The presence of natural daylight, and access to a view of the outdoors are two often overlooked factors in office design.  However, incorporation of these features into an office layout can dramatically increase employee happiness and productivity (1). 

Most employees find that natural lighting from daylight, as opposed to fluorescent or incandescent lighting, helps to improve their mood and increase productiveness.  Optimization of the number, size and placement of windows and skylights is one method to increase daylight entering a building.  The placement of reflecting surfaces can also increase the amount of natural light entering the building and control its distribution throughout the office space.  Determining the optimal placement and quantity of light requires careful consideration, as too little light reduces visibility and too much light results in glare, particularly off of computer screens. 

Access to a window, and particularly to a pleasant view, is important to reducing employee stress levels in the office environment.  In a divided office environment, offices at the interior of a room are often blocked by vertical panels and have little or no view access.  This can be partically overcome by reducing the height of panels at the interior of the office, or by organizing the office layout in a way that prioritizes access to windows and views over privacy (1).


Sources:
¹ Newsham, G.R., Veitch, J.A., Reinhart, C.F. and Sander, D.M., 2004.  Construction Technology Update No. 62: Lighting Design for Open-Plan Offices.  National Research Council Institute for Research in Construction.