2 Ways To Improve Your Office Environment and Boost Your Organisation’s Productivity

 Corporate Wellness  No Responses »
Apr 132010
 

Wellness, and corporate wellness in particular, is multidimensional. The most commonly described sub-dimensions include social wellness, occupational, financial, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness.

Corporate Wellness: Improving Office Environment

Improving Your Office Environment

Recently, a new dimension has been added: environmental wellness. You may not consider environmental wellness to be part of your overall corporate wellness plan, but the environment you work in and how you feel about it can have a huge impact on the way you and your employees feel overall.

With most office workers spending up to 90% of their days indoors, it is not surprising that the quality of the indoor environment can affect your employees’ health, wellbeing and ultimately, your organisation’s productivity and performance.

Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) refers to the quality of the air and environment inside buildings, based on pollutant concentrations and conditions that can affect the health, comfort and performance of the people who live and work in them, including temperature, humidity, lighting and acoustics.

According to the Green Building Council of Australia, poor IEQ results in higher rates of absenteeism, staff turnover, and sick leave, which most employers want to avoid.

If you are concerned about the health, wellness, safety and productivity of your staff, the following two new strategies will help improve the quality of your office environment, decrease absenteeism and staff turnover, and more importantly increase your employee’s productivity:

1. Use common indoor plants to grow fresh air
Recent research done in Delhi, India, found that by using three common green plants in the office we can grow fresh air, maintain industry indoor air quality standards, and improve staff wellbeing and productivity.

The three plants are Area Palm, Mother-in-law’s tongue and Money Plant. The Area Palm helps remove CO2 and convert it into oxygen, while the Mother-in-law tongue, also called bedroom plant, converts the CO2 into oxygen only at night. The Money Plant helps removing volatile chemicals from the air.

As explained by the Indian business owner Kamal Meattle during TEDIndia Conference, these three plants have been used and tested for 15 years in one of the biggest buildings in Delhi. The results produced are significant. By using these three plants, not only has the productivity of the employees increased by over 20%, but various physical impairments have been improved:

  • Eye irritation decreased by 52%
  • Respiratory issues decreased by 34%
  • Incidence of headache decreased by 24%
  • Lung impairment and asthma decrease by 12%

2. Adopt Feng Shui practices

The Chinese art or science of Feng Shui is based on the harmonious integration of the external environment into a building. It aims to ensure a continuous flow of energy throughout a space, avoiding energy “blocks”.

Some of the practices correspond to good common sense and necessitate no leap of faith to be adopted by the most sceptical management. Feng Shui’s traditional approach to designing work areas provides a refreshing way of taking a good look at how your organisation is seen by your customers and staff who make your business work:

  • Provide a spacious and calm reception area with an uncluttered access through the working area.
  • Keep work areas clean and neat, ensuring all cables are organised and out of the way.
  • Create both open and private rooms and vary the decoration to create a warmer environment.
  • Use plants and mirrors to avoid pillars and walls and help create a natural flow through the organisation which enhances a sense of wellbeing for employees.

Sources: Australian Corporate Wellness; TED at www.ted.com

For more information on Corporate Wellness, and Corporate Productivity contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post177″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.

Creating a Healthy and Supportive Workplace Environment

 Workplace Health and Safety  No Responses »
Apr 082010
 

Health professionals widely agree that fostering a supportive workplace environment is a fundamental part of implementing a successful corporate health program.

Supportive Workplace Environment

Creating a Supportive Workplace Environment

Simply put, workplaces that provide and encourage a healthy environment have healthier employees. Most employees spend nearly half of their waking hours in the workplace.

By developing a supportive environment and culture, organisations are able to make better use of their workplace health program initiatives, increasing participation and enabling the achievement of long term positive health outcomes.

Improving the physical environment and implementing healthy policies can significantly affect a wide range of behaviours and habits. Start by assessing the workplace environment in terms of where and how it supports employees to improve their overall health.

How much exercise do they get on the job? Is there access to nutritious food? Are colleagues supportive of each other’s health goals? What sorts of policies have been implemented to minimise stress? Develop a workplace health committee and work with management to improve policies and facilities to target any areas that come up short. Below are a few suggestions.

Improving the Physical Environment

  • Make it easier for employees to walk, run or cycle to work by providing bicycle storage, showers and lockers.
  • Invest in onsite fitness equipment, or organise a discount at a local recreation facility or gym.
  • Invest in a Corporate Health and Wellbeing program implemented throughout the year.
  • Reconsider any unhealthy food or drink items in vending machines.
  • Provide a microwave and refrigerator so employees can bring their own healthy meals.
  • Put up posters that encourage healthy behaviours, e.g. information about quitting smoking, the food pyramid etc.

Improving the Policy Environment

  • Implement worksite policies to improve stress management such as overtime management and flexible work hours.
  • Support regular physical activity in the form of walking breaks. Identify and encourage the use of any safe paths nearby the workplace.
  • Encourage the use of stairs over the elevator/escalator.
  • Negotiate breaks for exercise, such as a longer lunch hour.
  • If you have a cafeteria, ensure it serves healthy food and drinks.
  • Provide healthy catering at meetings and events, for example fresh wholegrain sandwiches and fruit platters instead of cakes and biscuits.
  • Start a company sports team or league such as cricket or soccer.
  • Support participation and time to attend Health & Wellbeing initiatives implemented as part of cultural Health & Wellbeing program.
  • Organise a fun run.

Remember that the key to the success of any corporate health program is supporting employees to make healthy choices. A supportive environment encourages the maintenance of newly acquired healthy behaviours, enabling a healthier, happier and more productive workplace in the long run.

For more information on implementing a corporate health program and/or creating a supportive workplace environment, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post162″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.

 Newer Entries