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Minimal noise, no one to argue with and the window opens: a good place to work (photo, copyright 2010 Claude Vedovini)

Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – It’s official: big offices are more likely to make workers take time off work, fall sick and in general suffer more misery than smaller office spaces.

A new study of Swiss offices shows that the larger the office space, the more complaints increase about the physical environment: surrounding noise from background conversations, telephones and office equipment; dry or stale air; temperature too high or too low or varying too much; inadequate lighting and draftiness.

Absenteeism and lower productivity are significantly higher in large offices than in smaller one, an additional cost burden for companies with large offices.

Workers in small offices say they are happier and more productive, giving higher marks for general work satisfaction, their ability to work without interruption and for the attractiveness of their jobs.

Some like it hot, some like it cold: the variable temperature, noise and light of the outdoor office (photo, copyright 2010 Claude Vedovini)

The study was carried out by the Swiss State Secretariat for Finance and the Lucerne School of Business technical studies and architecture department. It included 125 companies and 1,230 people aged 16 to 65, questioned between March and April 2009. Fifty-six percent of the people studied were men.

Symptoms of problems for workers in large offices were markedly higher than for people working in smaller spaces: itching, burning or irritated eyes, concentration problems, a sense of heaviness or fatigure and headaches. Productivity linked to these symptoms was lower in large offices and problems between individuals were higher, especially where noise generated by other workers is an issue.

Treated air, versus natural ventilation is a widespread complaint, whether the office is small or large.

The study concludes that companies need to take more care when planning work space, especially if large spaces are used, to reduce noise and take into consideration that type of work people are doing.