A Basic Perk Employees Are Looking For: Natural Light

Most of the times, when thinking employee experience, organizations tend to drift towards fads like on-site gyms, free food, massage chairs, and the latest – napping pods. And these are cool stuff to have don’t get me wrong, however there is one important perk from the employee’s point of view, which organizations miss out on – access to natural light and outdoor views. Some companies spare no effort to reserve that for their Executives and leave the rest of the employees craving for this basic and fundamental human need, while others like Airbnb and Amazon for example, have realized the impact of having access to daylight and a view on employee productivity, engagement and wellness and as a result are reimagining their workspace design to fuse that in and leverage it as a recruiting tool.

It’s proven

A recent study by the HR advisory firm, Future Workplace – titled “The Employee Experience”, found that over 50% of the 1,614 North American employees surveyed said natural light and views of the outdoors were their most important office perks, ranking higher than onsite cafeterias, fitness centers, medical care and childcare. The survey also found that absence of natural light and outdoor views hurts the employee experience with 47% of employees admit they feel tired or very tired from the absence of natural light or a window at their office, and 43% report feeling gloomy by the lack of light. The study also showed that natural light and views of the outdoor are on top of the employees’ list when thinking of a desirable place to work. Additionally, the Future Workplace Employee Experience Study found 78% of employees say access to natural light and views improves their wellbeing and 70% report improved work performance.

Suggestions to consider

Here are 3 ways to help you think differently about the impact of natural light in your company

• See the whole employee journey from the lens of your employees. Design experiences according to what they feel they need not what you think you know they want. This also includes when designing the ideal workspace – involve your employees when embarking on an office refurbishing project – understand from them the ideal workspace environment they feel is conducive for them to be in.
• Include questions about the workspace environment in your employee engagement surveys to keep your finger on the pulse. Hear it straight from them what they like about the current setting and what they feel they need to make them perform better and be healthier.
• Create optimal workspace environments for all your employees not just the executives. Workspace is a critical element in the whole employee experience to attract, develop, and retain talent. Your workspace must be a true embodiment of what your employer brand and vision stand for.

As you embark on designing an optimal experience that inspires your current and future employees to be at their best and bring their best, creating a workspace that fuses natural light and views of the outdoor is a key element for you to consider