If the outlook from Hayes is pretty grim, then my last place of employment probably counts as a contravention of human rights: it was below ground and had barred windows to prevent the locals breaking in and stealing the computers over night.

So I look back with a certain fondness on my very first place of employment: the head office of the Eastern Daily Press newspaper in the centre of Norwich. The office is perched high on a hill, on a par with the nearby Norman castle and overlooking the medieval city.

Unfortunately, it's been pretty much downhill all the way since then.

The current offices of the IRS and XpertHR are themselves not a pretty sight, so being inside them and looking out is a bit of a good point. But it has to be said that the station we overlook would make Brunel and the other greats of railway architecture weep.

Colleagues with longer memories of XpertHR's office accommodation fondly recall the days before we were relocated from the 16th to the fifth floor.

Group editor David Shepherd says he misses "a memorable view of the sunset over Croydon, especially when ozone and pollution gave it bright pink glow - surely one of the seven wonders of Sarf London".

Pay expert Michael Carty reckons there were days when the mist descended like a solid wall, cutting us off from any hope of looking out across the nation's capital city – though he may be getting mixed up with all those old films featuring London "pea soupers".

If anyone has a right to harbour a sense of grievance, however, it is Ed Cronin from the IRS research unit.

When he joined IRS, he looked out on Highbury Fields – a wonderful and restful view come sunshine or snow, but particularly pleasant when he started in early autumn and the leaves were turning from green to red.

The following weekend we relocated to Croydon, where the immediate view was dominated by a 60s tower block known as the NLA Tower – or, to the locals, the "thrupenny bit", because of its interesting shape.

The NLA Tower is not exactly one of the gems of British architecture, but back in the 1970s when it was first built the burghurs of Croydon were sufficiently proud of it to issue postcards (see right). Wish you were here?

No-one, however, has managed to top XpertHR editor Jean Sims, who claims that she and co-workers in a Sydney office block were able to look out on scenes of The Matrix being filmed, playing spot-the-celebrity.

Oh, yes. The office was also shared with an outpost of the United Nations, so trips out to the sandwich shop usually entailed running the gauntlet of protesting about that day's most pressing international issue.

Do you have a particularly good, bad or otherwise noteworthy view from your office? Post a comment to let us know.