This study addressed the relationship between the design of the office environment and aging workers in a collaborative office that is shared by younger employees. In both developed and developing countries, workers are staying in employed positions well beyond the traditional retirement age and changing the makeup of the workforce. With an increased aging population and many developed nations displaying negative birth rates, a growing gap between adults able to work and youth entering the workplace is forcing employers to find new ways bridge this fissure. Many industries have begun hiring employees beyond the traditional working age in order to stay competitive and to fill hiring gaps; however, with this shift in the makeup of the workforce, there has yet to be a shift in how office spaces are designed. The emphasis of this study is the manner in which office spaces are currently designed and how they can be redesigned to assist older workers within the office environment. The objective of this study was to better understand and implement in a theoretical design, elements that assist older adults within an office environment selected for this project, located in Chicago, Illinois. The goal of this study is to create criteria for designing an office space that accommodates older workers who share an office space with younger employees. This developed criteria will then be demonstrated in a theoretical design of a space that is used by these workers. In order to develop design criteria for redesigning this office, the researcher reviewed published studies and materials focusing upon theories of current office design, ergonomics, universal design, lighting, and job accommodation. Focus group interviews with employees and customers within the target age range of 55 and older were then conducted after an interview with the head of the Human Resource division was completed. Twelve hours of onsite observations were also conducted with photographs used to document the current design and use of the office. The result of the research was a design that met criteria developed from published literature and testimonials from employees who use the office space. The design met these criteria through a solution that focused on: how employees were grouped within the space; creating a custom and enjoyable working environment; utilizing a combination of exterior views and sunlight in the office; the combination of various types of artificial lighting sources and fixtures; and the selection of furniture and materials to accommodate older workers. This study contributed new information to the subject of aging and office environments by implementing the published theories into a specific application that is designed for older workers but flexible enough to be used by their younger colleagues. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Interior Design in Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts. / Spring Semester, 2010. / March 19, 2010. / Aging Workforce, Ergonomics, Job Accommodations, Retirement, Universal Design, Workplace Design / Includes bibliographical references. / Tasuku Ohazama, Professor Directing Thesis; Lisa K. Waxman, Committee Member; Jill Pable, Committee Member; Peter Munton, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_175710 |
| Contributors | Albert, Taneshia S. West (authoraut), Ohazama, Tasuku (professor directing thesis), Waxman, Lisa K. (committee member), Pable, Jill (committee member), Munton, Peter (committee member), Department of Interior Design (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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