Hello, Everyone--

My latest article on the Feng Shui site at BellaOnline.com is about "Feng Shui and Office Stress." Feng Shui principles tell us that the arrangement of an office can affect how happy and productive you are in your job, and now scientific research says that the same Feng Shui improvements recommended for offices can also improve your health.

For example, one of the studies I discuss in the article looked at two measures of stress — heart rate variability and levels of the stress hormone cortisol — in people working in two different buildings for the same company. The space in the older building had floor-to-ceiling walls, poor natural light, and offices that ran around the perimeter, while the newly-renovated building had a more open-air feel, cubicles with lower partitions, and offices in the core of the floor.

As a Feng Shui practitioner who has worked with numerous office clients, I wasn’t surprised by the study finding that the people who worked in the renovated office space were more satisfied with the amount of daylight they received and the quality of the air around them. Those who worked in the older space showed a rise in cortisol and more often reported being aware of the low-frequency mechanical noise, which is linked to stress.

Read more about using Feng Shui principles to reduce office stress is the complete article, located at http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172557.asp.

What Feng Shui changes are you making in your own office or workplace to reduce stress? Post your thoughts on the Feng Shui Forum, located at http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=70.

I look forward to hearing from you, either directly by e-mail or through the Feng Shui Forum.

Best regards,

Carol M. Olmstead, Feng Shui Editor
http://fengshui.bellaonline.com