Abstract

The purpose of this review is to investigate the use of self-evaluation as a method for measuring the
productivity of office workers. The objective is to highlight issues associated with self-evaluation and
barriers to its insufficiency in capturing occupant productivity in its totality. The literature includes
referred journal and conference papers. A review of available literature was carried out on the subject of
perceptions studies and self-evaluation as well as occupant performance in the office environment.
Studies that employed the use of self-evaluation (questionnaires or interview) as the sole method of
measuring the effect of IEQ on productivity/performance were reviewed. The discussions carried out in
this paper show that self-evaluation is compromised by various issues that significantly affect the
validity of their results. As such, it is insufficient as a sole method for measuring occupant productivity
(cognitive performance) and the influence of IEQ on it. This review is carried out on available literature
on past studies. Empirical evidence is required to test the reliability of self -evaluation in measuring
productivity and the effect of factors such as IEQ on it. We demonstrated that self-evaluation methods
of measuring productivity were affected by various research related issues. They are insufficient and do
not accurately measure productivity. As such, it cannot be claimed that a comfortable IEQ results in a
productive occupant based on results from self-evaluation studies. If such claims are to be made, more
accurate methods of assessment are required. This paper provides a novel view on the reliability of self
–evaluation results on the effect of IEQ on productivity.