Designing Workplaces with Inspiration Office

The term “wellbeing” is one often come across today. While wellbeing at home may include a healthy diet, exercise, plenty of time to rest and recharge, quality time spent with loved ones and time to be creative, the question about what wellbeing looks like at work remains unanswered. Is it simply good office hours? A nicely designed office? Perks such as (good) free coffee?

“Designing workplaces that nurture people and foster moments of delight and joy requires an intentional effort to truly understand what leads to wellbeing. Gyms and healthy food at work are great benefits and part of the equation, but wellbeing runs deeper than that,” explains Steelcase, a global design and thought leader in the world of work.

“Contrary to popular belief, joy is not fluffy,” says Tracy Brower, PhD, author of The Secrets to Happiness at Work and Steelcase vice president of Workplace Insights. “Joy can ebb and flow, but a general sense of wellbeing, satisfaction and fulfilment matter — a lot. In fact, these will be key ingredients for organisations to succeed in the future of work.”

Six dimensions make up someone’s physical, cognitive and emotional wellbeing – meaning, authenticity, belonging, optimism, mindfulness and vitality.

Here, Steelcase shares how companies can address each of these dimensions in the workplace for true employee wellbeing.

Find Meaning

People feel more satisfied at work when they know their efforts make a difference to something larger than themselves. Our workplaces can help people feel a greater sense of purpose by giving them more exposure to new ideas and ways to connect to the wider organisation and the community in which they work. For instance, challenge perspectives and inspire awe by promoting physical displays of new ideas, interesting areas of study or big questions that push boundaries.

Nurture Optimism

Hope is associated with wellbeing, but employees today are dealing with crisis fatigue. Work-life balance is low while employee stress continues to climb. When organisations help people develop resilience and react to day-to-day challenges in a more positive, constructive way, people are better able to manage stress, be more open-minded and inclusive, and have better workplace connections and results.

Embrace Authenticity

Being open and welcoming to other perspectives, appearances, languages and cultures creates stronger teams and organisations. Feeling like you can be yourself at work means less burnout, stress and higher engagement. The workplace can help shape behaviour by supporting people to feel agency over their work and encouraging expression. For instance, enable control with flexible spaces and policies that encourage people to customise where, when and in which spaces they work.

Cultivate Belonging

There’s an opportunity for the office to play a larger role in connecting people of diverse backgrounds in meaningful ways. Making sure people feel included in genuine ways helps them connect to the organisation and their colleagues. The types of spaces people have access to make a big difference. For example, create social spaces, shared dining areas, a gaming community, and paths through leader spaces to amplify planned and unplanned connections.

Promote Mindfulness

Focusing our minds on the present moment helps us regain a sense of calm and perspective. Digital disruptions are contributing to shorter attention spans and higher stress. People are more aware of their mental health and focused on proactively improving it. Practised over time, mindfulness strengthens our ability to concentrate and learn and helps manage stress. At the office, provide on-demand spaces where anyone can access visual and acoustic privacy and encourage refuge and renewal with calm retreat spaces and experiences with nature, including outdoor spaces.

Foster Vitality

When people are healthier overall, they are better prepared to bring their best to work and life. Most people are looking for ways to stay energised so that even when they feel tired, it’s in a good way. Access to healthy food, exercise and adequate rest will set the stage for people to perform better at work, but healthful practices should be woven into the workplace and not seen as something people are solely responsible for outside of work. Promote regular movement throughout the day with spaces that encourage a variety of postures, walking meetings and moving to meeting rooms rather than joining virtually from the desk.

Steelcase is locally available from Inspiration Office.

Creators of bespoke office solutions, Inspiration Office is the leading supplier of office furniture in South Africa. Founded in 2005, today, the company has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town and stocks an impressive range of award-winning smart furniture and accessory solutions from leading international brands such as Steelcase, Orangebox and PolyVision, to streamline your office and work day.