Special Feature A feeling of wellbeing
Michael Page, joint managing director of leading workplace consultant, Saracen Interiors, talks ‘wellbeing’ and notes how this broad concept has morphed into a key responsibility for the facilities manager when it is applied in the workplace today…
f you keep an ear out, you’ll hear the phrase ‘wellbeing’ bandied around at large from specific areas of the public sector, including health and education, to the media who have a vociferous appetite for this very topic. (Look out for the dedicated health and wellbeing sections now to be found in most of the national newspapers). It’s generally used as a bit of a catch all: Covering health and happiness and what is deemed good for us, it’s all encompassing and can be attached to pretty much anything.
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If you run a business and employ people, staff wellbeing has to be a top priority. It is, in fact, an absolute. The importance of individual wellbeing has now been established both inside and outside of the workplace and companies are judged by their approach to it. What was previously viewed as something of a given has become more measurable in recent years. In other words, you can’t just pay lip service to it. Your attitude and performance, with regard to staff wellbeing, is usually noted and, often, assessed. If you are seen to fail in this area, you immediately downgrade yourself as an employer and you can also do lasting damage to your brand. So what exactly is wellbeing and who is responsible in the workplace? The answer to the latter is that the delivery, and safeguarding, of staff wellbeing is often seen as the responsibility of the facilities manager. (Of course. Who else?) This is because it is his or her role to provide an environment that protects the physical and mental wellbeing of a building’s inhabitants. With regard to the former, the idea of wellbeing at work can be defined as the creation of an environment that allows and encourages an individual to flourish and achieve their full potential, thereby benefiting themselves and their employer.
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We’re broadly talking about establishing a nice environment for people to work in; an environment that they look forward to entering and that they can enjoy being in that doesn’t have any adverse effect on their health. Bearing that in mind, considerations should cover everything from whether individuals are warm enough or cool enough to whether the office décor is nice and bright. If we start getting into specifics, workspaces should be well ventilated, with lots of natural light – these are the very basics. We can then move onto the non-essentials that simply make it pleasant – lay out, state-of the-art technology, modern, clean facilities, welcoming décor and adequate break out areas and spaces, with places to eat and relax in. Once basic needs have been covered, along with what makes an office attractive and pleasant, we then need to consider what can best improve each specific space. In an open plan environment, for instance, it’s really important to be able to offer workers a degree of privacy for when they are making important business calls or during break periods. Just giving individuals the option of some private space, alongside shared working accommodation, is invaluable. It’s been proven that working in an optimum environment has a positive impact on productivity and that fact
alone makes the promotion of wellbeing crucial to office design and fit out. Happy members of staff make for better outcomes. Also, you are more likely to retain key team players if you offer them an attractive working environment as well as getting a better standard of work from them if their needs are met. It’s a ‘win win’ scenario. Part of our role at Saracen is to empathise with the needs of the client and work with the facilities and office managers to plan space around the various functions of the business. Our clients come to us because, as workspace specialists, we are expert at thinking around the structure of how the business is run and planning the space accordingly – ultimately, it’s our job to make the space work and help to improve wellbeing in the workplace and so we have to climb into their skin to find out what works best for everyone. In as much as we have absorbed wellbeing into our vocabulary, we now need to own it in our practices.
www.saraceninteriors.com
Building & Facilities Management – March 2015
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