6. How to design an office space that promotes creativity and improves employee well-being

There’s a lot of talk about the need for creativity in the workplace. And none of it has anything to do with the type of artwork you choose to hang on your walls. Instead these conversations center on the fact that organizations that encourage their employees to think creatively at work enjoy a distinct advantage over their competitors. In fact, creativity in the workplace isn’t just a “nice to have” it’s a “must have” if a company wants to be competitive.

Most often, when discussing the design of a workplace, the focus is on the physical effects on the workers, but how does it affect a workers well-being?

Leah Stringer, a workplace strategy expert and author of The Healthy Workplace believes that, “human health should be the foundation of workplace design because companies thrive on the innovation and abilities of their people, and if employees are sick, overweight, stressed, sleep-deprived or disengaged, they prevent the company they work for from thriving and maintaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

The amount of personal space and the type of personal space within an office environment can encourage or discourage social interaction between employees.
For example, the common belief behind having an open-space office is that filling an open area with a lot of people will generate more group interaction and idea exchange. But in reality the total opposite can be true.

Too many people sharing a space can cause excessive distraction and conversation noise that will make it more difficult for employees to concentrate on the jobs at hand.

Usually when put into this type of environment, employees tend to huddle down in their space, put on headphones, and block out everyone and everything around them.

Not exactly the type of employee reaction that would help your office achieve the cross-pollination of ideas that you were hoping for.

Another issue with distractions in the workplace has to do with employees who might suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For these employees, who
are easily distracted and have difficulty staying on task, having too many things going on around them will make even the simplest job difficult to do, adding to an increase in their stress level on the job.

To help minimize distractions for employees working in open spaces, consider using workstations and other modular furniture that offer a seated, visual privacy wall between employees. Sound masking and the use of sound absorbing materials should also be considered.

According to Ester Buchholz, a psychologist, psychoanalyst, and the author of The Call of Solitude, the need for “alone time” to let our thoughts wander and to figure things out are essential for original creative thinking and innovation.

Studies have also shown that when employees have the ability to control their level of privacy, the adverse effects of other workplace stressors are reduced.

Offering employees this flexibility on where and how they work within the office is also beneficial to any employees who suffer with any form of depression. For example,
a person with depression would not benefit from being assigned to an enclosed workspace at the end of a hallway, or alongside a high-traffic hallway that offers
little privacy. By offering other alternatives, employees with depression will feel better having control of where they can go to work.

Stress is something every person feels and experiences to some degree every day. One thing studies have shown is that psychosocial stress is a predictor of mental health
problems. A beneficial workplace feature that has been show to reduce stress and help people recover from stressful situations is windows. Another study suggested
that just viewing nature, whether through a window or images (pictures) helped to reduce stress and support employee well-being.

Research has also shown that air quality and lighting at work can have significant effects on brain function and productivity. Poor lighting can cause headaches, eyestrain, and tiredness, which can all contribute to stress, and thereby, anxiety and depression.

Photobiology is the official term for people who suffer mood changes due to insufficient exposure to sunlight.

However, the benefits of providing adequate light may have mental health benefits even for employees not diagnosed with this disorder. Research has shown that those with the shortest daily light exposure time reported the lowest mood. These findings led an international committee to conclude that the daily light dose received by people working indoors might be too low for good mental health.

That may be why, a recent survey by Future Workplace, an HR advisory firm, found that there’s one perk employees feel is more important than coffee bars, gyms, and treadmill desks. The survey, The Employee Experience polled 1,614 North American employees
and found that access to natural light and views of the outdoors ranked number one in desired work environment attributes.

The study goes on to reveal that over a third of employees feel that they don’t get enough natural light. Forty-seven percent admit they feel tired or very tired because of the absence of natural light or a window in their office. And 43% feel gloomy because of lack of light.

Another study with 444 employees from the United States and India via an online panel showed that natural elements and sunlight exposure related positively to job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and negatively to depressed mood and anxiety. Direct
sunlight was a dominant predictor of anxiety while indirect sunlight was a dominant predictor of depressed mood, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.

Color has also been found to have an impact on a person’s mood and behavior, and have an influence on employee well-being.

Natural toned colors such as green and blue hues can improve efficiency and focus, and reduce stress. Warm yellows can trigger optimism, creativity, and fresh energy.

Vivid colors like red add intensity to the décor, and can inspire passion and boost physical activity.

Several ancient cultures, including the Egyptians and Chinese, were so sure that color could have an effect on people that they actually practiced chromotherapy, or the use of colors to heal.

As you can see by now, there are a lot of good reasons to care for your employees’ well-being. And a lot of tools to help ensure that you do. In fact, it’s something that
should be at the forefront of any workplace design.

Gallup’s most recent State of the American Workplace survey states that more than half of employees report better overall well-being as “very important”.

While work-life balance and overall well-being were the second most important factors when choosing to work for an organization.

Take care of your employees’ well-being and you’ll not only be rewarded with higher loyalty, you’ll be rewarded with higher levels of job engagement and creativity.

Two things your organization needs to have a competitive advantage, both now and in the future.