Are your office windows impacting the wellbeing of your staff?

Are your office windows impacting the wellbeing of your staff

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The access that employees have to windows and window views can be an important factor which influences their wellbeing in an office environment, particularly in jobs where staff are likely to be more susceptible to stress. Research has shown that windows and window views can have an impact on staff behaviour and many offices nowadays are designed to maximise window views and daylight.

Four factors which influence window design are the amount of sunshine they provide, how easy they are to see, the view they give and the amount of privacy they allow for. Keeping staff close to at least one window is highly recommended, regardless of the size of the visual field it allows them. Studies have shown that employees' preferred windows were horizontal apertures occupying 25-30% of the exterior wall. With windows of this size, unpleasant feelings of enclosure are minimal.

An ideal situation is to have two lateral windows with a total width of 3-4 metres in a six-metre-wide room. Windows with views of nature were found to enhance work and well-being in a number of ways, including increasing job satisfaction, interest value of the job, perceptions of self-productivity, perceptions of physical working conditions, life satisfaction, and decreasing intentions to quit a current project or the job itself. The most consistent finding from research is that people prefer natural rather than built or urban views from windows and the positive psychological and health effects of natural views have even been explained in the context of recent psychological theories.

Research has also shown that windows that can be opened provide an element of individual control to office workers through the option for them to adjust their office microclimate. Office workers continue to express a desire for openable windows and those who reported more personal control over lighting, temperature and ventilation also reported greater self-rated productivity.

Maximising the use of natural light and keeping on top of issues like glass replacement is the solution to overcoming a number of problems within the office environment and light is increasingly becoming a very important design element for office buildings. Studies show that when people live and work in a well lit environment, they are happier, healthier and more productive. Natural light lifts spirits, makes spaces appear larger and lessens demands on electricity, an important factor in today's energyconscious world. Natural light has also been shown to reduce eyestrain, increase productivity and even decrease absenteeism in the workplace. People function better in light filled environments and therefore windows are an obvious necessity for an office environment.

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