By Mercedes Quintanilla.
Very few offices today are designed to create an environment that can increase the health and well-being of work teams, so an effort must be made to ensure that employees feel more engaged, productive and creative.
Below, we outline three vital principles for ensuring wellness in the workplace.
Air.
The quality of the air in an office can have a significant impact on the health of employees and, in turn, on productivity. In fact, the adverse effects of poor air quality contribute to employee fatigue and impaired concentration, which can lead to a host of health and respiratory problems.
Regardless of the ventilation system, it is essential to have natural ventilation to dilute the stuffy indoor environment and renew the air, otherwise people may suffer from thermal stress caused by temperature, humidity, radiation, metabolic activity and the type of clothing.
Space.
A crowded office will reduce the productivity of workers, which is why creative and fun spaces within the office are becoming more and more common.
In the last 20 years, the modern office has gone through a series of evolutions. The early 2000s saw the death of cubicle farms and the rise of open spaces. While office trends come and go, one thing that doesn’t change is the impact the office environment has on the health and well-being of employees.
Light.
We look for natural light, preferably from different angles so that shadows do not diminish our vision, which is necessary to form three-dimensional perceptions of images and depth.
Natural light is not only essential to perceive and then evaluate our environment, our skin requires sunlight to produce vitamin D, crucial for our metabolism.
Implementing these three principles in our spaces allows the workplace to become a harmonious and positive place, designed to maximize the productivity and well-being of the people involved.
References
✓ Salingaros, Nikos A. (2015) “Biophilia and Healing Environments: Healthy Principles For Designing the Built World”. New York: Terrapin Bright Green, LLC.
✓ European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. (2013). Well-being at work: creating a positive work environment (: 978–92-9240-039-2). Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2802/52064
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