The Future of Wellness in the Workspace

Organizations, with the new era, are adopting more employee friendly layouts for their office spaces to increase productivity and employee engagement. With more innovative workspaces (mixed-use developments) in the mix, organizations are seeing a more productive and enthusiastic workforce.

Today, many employees are spending more than 40 hours a week at work. Until a decade back, less than 10% of employees checked their emails outside of office hours, however, due to digital innovation, now more than 50% of employees check their emails before the day ends.

Due to the increasing number of hours spent in the workplace & the additional hours spent thinking about work, businesses are now starting to recognize the inherent need for employee wellness. Be it fitness centers or multiplexes, organizations are slowly moving away from single-use office spaces and have started working towards interactive office layouts giving more importance to wellness and a holistic work environment.

According to a research report by Colliers International, here are the factors driving wellness & health initiatives in the new model workspace—

1. Air Quality Monitoring—Ensuring highest air quality standards, smoking bans, effective ventilation & use of nontoxic elements/ surfaces.
2. Water—Adequate water quality & treatment with drinking water promotion.
3. Nourishment—Adequate space to dine, the presence of nutritional information & quality of food sold/ provided on the premises.
4. Lighting—Practising daylighting in the office & effective management of brightness to support circadian rhythms.
5. Movement—Encouraged movement throughout the day with effective space layouts, fitness centers & physical activity.
6. Thermal Comfort—A space that meets thermal comfort levels through better HVAC system design & increased control.
7. Mental Health—Greater support for mental health in the workplace & design strategies to counter the same.
8. Sound—Better acoustic energy, sound barriers & better noise reduction.
9. Raw Material—Limited use of hazardous building materials & promotion of healthy replacements.
10. Community—Promoted employee healthcare, community engagement & accessibility. 

While pursuing wellness can be a challenge for most corporates, it is also a fact that wellness initiatives can have a direct impact on performance, attraction & retention of staff thus proving that the benefits are many. Yet even after establishing wellness as a goal, businesses question the best way to achieve this.

The good news is that while technology has made our lifestyle more desk-bound, it is also giving rise to inspiring solutions that can support the wellness initiative & empower business owners to make greater progress towards their common goal of fostering better workplace conditions.