White- and blue- collar workers' responses towards underground workspaces

Abstract

Modern technologies have enabled the development of high quality work environments in underground spaces (UGS).Yet, the fundamental issue of whether UGS are suitable for people intensive functions, such as office or manual work, is largely not well understood. Here, we examine whether full-time white collar (office [WCW]) and blue collar (mostly manual [BCW]) workers of UGS have different responses to critical organizational variables when compared to similar workers of aboveground spaces (AGS). Location (underground vs. aboveground) affected neither job satisfaction (overall) nor satisfaction with physical environment (overall, lighting, air quality, temperature, humidity, noise or surrounding greenery). BCW, regardless of location, reported lower satisfaction with temperature, humidity and noise but scored higher in overall job satisfaction. BCW perceived the UGS as more safe and calm; moreover, perceived confinement decreased with age, suggesting that older (or more experienced) workers are less negatively oriented towards working in UGS. These results suggest that assigning UGS to people-intensive functions (manual or office) might be a viable opportunity.