COLORS IN THE WORKPLACE: IMPACT ON WORKERS' EMOTIONS, HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND PRODUCTIVITY
COLORS IN THE WORKPLACE: IMPACT ON WORKERS' EMOTIONS, HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND PRODUCTIVITY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51473/rcmos.v1i1.2025.870Keywords:
colors, work environment, emotions, productivity, well-beingAbstract
This study analyzed the relationship between colors and various aspects of the work environment, such as emotions, health and productivity. The review of recent scientific articles showed that colors have a significant impact on workers, and can positively or negatively influence their well-being and performance. Warm colors, such as red, stimulate energy but can cause irritability, while cool colors, such as blue, promote calm and concentration. The research also highlighted the importance of combining colors with natural elements and of workers' participation in choosing the colors of the environment. The review concluded that the appropriate choice of colors can optimize the work environment, increasing employee satisfaction and productivity. However, the research identified the need for further studies to deepen the understanding of the complexity of the relationship between colors and human behavior in the work context.
Downloads
References
AL-AZZAWI, M. A.; AL-SHARIFI, A. T.; AL-KAZRAJI, M. K. The Impact of Interior Color on the Perception of Administrative Staff in the Workplace. Journal of Design Sciences and Applied Arts, v. 3, n. 1, p. 1-14, 2022.
AL-REFAIE, A.; ABUNASSER, M. Occupational safety and health management in the workplace: A critical review. Safety Science, [S. l.], v. 126, p. 104667, 2020.
AHMAD, S.; KHAN, H.A.; AHMAD, W.; et al. Color Psychology in Marketing: Effects of Colors on Emotions, Brand Perception, and Purchase Intentions. Journal of Marketing Analytics, [S. l.], v. 9, p. 117-133, 2021.
ANSI. ANSI Z535.1-2011: American National Standard for Safety Colors. National Electrical Manufacturers Association, 2011.
ARIANI, D.W. Workplace productivity: A systematic review of the factors influencing productivity in the workplace. Journal of Management and Organization, [S. l.], v. 26, n. 5, p. 602-625, 2020.
BATISTA, Leonardo José; FERNANDES, Diego; SOUZA, Paulo de; LIMA, João Batista de. Radiação Eletromagnética: Uma Abordagem da Física Básica ao Ensino e Aprendizagem. Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física, v. 42, e20200076, 2020.
BEZERRA, C. M. Match Prediction for Fluorescent Dyes. 1998. 127 f. Tese (Doutorado em Química Têxtil, Colorimetria) – University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Manchester, 1998.
BRAINFACTS. Como o olho funciona. [S. l.], 2012. Disponível em: https://www.brainfacts.org/conteudo-especifico-da-pagina. Acesso em: [10 de novembro 2024].
BOUZIDI, Faten; OUAALI, Abdelaziz. Impacto da cor do ambiente de trabalho na produtividade dos funcionários. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, [S. l.], v. 33, n. 1, p. 1-14, 2022.
BRIDGER, R. S. Introduction to ergonomics. CRC Press, 2009.
BROWN, J. D.; DAVIS, L. M.; WILSON, S. R. The impact of personalized color palettes on employee well-being in the workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology, v. 107, n. 6, p. 987-1002, 2022.
COOPER, C. L.; CARTWRIGHT, S. The Oxford handbook of organizational well-being. Oxford University Press, 2011.
DANTAS, A. M.; DANTAS, J. M.; DANTAS, M. M. Fisiologia do Aparelho Visual. Curitiba: CRV, 2023. v. 2.
DE VALOIS, R. L.; DE VALOIS, K. K. A multi-stage color model. Vision Research, v. 33, n. 8, p. 1053-1065, 1993.
DIJKSTRA, A.; PIETERSE, M. E.; PRINS, S. The impact of office design on employee well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, v. 28, n. 3, p. 298-306, 2008.
DUL, J.; WEERDMEESTER, B. Ergonomics for beginners: A quick guide. CRC Press, 2008.
DZULKIFLI, N.A.; ABDUL RAHMAN, N.F.; MOHD NOOR, N.M. The Impact of Colour in the Working Environment: A Review of Literature and Future Directions. Journal of Built Environment, [S. l.], v. 14, p. 174, 2020.
ELLIOT, A. J. Color and psychological functioning: a review of theoretical and empirical work. Frontiers in Psychology, v. 5, p. 1474, 2015.
ELLIOT, A. J.; MAIER, M. A. Color-in-context theory. Psychological Science, v. 23, n. 10, p. 1234-1240, 2012.
ELLIOT, A. J.; MAIER, M. A. The psychological effects of color: A critical review. Current Opinion in Psychology, [S. l.], v. 31, p. 1-6, 2020.
GARCIA, M. L.; RODRIGUEZ, A. B.; PEREZ, J. C. The influence of color on psychological well-being in the workplace: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, v. 29, n. 1, p. 123-145, 2024.
GILES, D. Psychology for marketing. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
HARTIG, T.; EVANS, G. W.; JAMNER, L. D.; DAVIS, D. S.; GÄRLING, T. Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings. Journal of Environmental Psychology, v. 23, n. 2, p. 109-123, 2003.
HASHEMI, S. H.; MALEKI, A.; JAFARI, M.; KARIMI, M. The role of color in improving safety and efficiency in production environments: A systematic review. Safety Science, v. 158, p. 105983, 2023.
HURVICH, L. M.; JAMESON, D. An opponent-process theory of color vision. Psychological Review, v. 64, n. 6, p. 384-404, 1957.
JONES, L.M.; SMITH, P.R. The Impact of Interior Design on Occupant Health and Wellbeing: An Examination of Color Theory. Journal of Interior Design and Architecture, [S. l.], v. 7, n. 2, p. 45-67, 2022.
KAYA, N.; EPPS, R. The Impact of Workplace Colour on Employee Wellbeing and Productivity: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, [S. l.], v. 17, n. 5, p. 1532, 2020.
KIM, J. H.; LEE, S. Y.; PARK, H. J. The effects of personalized color interventions on employee well-being and productivity. Applied Ergonomics, v. 94, p. 103405, 2021.
KÜLLER, R.; BALLAL, S.; KARLSSON, N. The impact of light and colour on the health and well-being of the elderly. Lighting Research & Technology, v. 41, n. 1, p. 3-2, 2009.
KÜLLER, R.; GARDA, M.; HAGBERG, B. The impact of light and colour on the performance of cognitive tasks. Lighting Research & Technology, v. 38, n. 1, p. 29-44, 2006.
KWALLEK, N.; LEWIS, C. M.; ROBBINS, A. S. Effects of office interior color on worker mood and performance. Environment and Behavior, v. 45, n. 3, p. 360-387, 2013.
KWALLEK, N.; SOMMERS, P.; LEWIS, C. M. Effects of color on the perception of interior space. Perceptual and Motor Skills, v. 105, n. 3, p. 883-894, 2007.
LEATHER, P.; PYLE, E.; BEALE, D. Windows in the workplace: A review of the evidence for their effects on health and well-being. Building and Environment, v. 38, n. 1, p. 125-139, 2003.
LEE, H. J.; PARK, S. H.; KIM, J. Y. The impact of color on creativity and innovation in the workplace. Journal of Creative Behavior, v. 55, n. 4, p. 876-889, 2021.
LENT, Roberto. Neurociência da percepção: uma introdução à integração sensorial e aos mecanismos neurais da experiência. Rio de Janeiro: Atheneu, 2020.
MCDONALD, R. Color Physics for Industry. 2. ed. Bradford: Society of Dyers and Colourists, 1997.
MEHTA, R.; ZHU, R. J. Blue or red? Exploring the effect of color on cognitive task performances. Science, v. 323, n. 5918, p. 1226-1229, 2009.
NAZ, A.; EPPS, R. An empirical study of the effects of color on emotional and behavioral responses in workplace environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, v. 40, p. 207-217, 2014.
O'CONNOR, Z. Color psychology and its application to the built environment. Routledge, 2011.
OU, L. C.; LUO, M. R.; WOODCOCK, A.; WRIGHT, A. A study of colour emotion and colour preference. Color Research & Application, v. 29, n. 3, p. 232-241, 2004.
PALMER, S.E.; SCHLOSS, K.B. Contextual Effects on Colour Perception and Emotional Responses. Multisensory Research, [S. l.], v. 33, n. 3, p. 287-313, 2020.
PATEL, R.; SHARMA, V.; GUPTA, S. Impact of color on employee performance across different work environments. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, v. 182, p. 103167, 2024.
RODIECK, R. W. The first steps in seeing. Sinauer Associates, 1998.
SCHEIFER, E. K. Uma proposta didática para o ensino da natureza dual da luz. 2022. 114 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Ensino de Ciências e Educação Matemática) - Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Campo Mourão, 2022.
SCHULTE, P.A.; CHUN, H.K. Occupational health and safety: A public health perspective. Annual Review of Public Health, [S. l.], v. 43, p. 287-307, 2022.
SINGH, R. Impact of office colour on workers' productivity. Facility Management, [S. l.], v. 17, n. 3, p. 158-170, 2019.
SINGH, S. Impact of color on marketing. Management Decision, v. 44, n. 6, p. 783-789, 2006.
SMITH, A. B.; JOHNSON, C. D.; WILLIAMS, E. F. The influence of color on mood and cognitive performance in office settings: A randomized controlled trial. Applied Cognitive Psychology, v. 36, n. 2, p. 345-357, 2022.
STONE, N. J. The effects of color on productivity. Journal of Interior Design, v. 28, n. 1, p. 1-15, 2003.
STONE, N.J.; JOHNSON, D.C. The impact of colour in the workplace: A systematic review. Work & Stress, [S. l.], v. 35, n. 3, p. 209-230, 2021.
ULRICH, R. S.; SIMMONS, R. F.; LOSCH, M. A.; et al. Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, v. 28, n. 1, p. 1-16, 2008.
VEITCH, J. A.; HINE, D. W.; SWANSON, S. Natural and artificial light in the workplace: Effects on employee well-being and performance. Journal of Environmental Psychology, v. 27, n. 3, p. 247-263, 2007.
VEITCH, J. A. The impact of lighting and colour on visual perception, mood, and performance at work. Lighting Research & Technology, [S. l.], v. 54, n. 7, p. 952-974, 2022.
WANG, Q.; LIU, Y.; ZHANG, K. The impact of color on task performance and cognitive load in different work environments. Ergonomics, v. 66, n. 4, p. 543-557, 2023.
WARR, P. Work, happiness, and unhappiness. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 2007.
WITZEL, C.; GEGENFURTNER, K.R. Color perception: From the trichromatic theory to cultural relativity. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, [S. l.], v. 84, p. 71-82, 2018.
ZHANG, Y.; LI, J.; CHEN, Z. The influence of color on emotions and cognitive performance in the workplace: A meta-analysis. Applied Ergonomics, v. 92, p. 103341, 2021.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Patrícia Layne Nere da Silva, Clovis de Medeiros Bezerra, Maria Gorete Felipe, Silvagner Adolfo Veríssimo (Autor/in)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This means you are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
The use of this material is conditioned upon proper attribution to the original author(s), providing a link to the license, and indicating if changes were made. The license does not require permission from the author or the publisher as long as these conditions are met.
The Creative Commons license logo is displayed permanently in the footer of the journal.
The copyright of the manuscript can be retained by the authors without restrictions and can be requested at any time, even after publication in the journal.
How to Cite
