Associations between indoor environmental conditions and divergent creative thinking scores in the CogFx global buildings study

Abstract

Few studies have examined associations between indoor conditions and creativity, despite its importance to knowledge work. Accordingly, we investigate associations between indoor air and thermal conditions and divergent creative thinking scores among 86 young adult knowledge workers in office buildings across four countries over approximately six months. Indoor environmental monitors at participant workstations provided measurements of indoor carbon dioxide and fine particulate matter concentrations, temperature, and relative humidity. Hourly averages of these environmental parameters were paired with participant responses to the Alternative Uses Test, a validated assessment of divergent creative thinking, for incorporation into mixed effects statistical models. The models show statistically significant evidence that higher indoor carbon dioxide concentrations, altered by ventilation and occupancy, are associated with lower divergent creative thinking scores. A 100-ppm increase in CO2 is associated with a 3 % (95 % CI: 0–5 %), 4 % (95 % CI: 1–6 %), and 11 % (95 % CI: 5–16 %) negative difference in the expected fluency, flexibility, and originality count scores, respectively; and an 11 % decrease (95 % CI: 5–16 %) in the expected elaboration score. There is suggestive evidence of lower divergent creative thinking scores with higher fine particulate matter concentrations; however, concentrations and sensor accuracy were low and limit these findings. The thermal estimates suggest a temperature range of roughly 22–26 ◦C to be associated with higher divergent creative thinking scores. Overall, this study suggests that maintaining temperatures within a normative range and focusing on ventilation, to lower concentrations of carbon dioxide and unmeasured but correlated pollutants, can help promote creative thinking in working environments.