THE IMPACT OF OFFICE SPACE ON MENTAL HEALTH
Creating mood boosting work environments
With productivity directly linked to employee health and wellbeing, office design that facilitates positive mental health outcomes is increasingly under the spotlight.
In modern business, the onus is on the employer to create an encouraging work environment. Hub Interiors’ experts are often called to design, create and renovate psychologically supportive workspaces.
What the Numbers Say
Mental health is believed to cost the Australian economy around $200 billion a year, according to the Mental Health Inquiry Report of 2020, put forth by the Australian Government Productivity Commission.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently released National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing showed over 2 in 5 Australians aged 16-85 (over 43%) experienced a mental health disorder at some time in their life.
Anxiety was revealed to be the most common group of 12 month mental disorders. When factoring in around a third of the average lifespan is estimated to be spent at work, the need for a proactive approach to office design is clear.
Office Design and Mental Health
The goal is always to create work environments that help minimise rather than enhance anxiety. While workplace culture is a lead factor, office design can have a constructive role in supporting employee health and wellbeing.
The ideal workplace is a balancing act of practical and personal needs. Staff need to be able to work in a collaborative environment, yet also have the capacity to focus on individualised tasks without interruption.
At Hub Interiors, we believe quality office fitout design comes from researched insight into your business practices. Daily needs fluctuate, and an adaptative model with flexible elements enables high productivity and retainment.
A delicate balance, achievable through informed design. Open plan aspects should enhance teambuilding, but not at the cost of the benefits office partitioning offers. Likewise, quiet spaces cannot contribute to employee feelings of isolation.
The Natural World and the Office
Biophilic design in an office building incorporates elements of the natural world into a corporate work environment, without inhibiting the company’s professionalism and aesthetic representation of brand and vision.
The presence of natural light is believed to have a strong impact on workplace wellness, and is integral to intelligent office design. Natural light impacts body rhythms and sleep patterns (and by extension can affect mental health).
Numerous studies in the last half a decade reiterate the perceived benefits of natural light in office spaces by workers. Positives noted by employees include reduced eyestrain and headaches, and increased alertness and energy.
At Hub Interiors, our goal is to energise through clever workspace models that maximise employee access to natural light and encourage a sense of connectivity to the natural world, referencing the organic and soothing the subconscious.
Think Outside the Box
Are you sure your company’s office layout fully utilises available floor space? Traditional design choices and mindsets see “dead” space in the office often overlooked as potential zones for transformative wellness initiatives.
Likewise, reallocating designated individual spaces to create room for health and wellbeing activities can revitalise your workplace culture. Dynamic design should balance collective performance with individual happiness.
Understanding the attitudes and lifestyle preferences of your employees is key. Would office design that supports pets in the workplace be more popular than an allocated workout area? Employee feedback is essential.
Integrated wellness via commercial office fitouts can look like:
· Biophilic space for reinvigoration
· Eatery seating with natural light access
· In-house gym or yoga studio
Office Innovations and Design
Flexibility has become a focal point of successful corporate culture. The pandemic normalised work from home, and split schedules between remote work and the office. In today’s world, office design must be able to meet evolving needs.
Office fitout companies like Hub Interiors understand innovative design spans leading technologies that promote easy workspace integration, successfully reducing frustrations that arise and can contribute to workplace anxiety.
Our office interior designers also use colour and shape to promote wellness. Studies show the aesthetics of a daily environment can improve mental health, decrease stress and fatigue, and positively impact creativity.
We make comfortable yet professional office spaces that appeal and inspire. At the same time, office interior design should capture the heart and soul of your business by successfully channelling established branding.
The Power of Employee Satisfaction
When you make an investment in office conditions designed to improve mental health in the workplace, you contribute to the health and wellness of your staff, creating an attractive professional environment.
Structured holistic initiatives can be intrinsic to employee retainment. Developing a workplace that meets physical and psychological needs, from the practical to the social and even metaphysical, benefits company performance.
Whether moving, renovating or opening a new office, Perth’s Hub Interiors team can help create a workplace that best supports your firm, team, and clients. Contact us to accomplish an exemplary office experience.
