A well-designed office space will help your team to be able work efficiently and have higher job satisfaction. When people are achieving in their job role, it promotes good mental health and wellbeing.
Demonstrating that you care – through the quality of the environment you provide, will demonstrate to your people that they’re looked after and valued. It will help reduce absenteeism through stress.
Anxiety and stress account for 49% of all lost working days.
Your office layout can impact your team’s success through a variety of factors;
Space and layout
Your office layout will have a direct impact on your team’s productivity and job wellbeing. From ensuring suitable working spaces, to collaboration zones and breakout spaces, it’s important to ensure your workspace is set up to promote productive working, whatever task is being completed.
It would be inconceivable that a factory floor could be set up in a way that wasn’t efficient for the smooth flow of production, yet many of us have an office space that inhibits employee productivity, and in turn, morale and wellbeing.
There are ways of ensuring your office layout is suited to your team’s activities. One such is workspace efficiency analysis a consultancy service that helps you understand what is actually happening in your office , thereby giving you the keys to unlock the potential of your space.
Lighting and colours
The quality of light, coupled with the colours in your space will impact your people’s mental health too. Daylight has been long proven to be beneficial to mental health, with it’s subtle ever changing light variations and, in the case of bright sunlight, a daily dose of vitamin D. Daylight has been proven to enhance concentration, as well as enhancing the levels of the hormone serotonin, helping us to feel happier.
Colours also affect mood and productivity in a variety of ways. For example, people are reported to lose their temper more in yellow rooms, but green and blue spaces are proven to make people feel calmer.
Air quality
Air quality also affects employee mental health and wellbeing. Quite simply, if they are ingesting air from a stuffy environment, this will lead to lack of concentration and drowsiness. There are many sources of air pollutants, even indoors for example air fresheners and furniture.
In a well-designed office space, the air conditioning systems should be regularly serviced and fully functioning to ensure maximum air cleanliness. It is also advisable for employees to spend some time outdoors every day, as in the main, outdoor air is cleaner for us.
Facilities
What facilities do you provide for your team? Is there space to relax and unwind, to play and interact, or simply to brew a cup of tea when it’s needed?
Many companies offer perks to their employees. More than just gimmicks, the table tennis table and the coffee machine really do impact on employee morale and job satisfaction. By offering your people small perks and advantages, you help them to feel more valued, thereby enhancing mental wellbeing in your organisation.
Teamwork and collaboration
Is your office space designed to promote teamwork and collaboration? Do you have suitable meeting spaces and areas for human interaction? Working alone in an office cubicle may be suitable for some tasks, but in the main, humans are wired to interact. We need others around us for psychological survival.
Implementing spaces in your office where people can interact and meet is beneficial for business too, as a recent study showed that:
Businesses with effective communication and collaboration are 50% more likely to have lower employee turnover.
A collaborative culture is a strong one.
Flexibility and adaptability
Can your workpsace be adapted by your people to suit their needs? A choice of environments and ownership of workspaces are two important factors to help your people feel more in control of their work environment. From sit-to-stand desks, to movable office partitions, having the functionality to adapt your workspace lets people work in a space best suited their individual needs.
Happy people are more effective
They feel better, are more productive and are up to 300 x more creative. Positive mental health has far reaching benefits; for the employee, the team and the business itself.
Take steps to ensure your workspace is promoting good mental health in your employees.
If you’re looking for help with building a more positive work environment, contact our workspace specialists for a chat. We can advise you how best to adapt your workspace to suit your people and their everyday tasks and activities.