Effects of Wall Color and Awakening Fragrance on Workers Using VDTs

Abstract

The effect of color and fragrance on workers using Visual Display Terminals (VDTs) has been investigated. In particular, the effect of the wall color and of an “awakening” fragrance on worker contraction and mental stability were measured experimentally. The evaluation indices were obtained by measuring the productivity (working efficiency and working quality) of ten subjects performing tasks on VDTs, by determining the subjects' mental activities (stability) recorded using an electroencephalograph (EEG), by observing the survey of subjective symptoms and by measuring their eye fatigue.
Three significant results were obtained.(1) Of the four colors tested, “green” produced the highest levels of concentration on work and mental stability.(2) When an awakening fragrance with 20% density was sprayed in the test area, productivity increased 20% and workload decreased.(3) When the walls were green and fragrance was sprayed, productivity increased 30%.