6 health boosting design tips for the modern office

As well as creating an office that’s stylish and reflects your business’ brand, you’ll no doubt want to design a space that promotes employee wellbeing. After all, a healthy workforce tends to be happier and more productive, and have lower rates of absenteeism. Keep reading for some top design tips that will help you to ensure your office encourages your personnel to be as fit and healthy as possible. 1. Use ergonomically designed chairs Unfortunately, many people see neck and back ache as an unavoidable fact of life if they spend a lot of time at their workstations. However, this discomfort is often a sign of unsuitable or poor-quality seating. By upgrading the chairs in your office to high-quality, ergonomically designed models, you can minimise the risk that employees will suffer these aches and pains. When you’re choosing chairs for your workstations, it’s important to look out for a number of features. For example, they should be height-adjustable, and the seats must be wide and deep enough to accommodate all users. The front edges of seats should be rounded so they don’t pinch the thighs, and the backrests need to offer firm support to the middle and lower parts of the back. Swivel and tilt functions can also enhance user comfort, so it’s worth looking out for models with these features too. 2. Offer height adjustable desks Although it’s important to have the right seating available for staff to use, you might want to find ways to discourage your personnel from sitting down too much throughout the working day. The health risks associated with being seated for long periods of time day in, day out are now well known. Studies have linked excessive sitting to a higher risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and even certain types of cancer. It’s thought that being sedentary slows down the body’s metabolism, which impacts on its ability to regulate blood pressure and blood sugar, and its ability to break down fat. One way to encourage your personnel to reduce the amount of time they spend seated is to offer height adjustable desks. At Furniture At Work, we provide a range of sit-stand desks that are easy to operate and give users the option of sitting down or standing upright as they work. By offering your employees the chance to stand up at their workstations if they wish, you could be protecting their long-term health. 3. Use sound absorbing office screens The chances are, your office is open plan. This is the preferred layout for the majority of organisations now. As well as being an efficient way to use space, it’s known to encourage collaboration between colleagues. That said, there are disadvantages associated with this way of organising a workspace and one of the biggest is noise. From loud conversations, to phones ringing, to people eating at their desks, a whole of sounds can get on people’s nerves in offices, leading to increased stress levels and unhappy employees. A study carried out by a team at Cornell University found that workers who were exposed to open plan office noises had increased levels of a hormone called epinephrine, which is produced by the body in ‘fight or flight’ situations. This highlights the potentially damaging impact that high volume levels can have on people at work. To help keep your workers calm and content, it’s a good idea to use sound-absorbing office screens. Take your pick from a selection of floor and desk screens that can significantly reduce noise in your workplace and can give your personnel a little extra privacy to get on with their tasks without distraction. 4. Provide facilities for cyclists According to research commissioned by the British Council for Offices, 38 per cent of UK office workers would consider travelling to and from work by bike if their employer offered better cycling facilities. So, if you want to encourage your staff members to ditch four wheels in favour of two in order to increase their activity levels and improve their health, you might want to think carefully about how your office is set out. For example, could you provide a secure storage area where people can leave their bikes during the day? If your office has the space and your budget will stretch to it, you might also want to consider providing changing rooms, showers and lockers. By making these changes to your office, you stand to significantly increase the number of employees who commute to work by bike. 5. Give workers greater flexibility Flexibility is a watchword in office design these days, and for good reason. Employers are increasingly switching onto the benefits of giving workers greater freedom in terms of how they use and interact with their environments throughout the day. Rather than expecting your personnel to stay at their desks, you could create breakout areas that give people more control over how and where they get on with their work. For example, introducing a quiet space away from the main working area where people can go to get on with tasks that require high levels of concentration can help employees to keep their focus. You might also want to introduce a more informal space where people can go to have impromptu meetings with colleagues without disturbing others. Incorporating zones like these into your office can make your employees feel more empowered and productive, and therefore less anxious and stressed. Ultimately, this is good news for their health. 6. Consider creating a gym area If you have a spare side room or a part of your office that’s currently unused, why not utilise it to create a staff gym? Often, people find it hard to fit workouts into their schedules, but if there’s gym equipment conveniently located in the office, they can spend some time before or after work, or during their lunch break, working out. As well as helping people to improve their fitness, these workout sessions can be a great way for employees to blow off some steam and improve their focus. By following these health boosting office design tips, you should be able to promote improved wellbeing among your personnel.