Most offices not designed to support mental wellbeing

A new survey has revealed that a staggering 95% of employees want to see improvements to their physical office space.

According to Unispace, this suggests that many workers are unhappy with their current workplace setup.

The report, ‘Mental health and the office: Understanding the current, and the future relationship, between workspaces and wellbeing’, surveyed 3,000 office workers across Europe and found that 47% felt that remote working had had a positive impact on their mental health.

Of those surveyed, 74% indicated a desire for separate spaces to collaborate and work individually, while a further 21% indicated they wanted access to more outdoor spaces or greenery at work.

Another 75% said they have missed the social element of the office, and with social interaction known to boost mental wellbeing, Unispace is warning that failure to adapt offices to ensure staff can thrive at work could be detrimental to staff wellbeing.

Claire Shepherd, Chief Operating Officer, at Unispace, commented, “The link between office design and mental wellbeing is often overlooked, but the fact that almost half of the workforce felt that their mental health improved while working from home, highlights that too many workplaces do not meet the needs of the people that use them.

“We know that the office – a place that many of us are returning to on a more regular basis – can support mental wellbeing, from the positive collaboration and socialisation opportunities our colleagues afford us, to easy access to amenities, and much more.

“Small changes can have a huge impact as well, from colour schemes, to lighting and representations of nature, to acoustics, and room temperatures. But it all starts with truly understanding your colleagues and their needs. Having gone through a difficult period that has tested the resilience of us all, businesses need to consider what more they can do to proactively support the mental wellbeing of their workforce.”

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