Greener office: living walls and natural light are common wellness features
Many developers, landlords and occupiers are racing to outdo each other by implementing health-boosting measures including natural ventilation systems, circadian lighting and fitness amenities such as yoga rooms, rooftop running tracks and climbing walls.
Promoting new ways of working through building design is all well and good. But jumping on the bandwagon and basing decisions on what rivals have done rather than on reliable evidence of the benefits could not only make little difference to employees’ wellness but, in some cases, actually be detrimental to productivity and the health of the UK workforce.
In a bid to give the industry – from architects and fit-out specialists to developers, landlords and occupiers – a way to separate the wellness wheat from the chaff, the British Council for Offices (BCO) has published a 230-page study called ‘Wellness Matters: health and wellbeing in offices and what to do about it’.
The BCO believes it is the first major in-depth study of workplace wellness. And one of its authors – William Poole-Wilson, managing director at architect Will+Partners – believes it could potentially save the NHS millions of pounds by improving people’s health, if the government takes heed of the findings.
So what are the findings of the report? And just how influential could it be?
Enabling change
The product of a year’s work, the research, which was launched on 12 June, sets out best-practice guidance for implementing and achieving health and wellbeing across the office life cycle.
In the report, the study’s three authors – Poole-Wilson; Edward Garrod, principal at Elementa Consulting; and James Pack, founder of Sentinel RPI – and their academic advisers critique existing health and wellbeing measurement and certification, identify the most recent and relevant medical evidence and provide guidance on the business case for investment in wellness.
“There is still a perception in the industry that health and wellbeing is just something an occupier does in its fit-out and staff management, and by association investors, developers and designers need not concern themselves,” Bill Page, chairman of the BCO’s research committee, said at the time of the report’s launch.
“We fundamentally challenge that – there are opportunities throughout a building’s lifecycle to enable change. Successful intervention should manifest in shorter voids for developers, greater income retention for investors and healthier, happier staff for occupiers who will gain from better recruitment and retention.”