There is an increasing awareness of the importance of mental health and supporting well-being of employees in the workplace.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), a healthy workplace should include 5 components:
- Work-Life Balance
- Health and Safety
- Employee Growth and Development
- Employee Recognition
- Employee Involvement
In 2016/2017 Mind charity for better mental health carried out an exhaustive wellbeing in the workplace study in the UK. 30 organizations took part in this first ever Workplace Wellbeing Index with 15,000 employees participating in the staff survey. As part of the process, participating organizations submitted their policies for review and completed an employer assessment. These were assessed for how well they address mental health and whether they effectively support and promote employee wellbeing. In addition, employees completed a staff survey which gave them the opportunity to share their experiences of their organization’s culture and support around workplace mental health. The research shows that organizations creating the right environment for their staff can have a positive impact on employees’ health and wellbeing, as well as their job satisfaction and productivity levels.
Physical design has been shown to affect our mental health and happiness. A review of existing research and literature in design of workplaces to support mental health and well-being by Jennifer A. Veitch in 2011 showed that there is still a huge gap in literature that explicitly measures and analyses workplace design. Most of the research has been carried out solely in very traditional office environments and study outcomes such as productivity. Mental health has not been explicitly studied. Research in Environmental Psychology has long argued that physical environments play a key role in promoting mental and physical health. Again, much of this research in sense of place has been applied in external built environments and places.