\u201cUnsurprisingly 42% said more natural light was the the most important element,” said\u00a0Linda Trim, director at Giant Leap.<\/p>\n \u201cIt so simple but often design gets so caught up in the fancier things, people\u00a0forget the importance of sunlight to humans\u2019 sense of well-being.”<\/p>\n \u201cThis is especially true in the workplace, where traditionally there has been a focus on issues of layout and safety \u2013 important factors, but not the only elements affecting happiness at work.\u201d<\/p>\n “Increasingly we are installing quiet zones for our big clients. People need to escape from what is often a noisy and disruptive environment to really get work done.”<\/p>\n According to Trim, a typical office work switches activities about every three minutes and half of these switches were caused by interruptions.<\/p>\n Interrupted work is usually resumed – however, it takes workers about 20 minutes to get back to what they were doing, meaning these small interruptions can have long-lasting effects.<\/p>\n Trim noted\u00a0that views of the sea were a nice to have but not practical for inland cities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have found, however, that placing large pictures of peaceful natural places like forests, mountains or the sea does create a calming atmosphere in the office.\u201d<\/p>\n Trim noted that a green office signals to employees that their employer cares about their well-being.<\/p>\n \u201cAdding live plants\u00a0will pay off through an increase in office workers\u2019 quality of life and productivity. The recent trend to create clinical uncluttered offices doesn\u2019t make people more productive or help them concentrate better.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Sun.jpg\")
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\nQuiet – 22%<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nOcean views – 20%<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nPlants – 18%<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nBright colours – 15%<\/strong><\/h3>\n