4 elements of a healthy office space
For a successful office, a healthy and nurturing work environment is essential.
It is elementary for raising well-being, productivity, and employee morale.
The good news is that setting up a healthy workplace doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming.
In this blog, we’ll give you our best advice for setting up a healthy workplace and outline the telltale signs of one.
How a healthy workspace can be established and maintained
Making a healthy workspace and environment can be detrimental to our general well-being. Just think about it, we spend a third of our lives at work.
In fact, it aids in the retention of the brightest employees and helps the business attract the best talent. So the ultimate goal of workplace design should be to promote employee health.
The innovation, creativity, and skills of an organization’s workforce make it successful so poor employee health can have far-reaching effects.
The workplace plays a significant role in fostering employee performance, so let’s look at 4 things to take into account when planning your office:
- Healthy Eating Choices
It’s all too simple to reach for an energy drink, chocolate bar, or bag of crisps when someone is feeling low on energy or is in a bad mood.
However, eating processed, sugary food frequently won’t improve health. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Consider ways to nudge workers toward healthier options for snacks or drinks, like fruit, water, and juices, if you provide a canteen or kitchen area for them. They’ll probably reflect on their decisions as a result of this and be encouraged to choose a healthy lifestyle.
- Regular Breaks
Employers need to start encouraging staff to take frequent breaks throughout the workday, particularly during lunch.
These breaks are crucial for allowing workers to unwind and recharge for the remainder of the workday.
Here are just a few advantages of taking frequent breaks rather than one particularly long break:
- Raising job satisfaction
- Raising productivity
- Greater mental health
- Increased creativity
- More time for healthy activities
- Flexible Working
A positive work environment requires urging employees to balance their personal and professional lives.
Employers can support this by encouraging time off, ensuring that work is left at the office, and allowing flexible scheduling.
Work-life balance is beneficial for relationships and health, but it can also increase productivity and performance among employees.
It’s not supposed to be difficult or expensive to create a healthy work environment. The team’s mood can be improved even by something as simple as playing music in the office, which increases dopamine levels in the brain.
- Other things to consider and best practices
According to a Cornell University Department of Design and Environmental Analysis study, workers who were seated within 10 feet of a window experienced an 84% reduction in symptoms of eyestrain, headaches, and blurred vision.
A company called ROOM has introduced a ‘phone booth’ to their office. The sound-proofed, ventilated, powered booth provides employees with a place to make video calls or get some uninterrupted work time. They did this because they realized there is an increasing need for privacy in the workplace.
Your employees’ health and productivity may be significantly impacted by the office’s air quality. The World Green Building Council’s research found that bringing more fresh air into the workplace and reducing pollution led to an 11% increase in productivity.
+1. Get a rating
After implementing all the above, it might be wise to embrace WELL.
For all new and existing building and space types, the WELL Health-Safety Rating is an evidence-based, third-party verified rating that focuses on operational policies, maintenance protocols, and stakeholder engagement. The WELL Health-Safety Rating gives all space types the chance to prioritize their communities’ health, safety, and well-being, whether they are co-working offices, performance venues, or iconic landmarks in a city’s skyline.
Employees will be more productive and work harder if they enjoy their workplace. According to studies, people who feel more “in control” of their jobs and working conditions are more productive and less likely to experience stress or other illnesses.
