The Importance of Natural Light to Office Design and Employee Satisfaction

10/18/2018

How do you keep your employees motivated and satisfied? Turns out, employee satisfaction has just as much to do with your company culture as it does your office space. Well-lit and well-ventilated workspaces decrease the number of absences and increase satisfaction by 24% and productivity by 16%.

Elena Marcheso-Moreno’s article “Keep Your Employees Happy and Healthy with a Well-Designed Workspace” posted to the AIA TopicA blog, offers some practical tips on how you can improve your workplace design:

Comfort

Offices and other workspaces should contribute to good health. US workers spend most of their time indoors. The indoor work environment greatly affects their wellness, happiness, and productivity. A properly designed office should be comfortable as well as healthy: The air is fresh, the temperature appropriate, and the lighting well-designed. Thermal comfort is high among worker requests. Individuals want to control airflow into their offices, and teams want conference rooms with windows that open to let in the fresh air. Worker control over ambient conditions, especially temperature, improves productivity.

Lighting

Lighting is perhaps the most important component of office design. In general, workers prefer natural light and windows with views of the outside. Natural light is known to enhance energy and mood. Unlike artificial lighting, which is either on or off, daylight varies with the progression of time and with the season. Designers plan to maximize the penetration of natural light deep into each level of a large office building. One approach is to move enclosed spaces to the building core, leaving daylit and open spaces at the perimeter where windows are located.

Flexibility

Having a variety of flexible workspaces befitting different work styles and tasks is key to successful office design. For example, there is often a need for quiet workspaces, as disruptions can significantly hinder efficiency. When a worker needs to focus on an assignment, he or she should have somewhere to go. Also desired is somewhere to relax, such as a break room with indoor plants or views of nature. Having a place to escape the daily stress of an office can improve worker health and also productivity.

How Windows Influence Employee Satisfaction

Commercial windows influence an employee’s comfort in two key ways: lighting and warmth. Choosing the correct window for your building is key to influencing your building’s lighting and thermal comfort. Contact us today to find out what window is right for your business needs.