A concept that is gaining more and more attention in the corporate world is employee well-being. Environments that provide physical and mental comfort increase team commitment and productivity, as well as helping to retain talent.
When evaluating the concept of well-being, different factors must be considered:
- The body, which includes the areas of physical health, nutrition and sleep.
- Mood, including feelings and the ability to manage stress, as well as emotional balance.
- And finally, the individual’s ability to cultivate relationships to feel responsible and committed to the community, to develop a sense of ownership or membership, and to communicate with confidence.
All these aspects are crucial elements to consider when designing a workspace with the aim of creating a perfect environment for each person so that they can perform their duties in the best possible way.
The corporate environment cannot only depend on the spatial characteristics of the building, ergonomic chairs or work platforms, but must provide the ease of going from one task to another, having places for individual, confidential, concentration activities, as well as for collective reflection. and participatory, such as brainstorming sessions.
The evolution of digital devices allows you to perform most of these tasks anywhere, anytime. As a result, people have changed their behavior at work, demanding more freedom in making decisions about where to work.
At the same time, people in the corporate environment experience an increase in complexity in managing their personal schedules. As a result most employees spend most of their time in this environment (instead of being at home or sleeping), and this, especially for those working on intellectual tasks where the workload is longer, makes the professional less effective and productive, both in the short and long term.
Only 20% of today’s work requires a moderate level of physical activity, compared to 50% in the 1960s.
Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors are issues that affect more than 30% of the world’s urban population. According to the British Heart Foundation, 37% of men spend less than 30 minutes standing during office time (43% women) and 78% of people feel that they spend too much time sitting while working.
These conditions are often linked to poor diet, physical inactivity, stress, obesity and smoking, all of which are considered to be the cause of millions of premature deaths, illnesses and increased costs for businesses and society.
A study by Waterhouse Cooper reveals that musculoskeletal injuries such as low back or neck pain disorders lead companies to huge losses.
There are studies that prove that people in well-designed corporate environments, with adequate spaces, air conditioning, lighting, furniture and seating, are 26% more productive, 20% less absent from work and are more likely to resist the temptation to leave the company, with visible advantages over the volume of costs with the current employee and the ability to attract the most talented.
Another study shows that evolving well-being can lead to greater commitment (graph below):
Considering that, on average, employee salaries and benefits represent close to 85% of a business’s usual operating costs (space rent is about 9% and 6% are energy, telephone and other costs).
It is not surprising that many important and large companies focus on policies to improve the well-being of the workplace, which also involves designing the office with specialized architects who will include in the corporate environment laid-back, fun environments, intimate lounges, closed rooms with satisfactory acoustics, ergonomic furniture and seats, as well as versatile and adaptable spaces so that professionals have the flexibility to develop their work in various places in the environment, always with comfort, safety and feeling very well.
A well-planned, “multi-space” corporate environment offers well-being, improves emotional intelligence skills and generates a good mood that builds trust, engagement and awakens leadership.
