Active employees are healthy employees. Healthy employees, in turn, make for a productive workforce. It’s no wonder many companies are investing in wellness programs, aggressively promoting such to workers. But more than the free gym memberships and the healthy office snacks at your cafeteria, there’s one more element you should be looking at when prioritizing your employees’ well-being: workplace design. Believe it or not, how you use your office space can promote either active or sedentary lifestyle among your team. If you want to get your employees moving, here are some design tips to follow:
Provide flexible workspaces.
This means two things: flexibility in individual work stations and flexibility by different work styles. The first one simply refers to employees being able to restructure their own private spaces easily. In general, personal work stations allow people to sit only. As you know, sitting for long periods is a risk factor for chronic diseases. That’s why you want to provide an avenue for your employees to move around even at their place. Invest then in ergonomic furniture, like height adjustable desks, leaning seats, and foldable tables. Flexibility by different work styles, on the other hand, refers to creating dedicated zones for individual work, collaboration, and relaxation. The ideal is to have private stations, huddle rooms, and nap pods. These areas will compel people to get up and move from one zone to another based on their needs. If you’re tight on budget, go for used office furniture Salt Lake City stores offer. You can score great deals with these.
Make the in-betweens pop.
>What exactly are the in-betweens? Those are the long corridors, pathways from building to building, stairs, etc. Employees often avoid these in-betweens. Instead of the stairs, they go for the elevator. Instead of the long corridors, they find shortcuts. They save time, yes, but over time, they kill health. Your goal then is to make these in-betweens pop that people can’t refuse to take them. Perhaps a grand spiral architecture of a staircase can do the trick. Or a gallery of photos of employees in the corridors changed now and then can pique everybody’s interests, enough for them to get up and check it out. The bottom line is, make the in-betweens so enticing that people would want to spend time in it.
Dedicate an outdoor workplace.
People usually gravitate to the outdoors because it’s freeing and relaxing. If you could then have a hub outside your main office, that would compel people to get up from their work stations and walk, no matter how far. It’s pretty easy to design an outdoor workplace. Prioritize greenery. Dedicate a living wall, if possible. Cultivate a garden as part of your corporate wellness. Plants don’t just prettify your space, but also offer relaxation to your stressed-out workers. Make sure that there’s also better light control. You want to let in natural light in the space, but not too much that it creates glare and hinders work. So offer shade. Of course, don’t neglect tech needs. Even though your employees are outside, they should be able to access stable Internet connection as well as plug outlets.
Is Your Design ‘Active’?
Again, your office design affects your employees’ health. If you want them to be more active, design your space to encourage exactly that. Remember these tips as you plan your remodelling project.
