Office workers need sun to grow

A survey of office workers across South Africa has revealed the five things employees most want from their office space.

Linda Trim, director of office architects Giant Leap, said the survey was carried out late last year and queried more than 3000 office workers.

"Forty-two percent said more natural light was the most important element," said Trim.

"It's so simple but often design gets so caught up in the fancier things that people forget the importance of sunlight to our sense of wellbeing.

"This is especially true in the workplace, where traditionally there has been a focus on issues of layout and safety - important factors, but not the only elements affecting happiness at work."

Second on the list was "quiet working spaces", at 22%. Third "was a view of the sea", at 20%.

"Increasingly we are installing quiet zones for our big clients," said Trim.

"People need to escape from what is often a noisy and disruptive environment to get work done. A typical office worker switches activities about every three minutes, and half of these switches were caused by interruptions. Interrupted work is usually resumed but it takes workers about 20 minutes to get back to what they were doing."

Trim said that views of the sea were "a nice to have".

"We have found, however, that placing large pictures of peaceful natural places like forests, mountains or the sea creates a calming atmosphere in the office."

Rounding out the list of desirables for the office was "live indoor plants" at 18% and "bright colours" at 15%.

"Clinical, uncluttered offices don't make people more productive or help them concentrate."

Trim said a "green" office signals that the employer cares about employee wellbeing.