[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]The news stories regarding what perks or aspects of office design make for a wonderful employee experience tend to be dominated by fads — think treadmill desks, nap pods, and “bring your dog to work day,” to name a few.
Yet, according to a new poll conducted by my HR consulting firm Future Workplace dubbed “The Employee Experience,” employees seek something far more fundamental and important to human needs. We discovered that access to natural light and views of the outdoors are the most important workplace attributes in a survey of 1,614 North American employees, outranking stalwarts like onsite cafeterias, fitness centres, and premium perks like on-site childcare (only 4-8% of FORTUNE 100 companies offer on-site child care).
The survey also discovered that a lack of natural light and outside views degrades the employee experience. Over a third of employees believe that there is insufficient natural light in their workplace. Because of the lack of natural light or a window in their office, 47% of employees report feeling weary or very tired, and 43% report feeling gloomy.
These findings support a broader trend of increasing emphasis on employee well-being. According to Gallup’s most recent State of the American Workplace report, improving overall well-being is “extremely important” to more than half of employees. Work-life balance and overall well-being were identified to be the second most important criterion when deciding to work for a company in the same poll. When employees are happy in all parts of their lives, it leads to higher employee engagement and individual performance.
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The need for offices with natural light and vistas may be related to our increased use of mobile devices. According to the eMarketer Mobile Research survey, American individuals over the age of 18 spend approximately four hours each day on their mobile devices. According to the findings of our “The Employee Experience” study, 73% of employees surveyed agree that the longer they use their electronic gadgets, the more they desire a visual break, such as going for a stroll or staring out unimpeded windows to an outside view.
Dr. Alan Hedge of Cornell University conducted research that supports the link between natural light and employee well-being. Dr. Hedge’s recent research study discovered that optimising natural light in an office greatly enhances worker health and wellness. Indeed, workers in daylight office environments reported a 51% reduction in the incidence of eyestrain, a 63% reduction in the incidence of headaches, and a 56% reduction in drowsiness.
The fundamental health benefits of having access to natural light are prompting some businesses to rethink their workspace and promote it as a recruiting tool. The Spheres, an Amazon workspace in downtown Seattle that also doubles as a controlled jungle with over 40,000 plants, is an excellent illustration of this. Amazon’s Spheres is based on the idea that natural light, plant life, and healthful activities like walking reduce employee stress and boost job satisfaction more than a traditional office building. (It’s worth noting that, unlike many of its competitors, Amazon has opted to invest in Spheres rather than other widely advertised workplace amenities like free lunches and snacks.)
Too often, firms construct executive workstations with enormous windows while denying lower-level employees access to light. But this does not have to be the case. Airbnb has pushed the boundaries of customer service design in Portland, Oregon. Contrary than the typical windowless workstations seen in call centres, the Airbnb Call Center is designed to be an open area with access to natural light and views of the surroundings, with long couches, standing desks, and wireless technologies replacing desks and phones. The advantages of these components are well known. Employee proximity to windows is actually required by certain European Union countries as part of their national construction code! This is because they realize that an absence of natural light hurts overall employee experience, up and down the organization.
Of course, natural light isn’t the only factor in workplace wellbeing. One widely recognised Harvard study, for example, found that improving air quality increased mental cognition. Yet, according to the Future Workplace Employee Experience Report, 78% of employees think having access to natural light and views enhances their wellbeing, and 70% say it helps their work performance.
The idea that creating a workplace environment is exclusively a real estate problem is out of date. Employers now know that the office environment is a critical component of the total employee experience and a significant lever for attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent.
Indeed, CEOs are beginning to focus on how the workplace might increase productivity. Overstock’s 230,000-square-foot Salt Lake City office has a panoramic view of the picturesque Salt Lake Valley. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne needed a solution that kept his staff linked to the view while working, rather than obstructing it with blinds. As a result, Overstock erected 30,000 square feet of smart windows that automatically adjust to optimum natural sunshine, allowing employees to block glare from computer screens and fostering a more creative work atmosphere. With a payroll of more than $100 million, even a 2% gain in productivity results in a $2 million savings.
Now consider your organisation. Every day, workers spend an average of 5 hours and 42 minutes at their workstation. Having access to natural light can improve your employees’ work performance, wellbeing, and engagement.
How can you reconsider the role of natural light in your organisation? Here are three recommendations:
Examine your workplace through the eyes of your employees. Today’s business leaders understand the importance of designing an employee experience that mirrors their company’s finest customer experience. Design thinking and employee journey mapping are two tools that are frequently used to understand the moments that matter to employees. In fact, many companies are creating a new job role, Head of Employee Experience, to work closely with heads of Real Estate and IT to design and monitor how the employee experience is woven into the fabric of the business.
Listen to your employees to learn about the type of workplace atmosphere they prefer. Businesses undertake staff surveys on a regular basis to get feedback on a variety of topics, including corporate culture, performance management, and investment in learning and development. They must now contain survey questions about employees’ expectations for the style of workspace they work in and how this affects their general well-being.
Consider designing an ideal workspace for all employees, including CEOs and front-line workers. The concept that firms simply design optimal workspaces for CEOs is no longer valid. Businesses such as Airbnb and Overstock understand the value of the workplace for all employees, from executive team members to front-line consumer call centre operators. The workplace is now acknowledged as a crucial aspect of the employee experience, as it becomes increasingly important to attract, engage, and retain top talent.
When companies seek to empower their people to perform better and live healthier lives, it is evident that providing them with adequate natural light should be one of their primary priorities.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
