How Design Improves Well-being in the Workplace

Whatever your business, your staff are your most valuable asset, so keeping your workforce as happy and healthy as possible is crucial. And as we spend nearly a third of our lives at work, your staff’s environment will contribute hugely to their overall well-being. After all, a workplace that makes your staff feel better, calmer, and less stressed will create more positivity, better performance, and improved productivity.

Here are a few ways to improve well-being in your workplace:

Make a motivational space.

Whether your business is a café, a cool high-street shop, or a convenience store, you want your space to motivate your customers and staff and create connections. To do this, you’ll need to consider how your space works socially. Is your workplace designed to encourage inclusion and interactions? Does your space’s circulation allow your staff and customers to easily congregate, cluster and collaborate?

Light it up.

Lighting can be a critical element when creating a positive work environment. If your building allows for the incorporation of lots of lovely natural light, then great. But if not, a well-designed lighting strategy can make a massive difference to the feel of a commercial space.

The benefits of natural light are well documented, with recent studies showing that workers exposed to natural light experience a significant decrease in eyestrain, headaches, and fatigue.

A few ways to improve workplace well-being with lighting:

• Maximise natural light
• Add skylights if your space allows
• Reduce glare
• Avoid blocking out natural light with signage or furniture
• Add different types of lighting to your lighting design

The power of colour.

While staying on brand, create areas within your workspace that allow for a sense of calm and spaces that radiate dynamic energy. Use blue and green tones to generate calmness and brighter colours, such as yellows, oranges, and purples, to promote an air of upbeat positivity.

Nurture with nature.

Being out and about in the great outdoors makes you feel so much better. Spending time in nature and natural environments has been proven to improve overall mood and mental health, specifically reducing feelings of depression and anxiety. So it’s no surprise that incorporating natural, outdoor elements into your workplace will not only increase your space’s oxygen levels but will improve the mood, concentration and productivity of your staff too.

A few benefits of being in nature:

• Lowers blood pressure
• Reduces stress hormone levels
• Reduces anxiety
• Improves mood
• Enhances immune system function
• Improves self-esteem

A healthy workplace, a healthy business.

If you’re looking to create a commercial space that communicates your brand, creates connections with customers and improves the well-being of your workforce, our experienced team will design and build the space you need.

From our Stoke-on-Trent-based office, we deliver our functional, inspirational, and sustainable environments to businesses of all types and sizes across the UK and Ireland. Whether you need office, restaurant, or retail design, call us today on 01782 620557 and let us bring your idea to life.