$352B
estimated annual productivity gain from optimizing daylight and views across U.S. offices
Optimizing daylight and views across U.S. offices could generate $352 billion in additional annual productivity
Conservatively accounting for the number of U.S. employees working within 15 ft of a window with blinds, the researchers extrapolated the per-person productivity gain to a national scale, yielding an estimated $352B ($240B–$464B) in additional productivity — equivalent to 1.7% of the 2018 U.S. GDP. This underscores the macroeconomic significance of daylight and façade design decisions in office buildings.
optimizing daylight and views in U.S. offices has the potential to generate $352B ($240B–$464B), or 1.7% of the 2018 U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), in additional productivity.
Related findings
82.0%
high perceived impact of environmental design on children's behavioral and academic outcomes
Inclusive architectural design is perceived to strongly support behavioral and academic outcomes for children with neurodevelopmental disorders
Heba M. Abdou et al., 2026, Architecture
+12%
occupants reported greater thermal comfort when plants were present in the room
Workers were ~12% more thermally comfortable when plants were present
Ratna Purwaningsih et al., 2025, E3S Web of Conferences
−25%
indoor plants cut students' choice reaction times by a quarter
Choice reaction time improved from 589.5 ms to 439.1 ms with indoor plants
Ratna Purwaningsih et al., 2025, E3S Web of Conferences
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