Benessere percepito nell’ambiente di lavoro: sviluppo di una scala multidimensionale in una prospettiva di ergonomia sociale

Abstract. Well-being has become a central concern in work and organizational psychology. Traditionally, work psychology literature has identified different levels of analysis of this construct, taking into consideration both the organizational and the socio-physical environment of workers. In particular, a variety of environmental factors emerged as key components in promoting – or reducing – satisfaction and well-being: noise, lighting quality, microclimatic conditions, view through the windows, space organization and control. Interestingly, the workers’ well-being was frequently considered as a subjective response to all of these environmental conditions, usually defined through objective measures, or manipulated in experimental studies. In this respect, a psychological analysis of how the environment is perceived by workers, and how perceptions can affect satisfaction and well-being is still needed. In this study we developed a multidimensional scale focusing on subjective perceptions, and referring to important environmental features influencing well-being in the workplace. The scale considers the workplace as a relationship of sub-places (personal desk, meeting rooms, areas for breaks, etc.) and facilities which can concur to promote or preclude well-being. The psychometric properties of the scale (number and reliability of factors), and the relationships between perceived environmental features and satisfaction were tested on a sample of 214 workers in different workplace typologies. Results outlined the presence of 6 dimensions of environmental quality, with a good internal consistency and a good predictive power on satisfaction in the workplace.