Continental Office Studio Blog

How to Foster Wellness in the Workplace

Employees who are physically active have lower healthcare costs, require less sick leave, and are more productive at work, according to a report prepared by John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. There is no “one size fits all” program, but there are several ways to foster wellness for employees. It starts with a positive company culture, followed by the physical space and environment, and then reinforcing healthy habits and lifestyles.

Why Company Culture is Important

Incorporating health and wellness into the existing company culture is essential for employee engagement. Shared values, ethics, and expectations between workers foster a sense of community and cohesiveness in the workplace. When health and wellness are a part of that culture, both employees and employers win; while employees improve healthy behaviors and reduce their risks for illness, employers receive an average $3.27 ROI on reduced healthcare costs.

Create Well Designed Workplaces

Whether in the office, school, or at work, the average person spends 12 hours per day sitting. Inactivity is the 4th leading cause of mortality in the U.S, so it’s important employers maintain well designed workplaces that force employees to be active. Customized workspaces for every employee can help to optimize health in the office and may include the following: 

• Standing Desks - If sitting for several hours is the main culprit, try including standing desks at the office. Standing desks keep employees on their toes. Having a few of these available can allow employees to take their work from sitting to standing when needed.
• Exercise balls - They’re colorful, bouncy, and the perfect replacement for the standard office chair. On an exercise ball, you’re forced to balance yourself by planting your feet firmly on the floor and engaging your core. Having a ball instead of a chair also improves posture and alignment.
• Ergonomic Workstations - It’s important to be able to adjust your chair, desk, and computer to a position that allows you to work comfortably. Lighting, temperature, and humidity are also ergonomic essentials.

   

Establishing Wellness Programs

It’s necessary to begin with small, achievable steps. If a wellness program is new to the company and employees aren’t used to being all that active, they need to be encouraged. Having a variety of activities available to employees can help them to pick activities based on their fitness level. For example, you can have employees choose to sign up for hikes, walks, yoga, or a gym class.

Many offices also incorporate friendly fitness competitions to motivate employees. For example, the group that loses the most weight combined might win two extra vacation days. Or the team that burns the most calories in one workout session gets treated to a healthy lunch. Motivation goals work because they take advantage of the emotional aspect of personal health.

Fostering wellness in the workplace has no downsides. With employees reporting more satisfaction at work and employers seeing results in productivity and reduced healthcare costs, everyone wins.

We talk a lot about the importance of the associate experience. It's important to create a positive one. That's why the associate experience is our #1 priority here at Continental Office. It affects all generations, but, in speaking with Gen Z specifically, they have some concerns. In fact, they have expressed a bit of apprehension that their future work environment won't reflect their own ethics and values. But why? A major source of this uneasiness is some believe there will be differences in ethics and morals across generations. See what our own interns, including myself,  from The Ohio State University have to say. 

Who is Gen Z? Are they really that different than other generations in the workplace? Do we need to plan differently and consider what their expectations will be as they continue to enter the full-time workforce? The answer is undoubtedly yes! It’s an exciting time, because for the first time in modern history, five generations now coexist in the workplace. In fact, by next year, Gen Z will account for 20% of the workforce. We spoke with our Gen Z interns from The Ohio State University to get their take on entering the workforce and how they think about space. 

If these walls could talk, what would they say? The process of taking existing structures and turning them into modern facilities is the hottest trend in development right now. It's called adaptive reuse and it's changing the way we create meaningful spaces. Over the past ten years in the US alone, there's been more than 40,000 adaptive reuse projects.

A bustling office, education, or even healthcare administrative space can become messy quickly. Because everyone is so busy these days, these messes may not get cleaned up right away or they're simply forgotten about. Even if you have a great janitorial staff, they likely don't have the time to deep clean all the nooks and crannies or even the floors on a consistent basis. The good thing is an easy solution that allows you and your team to focus on your work rather than constantly cleaning.

Designing a new or remodeled office can be kind of a rollercoaster. First, there’s that long, stuttering climb toward a firm decision to take action. Then suddenly you’re on top in the sunlight, surveying the glowing possibilities spread before you like candles on a birthday cake.

 Do you dream of floors? Beautiful, low-maintenance floors that people will oohhh and ahhh over? Okay, maybe not, but whether we realize it or not, floors are a big part of our everyday life. In fact, chances are your feet are on one right now or will soon be! So why are we seeing more and more polished concrete floors in the flooring industry whether it's commercial, residential or even industrial? 

Nature; we can see it, touch it, smell it and hear it. We are surrounded by it everywhere we go. Yet, we often don’t see it being a necessity within our work environment. Most commonly, a planting strategy is simply not incorporated within the design budget from the early project stages on. However, this paradigm is shifting because the impact of planting is significant. A large contribution to this is the increase of overall well-being of employees and the reduction of absenteeism in the workplace, which, conservatively speaking, often reaches more than 30% ⁽¹⁾ after the introduction of planting according to research.

Do you have a blank canvas of an office that needs furnished? Are you starting to consider when and what furniture to purchase? Is budget a determining factor that will affect your overall design and space planning? If you answer "yes" to any of these, you're certainly not alone. We meet with local businesses just like you every day. What we've learned over the past 80 years is creating a truly great space that will provide an exceptional associate experience is critical.  Selecting the right furniture plays a big role in that overall experience.

Experiences have become the focal point for many organizations. Over the past 35 years at Continental, I've watched first-hand as the client experience has evolved. 35 years ago it was a big deal to have an actual showroom with a wide selection of productions on display. Clients could literally walk in and shop, often leaving with something tangible in hand that same day. Having a showroom is really a thing of the past for us now, at least in the traditional sense. Gone are the days of those large presentation boards too!