What do employees want? Natural light

What do employees want? Natural light - and a view

What do employees want for an office perk – more than an on-site cafeteria, free massages, music in the office, free coffee, free gym membership, and so on?

Future Workplace conducted a study, reported in the Harvard Business Review, that found the perk most employees wanted was ‘access to natural light and views of the outdoors.’

Future Workplace’s survey of 1,614 North American employees found that ‘access to natural light and views of the outdoors" was the most popular demand in the workplace.

Exposure to natural light has been linked to health benefits – and it may boost productivity. According to North Carolina State University, natural light can protect your vision, supercharge your vitamin D storage, boost your mood, and even lead to increased productivity. Their study found that employees who had a good view out of a window performed better and accomplished tasks faster than their counterparts with worse views.

But despite these reported benefits and employee demand, the Future Workplace study found that access to natural light isn't as widespread as workers would like. The study found that 33% of respondents ‘feel that they don't get enough natural light in their workspace’ and says it leads to exhaustion and feeling dispirited.

The message from employees is clear: People want to see the light, see the view, see outdoors.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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