The role of privacy design in office environments: Implications for stress level, spatial perception, and work performance using Hybrid immersive Virtual Environment

Abstract

As office environments have become the primary workplace for most people, it is essential to design those spaces that can mitigate stress, promote positive spatial perception, and improve work performance. However, previous research has often relied on subjective measures and lacked rigorous control of extraneous variables, resulting in limited and theoretically weak evidence regarding specific office privacy design elements. This study aims to address these gaps by objectively and quantitatively evaluating the impact of office privacy design on workers’ stress levels, spatial perception, and work performance. A randomized crossover experiment involving 30 participants was conducted in a Hybrid immersive Virtual Environment (HiVE), where each participant experienced four dynamic office scenarios varying two privacy factors: partitions and views outside window. Multimodal outcomes were assessed, including physiological and psychological stress indices, a spatial perception questionnaire, and three cognitive tests targeting memory, cognitive control, and sustained attention and reaction. The results indicate that partitions and unexposed views each play a distinct role in office environments. Physiological stress was significantly reduced by either partitions or unexposed views independently, while psychological stress decreased significantly by 18.1% only when both features were present. Spatial perception and overall work performance were maximized with the combined privacy features, with spatial perception increasing by 73.4% and work performance improving by 13.8%–25.4% across tasks; both effects were statistically significant. Furthermore, views outside the window had a stronger effect on cognitive control, whereas partitions led to greater improvements in sustained attention and reaction. These findings highlight the importance of complementary privacy strategies and provide actionable, occupant-centered guidance for evidence-based office design.