Shifting the Paradigm from Wellness to Wellbeing

Why should a workplace design professional be concerned about people’s well-being? Moreover, how could this affect the priorities of the HR department? Let’s discuss.

In the next few years (if not already) people, workers, employees (or talent in the current vernacular), will become the most critical resource adding value to businesses. At the same time, we will be entering an era where demand for worker talent will exceed supply.

Additionally, the intrinsic motivation of talent is changing away from the traditional factor of compensation. Motivation is now shifting towards the quality of the workplace experience, and that experience has as its most direct corollary the idea of wellness.

As presently utilized, the HR function is responsible for recruiting and retaining talent for a business operation. Following my logic then, if fulfilling this mission requires improving the quality of workplace experience – as measured by wellness – there should be a close collaboration with workplace designers whose primary task is to create and foster what is now commonly referred to as the user experience.