As part of #WellbeingJanuary, we’re promoting ways in which companies like yours can boost the wellbeing of your valued team through the interior design of your office space. There are many ways to boost employee wellbeing at work, but your workspace shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to effective employee wellbeing solutions!

1. Create an Agile Workspace

We’ve done our digging into different personality types in the office and found that many work environments unintentionally favour more outgoing personalities, with the open plan office layout still being one of the most popular among businesses. However, this means that your workspace is catering to only some of your employees, and not so much to others.

To boost employee wellbeing for your whole team and to promote a supportive culture and environment, an agile work environment is extremely important. Agile workspaces offer employees a choice of different work settings to choose from, including collaborative areas, private workspaces and breakout areas. The benefit of this is that employees can work however they prefer, which is fantastic for employee wellbeing in the workplace and productivity levels.

2. Don’t Forget Ergonomics

Ergonomic Workstations // Engage Interactive, Leeds

Health and wellbeing go hand in hand, and ergonomics in a workspace has a direct impact on the health of your team. To boost employee wellbeing in the workplace, assess how supportive and comfortable your office environment is and look for ways to improve it.

Good office ergonomics helps to significantly reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, instead helping to promote a healthy and happy team. If you’re looking for employee wellbeing solutions that are long-lasting and extremely beneficial, look at the furniture in your space and the layout of your environment.

3. Introduce Biophilic Elements

Did you know that greenery in the office helps to boost employee wellbeing at work? Yes, it really can be as simple as adding some indoor plants into your workspace to make a difference to workplace wellbeing. Living plants in the office help to improve the air quality of your work environment, which in turn helps to increase productivity, creativity, and wellbeing at work.

Not only that, but the mere sight alone of greenery in the workplace is fantastic for employee wellbeing and happiness. Particularly for city-based workers without views of greenery outside!

4. Add Branded Elements

Office Branding // Hatch Communications, Leeds

Office branding is important for reasons beyond promotional benefits. Branding in the workplace contributes to brand identity, and brand identity at work affects employee wellbeing. A well-designed and branded office environment helps to instil a sense of belonging and purpose into employees, both of which can affect job satisfaction, happiness and motivation.

In addition to the usual branded wall signs and prints, your office environment itself is part of your overall brand. Ask yourself, does your office interior portray the right message about your company? Does it reflect your company culture? If not, changes need to be made to bring your workspace in line with your business.

5. Provide a Breakout Space

Employee wellbeing 101: make sure your employees have the opportunity to move away from their desk during the day.

Encompassed within the benefits of an agile workspace, breakout areas offer employees an area to retreat to for coffee and lunch breaks during the working day. There are some fantastic benefits of an office breakout area, but notably, these social hubs provide employees with a much-needed break from their desk and computer screens, which is incredibly important when looking after the wellbeing of employees. These spaces are also great at encouraging communication between colleagues, particularly coworkers that don’t usually work together in their roles.

The primary purpose of a breakout area is to provide a space that employees can break away from their desks to, whether it be to soft seating, high benches, seated booths, or a variety of furniture options.

6. Offer Employees an Inspirational Environment

Inspirational Interior // Lenta Business Centres, London

Regardless of the industry your business is in, your employees deserve an inspirational and motivational environment to work in, which can boost employee wellbeing tenfold! More is demanded of the workplace now than ever before, and with employees spending so much time at work, a fantastic workspace can help keep your employees happy, motivated and productive.

In order to create a wellbeing-focused and inspirational environment, the colours, lighting and furniture introduced into your office are all extremely important. We work with clients to create a bespoke solution tailored to their space and business. An investment into your workspace can have brilliant benefits!

New Year, New Workspace?

All of the factors mentioned above can tie together to create a wellbeing-focused, engaging and productive workspace. Now that we’ve established the important role that interior design can play in boosting the wellbeing of your employees, we’re on hand to help transform your office environment into a bespoke and wellbeing-focused space! Get in touch to discuss your workspace.

Looking after the wellbeing of your employees has brilliant and important benefits for your business. From staff retention, recruitment and return on investment, a healthy and happy team of employees is a productive one!