Have you ever had this thought: “Maybe someday we’ll all do our work from a Lazy-Boy!”

The idea of doing all my work from a reclined dentist chair sounds like paradise. Over the years I’ve made a lot of improvements to the ergonomics of my own home office, but — due to logistical and cost constraints — I still do my work sitting upright in an office chair. While I don’t have any pains resulting from this arrangement, I’ve always sensed that leaning back — or even laying down — would allow a more relaxed, free-flowing type of office environment.

And now, vindication has arrived in the form of a recent study by Scottish and Canadian researchers: (more…)

Would you be more productive and decisive if your workspace was high in a tree? Perhaps you would.

Research at Texas A&M in the 1980’s showed that having a view, especially a view of a natural scene, from your workspace resulted in increased feelings of well-being. Stress, anxiety, and boredom were all reduced by a real view, although a mere representation of a natural scene (painting, picture, screen-saver?) also had some impact.

Subsequent tests performed by the municipality of Sacramento, CA have shown that a good view produced a roughly 10% improvement in such mental functions as recall, decision making, and response time, and those with “no view” reported more feelings of fatigue. (Been there, done that.)

So much for the “a bunker office will help me focus”.

So, is there a certain type of landscape that the human psyche seems to favor? Actually, yes. (more…)