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Designing an Office for Good Mental Wellbeing

Tanshire Business Park • 3 October 2022

When developing a strong company culture, it’s important to consider the mental wellbeing of your employees. Good mental health in employees is vital, not only for their health and wellbeing, but for the continued success of any business. Positive employee wellbeing can directly correlate to increased productivity, so taking steps to improve wellbeing will benefit your business.

Mental Health First Aiders have become an integral part of many businesses, with 1 in 56 UK adults being certified as Mental Health First Aiders. Despite this, few employers consider how office design can build a solid foundation for good mental health amongst their employees.

How to improve office design to boost employee wellbeing

Here we discuss some of the simple steps you can take to create an office and company culture that promotes employee wellbeing:

Consider your workplace design

Consider the physical design of your office space and how this may affect an employee’s mental wellbeing. Everything from seating arrangements to the colour pallet will have an impact on the productivity and wellbeing of your employees.

Here are some things to consider:

Move away from fully open plan spaces – open spaces are often linked to elevated stress and noise levels, with many now opting for office spaces with designated areas for collaboration and quiet areas for individual working. Varying floor and ceiling heights with multiple pathways creates a sense of different types of space dependant on needs.
Provide different types of workspaces to meet the needs of different employees – for example, you could introduce designated focus and collaboration zones, separated by acoustic panels to maintain comfortable sound levels to reduce noise related disturbance and stress. Ensure the collaborative and social features are inviting and comfortable to aid casual discussions.
Consider the seating arrangements – comfortable seating invites casual meetings whereas booths encourage uninterrupted work. It’s important to accommodate to meet the needs of a range of personalities in your office space.
Implement colour psychology – studies show that different colours can aid different feelings amongst your employees. Consider using blue for a calming space, or yellow to promote innovation and boost creativity.

Office spaces for wellbeing in the countryside

Increase sources of natural light

When choosing a new office, or making changes to your current one, you should ensure you have sufficient sources of natural light. Studies show that increased exposure to natural light heightens the brains production of the mood enhancing chemical serotonin. Consider floor to ceiling windows, skylights, or glass panels to offer ample sources of natural daylight. If this is not possible, then add softer lighting around your office space, such as LED lighting, that doesn’t strain the eyes.

Improve air quality

Recent studies show that increased exposure to air pollutants is likely to have a negative impact on an adult’s mental health. Therefore, making improvements to the air quality in your office space is another great way to improve employee mental health. You could start by adding more plants around the space to increase levels of natural oxygen or, invest in an air care solution that is specifically designed to improve workplace air quality by removing harmful bacteria, viruses and other impurities in the air. This will help to boost wellbeing and productivity, whilst also improving physical health.

Consider office location

The location of your office will likely have an impact on employee wellbeing. An office in an area that is well connected with good travel links will make commutes more hassle-free and minimise unnecessary added stress to your employees.

You should also consider the outside space on offer at your office location. Having an office in the countryside is likely to boost employee mental health, with studies finding nature has a positive effect on psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety. Being able to take a break and wander in nature will also help to aid productivity and creativity. It also makes a great spot for informal meetings.

Consider flexible hours

Implementing flexible working will have a positive impact on wellbeing as it will allow them to maintain work life balance. Offering flexible working or adopting a hybrid working approach can help but may not work for every business. Read our blog on adopting a hybrid working policy to find out more about how it can improve mental health.

Find a new office that promotes employee wellbeing & mental health

Nestled in the Surrey countryside, Tanshire Business Park offers an excellent location for an office space that promotes employee physical and mental health. We have various office spaces available for both small and large businesses, which can be customised to create the office design your business requires.

For more information on our availability or to book a viewing contact Jonathan on 07841 397151 or by emailing jonathan@tanshiremanagement.co.uk

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