Probably the biggest gain, which is really the foundation that leads to greater productivity, is employee and company morale. People simply enjoy coming to work when their space is not only functional, but aesthetically pleasing as well.

Studies have shown that environment has a strong effect on mood and personality. People in the Seattle area, for example, have a higher degree of depression and a higher rate of suicide than other areas of the country due to the frequency of rain and overcast weather conditions.

Moving to new, quality space is similar to the effect good weather can have on people.

Companies that move to new space from old, obsolete space also report a greater ease in attracting new employees and lower attrition rates. Consider the decision making process of an executive secretary. All things being equal in the two positions she interviewed for, the quality of each company's space becomes a determining factor. If one company is in a building that hasn't been updated or redecorated for fifteen years, and the other is in a new building with an atrium, let's say, the difference in space becomes a major factor in her decision.

Joseph T. Tarquini, President of the Tarquini Organization, architects, planners, and interior designers, writing in THE OFFICE, June 1986, reports on the positive effects of an atrium in a building he designed for Public Services Electric and Gas in New Jersey. Besides providing natural beauty, the atrium served as a means of combating the fatigue and boredom of the customer service employees, which was a major factor in job dissatisfaction and poor performance. The atrium also is the first and sometimes only area a customer sees and presents a positive public image for the company.

Tarquini also reports that PSE & G employees routinely bring friends and relatives to the office to show off "their place." What better illustration of the positive effects of quality space.

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