Best Workplace Amenities
Your people are your greatest asset. Keeping them happy and healthy is not only the right thing to do. It also has a direct impact on the success of your company. High levels of staff wellbeing will mean your people are more engaged, productive, and collaborative. On the other hand, low staff wellbeing contributes to poor culture, low productivity, and staff conflict.
Now more than ever, staff wellbeing is an important part of your company’s success. In the war for talent, high levels of staff wellbeing can provide an edge to not only retain your top-performing staff but help attract more like them. It can also help attract staff back to the office, improving the culture and communication in your company.
As the place where your people spend most or all of their working lives, your office has a crucial role to play in their physical and psychological wellbeing. One of the best ways to improve your workplace wellbeing is by upgrading your office amenities. However, it’s important that you remain focussed on amenities that will be valued and used by your people every day, rather than expensive gimmicks that don’t improve the wellbeing of your people in the long term.
Every week, we speak to companies who are looking at improving their workspace, and staff wellbeing and amenities are almost always contributing factors. In our experience, there are 5 key things every company can include in their workplace to maximise the wellbeing of their people. In this article, we’ll explain each of them, why they matter, and how you can maximise their impact in your workspace.
Ergonomic Workstations
Your people will use your office furniture for thousands of hours every year, so it's important that your furniture is comfortable and ergonomic. Otherwise, they could start to suffer back, neck, and shoulder pain. Ergonomic is more than just good quality – it needs to be suitable for the body position of the user, so adjustability is key. Even a slightly sub-optimal ergonomic setup will be distracting and uncomfortable for staff, lowering their focus and productivity.
To improve the ergonomics in your office, the best place to start is the most heavily used furniture. This is typically task chairs and desks. Ensuring they are commercial quality and easily adjustable is crucial. If not, they will need to be replaced. Other furniture that is heavily used, such as collaboration furniture, should also be assessed.
Relaxation Spaces
While it might seem counter-intuitive, including a dedicated relaxation space in your new office design can improve the productivity of your people as well as their wellbeing. Having a dedicated space for staff to switch off and relax means the rest of your office can become a dedicated “work zone”.
While it might seem like your office has not got space for a dedicated breakout area, you should consider how efficient your existing layout is. Most offices have 30-40% wasted space. 5-15% of your total space is generally recommended for breakout spaces, so refurbishing your office to a more space-efficient layout will enable you to include a relaxation space in your existing office.
Natural Light
One of the highest-impact ways to improve the wellbeing of your people is to increase their access to natural light. A recent study found 78% of employees say access to natural light and views improves their wellbeing. 70% report improved work performance.
To improve natural light in your workspace, ensure the most used parts of your office are situated near windows. Traditional office design often places meeting rooms or executive offices around the outside. However, these spaces are used far less, so natural light is wasted. Throughout the rest of your space, installing daylight-balanced LED lighting will replicate natural light.
Biophilia
Biophilic design is a design concept that advocates the use of natural materials throughout the workplace. This includes everything from timber wall slats to fresh air. Staff working in biophilic offices reported a 15% increase in wellbeing, are 6% more productive, and are 15% more creative.
The easiest way to add biophilic design to your workplace is through office plants and living walls. They are relaxing from a colour psychology perspective and they increase the oxygen content in the air. Other ways to add incorporate biophilic design include the use of natural material finishes, such as wooden flooring. Ensuring your office has an adequate fresh air supply is also a valuable benefit.
Refreshments
A healthy diet is one of the most important parts of physical health. Given that your people will be working in your office for up to half of their waking day, you can have a big impact on what they do (and don’t) eat and drink. Helping your people to make healthy diet choices will improve their focus and productivity.
Including free, healthy refreshments in your office is one of the easiest ways to improve staff wellbeing. You can simply make sure your office teapoint or kitchen is well stocked with snacks and coffee.
Improving Your Office Amenities
Investing in your workplace amenity package is a win-win for your company and your staff alike. Ergonomic furniture ensures your people remain comfortable throughout the day. Relaxation spaces, natural light and biophilia all make your space much more enjoyable and healthier to work in over time. Easily accessible, healthy refreshments make it easier for staff to have a better diet. As a result, the engagement and focus of your people will increase hugely. In turn, this will improve both their performance and the performance of the company as a whole.
To learn more about how Zentura can help you create a workspace that improves the wellbeing of your people, book a call with one of our workspace experts. We design agile workspaces around the people that use them. Your staff can become healthier, more efficient, and more productive. We can design and deliver a high-performance workspace for your future.
