The effect of room acoustic quality levels on work performance and perceptions in open-plan offices: A laboratory study

•The effects of 4 acoustic quality levels in open-plan offices (OPOs) were studied.•The impact of acoustic conditions at 2 positions of all office scenes was compared.•The validity of acoustic classification criteria in ISO 3382–3:2022 was confirmed.•Moving away from speakers is beneficial for occupants with poor OPO acoustics. A laboratory experiment was performed to explore the effects of acoustic quality levels on work performance and perceptions in open-plan offices. The accuracy rate of the serial recall task and the reported perceptions of the 41 participants were tested at two receiving positions in four office scenarios. According to the revised international standard for measuring room acoustic parameters in open-plan offices, ISO 3382–3:2022, the room acoustic qualities of the four office scenarios were classified into four levels (good, high-medium, low-medium, and poor). The results confirm the validity of the acoustic classification criteria in ISO 3382–3:2022 and highlight that people working in offices with good acoustic quality have significantly higher work performance and acoustic satisfaction than those working in offices with poor acoustic quality. Moreover, comparisons of objective and subjective results between the two receiving positions imply that maintaining a greater distance from people speaking improves work performance and acoustic satisfaction in offices with poor acoustic quality. However, this improvement is insignificant when working in offices with good acoustic quality.