and also the effects of humidity on

productivity. An article on the benefits of plants #!eld M ;onnevie (*++*) and AbdouJs

(*++7) !ournal provide reasons as to why plants are able to indirectly improve productivity by

increasing the amount of humidity in the air. The article points out that the ideal humidity for

humans is ?+ G K+ percent and that dry air may cause staff to be more susceptible to illness

therefore reducing productivity. (Worcestershire (n.d.) ;enefits of plants in the office

http

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smoothness of communication between co'workers (AmerM M ;engtsson *++7). According

to the ma!ority of the literature noise is said to be the most disruptive aspect of open plan

offices (AmerM M ;engtsson *++7L Bavai M Heitch *++?). &t becomes evident that the

main purpose of having open plan offices is communication and this is the one element that is

also seen as the most disruptive. Bavai M Heitch (*++?) suggest other disadvantages in having

an open plan officeL the lack of privacy distractions and interruptions from other employees

rise in work environment temperature and the spreading of contaminates. According to Bavai

M Heitch (*++?) problems tend to be worse in open plan offices because of the layout. &t is

further suggested that sound is able to move more freely because of the lack of barriers.

/ound partitioning and ceilings that absorb noise may help ease the problem (/undtom 01>K

in Bavai M Heitch *++?). ,lants are also able to absorb noise (Worcestershire n.d.) plants

could therefore be an option in alleviating the noise in open plan offices.

noise

NBoise is defined as a physiological concept involving unwanted sound perceived by the

listener as being unpleasant bothersome distracting or physiologically harmful.N (6ohen M

WeinsteinL 01>* in Bavai M Heitch *++?). &rregular sound such as speech is said to be the

most bothersome. The hum of a computer is less stressful because it is a constant sound (Bavai

M Heitch *++?). 8lass et al. (0170) in Bavai M Heitch (*++?) suggest that sound that is

controlled by the individual is also seen as less stressful. Therefore conversations from co'

workers and music are seen as more stressful because they are uncontrollable sounds (Bavai M

Heitch *++?). Boise stemmed from communication is not the only cause of noise on office

environments. =%ternal noise such as traffic and other e%ternal noises such as office e"uipment

may also cause discomfort in office environments. A study conducted by ;itner 011* in

AmerM M ;engtsson (*++7) found that vacuuming was problematic to employees it was

further suggested that vacuuming be done during times when employees were out of the

office. /tone M uchettic (01>4) in AmerM M ;engtsson (*++7) suggested that "uiet $ones be

implemented into offices. #or e%ample a "uiet corner where employees will be able to read

"uietly the purpose of these areas will be for employees to escape the office noise and

allow themselves to rela% for a period of time.

ighting system