A Healthy Work Environment Means A Happy You

Work spaces are areas where a majority of us spend a large part of our time everyday. In fact it would suffice to state that workplaces are like second home for us and whatever happens there does affect us in a particular way. So it’s imperative that our workplaces are designed to make us feel happy and energetic. Making some certain changes in workplace design can go a long way in making the place much more healthier for employees. To be fair, a large number of organizations across the world have realized this and have subsequently made changes in the design of their offices and the accessories used there. Many offices today have gyms, de-stressing areas and source foods from caterers that serve healthy food. Also, many organizations provide rejuvenating therapies that helps employees in their holistic well being. Organizations across sectors are constantly reinventing and bringing out new work approaches for their employees to keep stress levels at a low.

Research has also suggested that making some simple changes in workplace & it’s accessories might be healthier for employees. A healthy employee would mean a happy employee and as an old adage says that a happy employee is a productive employee, so every organization needs to ensure a healthy work environment for it’s employees. Although different approaches towards ensuring the aforesaid are there, there are some basic things that all organizations need to follow to make their offices a more healthier one for their employees. To summarize “a healthy work environment means an environment that is safe, empowering and satisfying for all employees”.

Comfortable seating

Various studies have indicated that back pain still remains one of the major causes of absenteeism amongst employees of many organizations. Office chairs are where an employee spends a large part of his/her working hours. This makes it necessary that the office chairs are designed in such a way that they are comfortable for the employees. Nowadays, ergonomically designed chairs are available that support a person’s sitting posture and working posture, making sure he/she feels comfortable and doesn’t suffer from back pain. All organizations hoping to make their workplaces more healthier need to adopt this approach.

Ergonomically designed work equipments

Office chairs are not the only thing that need to have an ergonomic design. Equipments used for work such as keyboards, mouse or any other also need to be ergonomically designed. Cases of employees suffering from repetitive strain injury are increasing with each passing day. Repetitive strain injury is caused to the repeated movement of a body part in a particular way, such as repeated clicks on a mouse. This can be prevented by replacing all such office equipments by ergonomically designed ones. Many organizations across the world have taken the initiative and are using such equipments.

Office lighting

Unfortunately office lighting is an often ignored part of making workplaces more healthier for employees. Most organization fail to realize the fact that a well done office lighting system is sure to make employees more energetic, thus increasing overall productivity. The major problem in this aspect today is that most offices have lighting that are either in front of employee desks or right overhead them. This is known to increase fatigue amongst employees. The ideal place for office lighting is behind employee desks. This way the light is neither too bright nor too sober.

Promote wellness amongst employees

In many organizations, it has been observed that in spite of having facilities such as gymnasiums, de-stressing rooms etc. available, not all employees avail them. This might be due to the fact that a particular employee might be doing exercises after working hours or he/she might not be interested. In case employees are not interested, organizations should educate them about optimum health and nudge them towards joining various wellness sessions that are undertaken at the workplace. One thing that all organizations should keep in mind is that promoting wellness is a long drawn approach, it should be done using a pre determined method and with a clear target in mind.

Increase engagement amongst employees

In spite of a office being the place where different people with vastly differing characters work side by side, cases of some employees not interacting too much with other employees and keeping to themselves only are very common. Such employees are often those who are unhappy at the organization, resulting in their lack of productivity. Organizations should make an endeavor towards engaging all employees through some form or the other. This can be done through office get together, designing office spaces that increase the possibilities of employee engagement, holding interactive sessions amongst employees etc. Increased engagement amongst employees, if done properly results in high productivity for the organization.

Healthy foods at the office canteen

Office canteens are the place where employees go to gorge on food. Working for 6 – 10 hours does result in employees feeling hungry. A majority of the times, such employees head towards the canteen in search of some delicious eatables. This is where organizations can promote good health. They can replace a majority of the unhealthy foods on the menu, with healthy ones like salads, green vegetables, meat that is less on cholesterol etc. Contrary to popular belief of all healthy foods being bland & tasteless, a majority of healthy foods if prepared properly are delicious. Sure, the employees might take some time to adjust to this change in menu but it is for their own betterment only. Keeping healthy foods on the menu at office canteen is perhaps the simplest and most effective way of ensuring a healthy work environment.

A healthy workplace has plenty of sunlight, plants etc.

Any workplace should have the requisite ventilation and should allow sufficient sunlight to enter the premises. Moreover, if possible, workplaces should include areas where plants can be fixed. As is common knowledge, plants reduce carbon dioxide and ensure a healthy environment. As for sunlight and ventilation, it gives a sense of naturalness to offices, as a result helping de-stress the whole office environment. Truth be said, this is an aspect most organizations ignore today. Workplaces these days seem like a concrete jungle. This is adversarial for the health of employees in the long run and thus organizations should take initiatives to correct this.

All of the aforementioned points if followed by any organization will surely result in a much more healthier work environment. Translating into happy employees, this will help improve productivity at workplaces. Apart from all of the above, employees should also take due care and follow some practices that will help keep work places healthy. Primary amongst these practices are disposing of trash at places where they are meant to be disposed, maintaining proper cleanliness on their desks and in other areas in their offices etc. Moreover, employees should also consistently share ideas about making the office environment much more healthy and beneficial to all. Although this a long drawn out process but it should be done at every commercial and industrial workspace.

FAQs:

Q. What do you think a healthy working environment looks like?

Ans. Employees are engaged in their job tasks and feel fulfilled in a healthy environment where they are both physically and mentally well. They're more creative and feel supported, which leads to fewer absences, illnesses, conflicts, and turnover.

Q. What are the benefits of a healthy work environment?

Ans. A Happy professional space is beneficial to your organization because it may result in increased revenue. A healthy work environment boosts productivity and lowers absenteeism, attrition, workers' compensation, and medical claims costs.