25 April 2024
Do you ever wonder why most youngsters today ‘feel old’ even in their mid-20s or 30s? The answer is simple– sedentary workplaces with bad air quality. We were never made to stay glued to a desk for 8-9 hours in a confined cubicle with unhealthy air.
According to the World Health Organization, insufficient physical activity is the fourth significant risk for mortality. The trend of a sedentary lifestyle has led to an annual global healthcare cost of about 24.7 billion dollars.
Yet we’re working the conventional ways?
Not anymore! As important as it is to meet the deadlines, so is to stay fit. And with most of us spending a significant fraction of 24 hours in workplaces, that is where the drive to wellbeing must begin. How? Keep reading for the secrets of healthy workplaces.
● The art of balancing productivity and well-being at the workplace.
● How does movement make teams move towards productivity?
● 5 tricks to strategically promote movement at work.
● Examining the impact of indoor air quality on work
● Modern solutions that breathe wellness and productivity.
The two most critical aspects in curating healthy workplaces are movement and enhanced indoor air quality. While the movement takes care of the physical health, air quality targets to keep the mind relaxed.
A synergetic blend of these two aspects in a workplace supports productivity and, at the same time, nurtures a healthy workplace.
Do you ever feel boggled while continuously working and lose your work momentum? Have you ever noticed that a little stroll from your desk to the coworker’s suddenly makes you feel light and helps you regain focus?
That’s the magic of movement. Movement is critical in an individual’s mind, body, and productivity. Promote movement in the workplace by introducing the concept of microbreaks. These short and frequent breaks between the long sitting hours help keep the employees focused, happy, and productive.
Here’s how:
No two humans are alike, so shouldn’t be their workplaces. Offer your employees adjustable desks that match perfectly with their body proportions. Consider adding workstations like Motion, offering adjustable height to address the wellness demand.
Does encouraging movement mean adding a gym to the workplace? No. Instead, you can promote movement by furnishing the workplace with an open layout. Craft the layout that fosters a natural flow of movement from private work desks to meeting zones.
Introduce collaborative spaces in the workplace that foster a ‘connection’ during meetings. Make it versatile rather than keeping it formal with a traditional conference table. Add movable furniture like benches, poufs, chairs, etc., to allow an easy rearrangement. The diverse sizes and configurations also help keep employees comfortable discussing critical points.
Make it a rule for the employees to take micro-breaks every hour or whenever required. Further, you can include simple exercises in the break for better blood flow, reduced stress, and enhanced productivity.
Why not add innovative furnishing solutions that serve as wellness equipment? Integrate office furniture that’s all about fitness. Explore the Flexifit range, which offers a motorized treadmill and an adjustable tabletop. Or go for Dynafit’s collaborative furnishing solution, enabling discussions while working towards fitness.
According to the World Bank and the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation, a global economy suffers a loss of 225 billion USD annually in labor income due to air pollution.
From stepping out of the house to working in confined zones, employees are always at risk of breathing polluted air. While the outdoor air quality always gets recorded, indoor AQI is often neglected.
If you notice lower productivity and increased sick leave, air quality could be the reasons.
Many reasons lead to indoor air pollution in offices. From dusty surfaces to furnishings like carpets and curtains, there are several elements leading to poor air. And the discomfort means a mental and physical health risk for employees. Here’s how it proves to be dangerous for your business.
A healthy employee is one of the secrets to an organization’s success. With workplace design that doesn’t promote wellness, organizations might witness excessive sick leaves and absenteeism. As a result, the efficiency and productivity goes down.
Bad indoor air quality and a sedentary culture lead to fatigue. It hampers the thinking abilities and makes the employees less productive.
With lesser focus and hampered productivity, the employees don’t perform well regarding decision-making or problem-solving skills. Exposure to air pollutants leads to issues like brain fog and creativity blocks, so employees cannot make sound judgments.
Today, with awareness and consciousness of well-being, employees tend to prefer healthier workplaces. Any workplace with poor indoor air quality might lose employees frequently, increasing recruitment drive and training costs for every new hire.
The easiest way to determine whether your workplace is healthy is by monitoring the indoor air quality. A real-time monitor helps understand the situation better and deploy suited solutions. Offer transparency to your employees by publicly displaying the air quality on monitors.
Make sure to retain consistency in the office cleaning. Eliminate dust, allergens, and other contaminants from the office, improving air quality. It minimizes health risks and promises work efficiency. Another key to clean workplaces is avoiding soft furnishings that trap dust. Instead, opt for natural fibers like jute, wool, or breathable materials for carpets and curtains.
Add indoor plants with air-purifying qualities to the interiors. It enhances the air quality and brings hints of refreshing green to the workplace.
Why not give your employees their desired comfort with desk air purifiers? This approach significantly enhances the indoor air quality. Add workstation solutions like DesQ that offer personalized ventilation control. The innovative ducting system lets employees work better with controlled air quality.
Promising well-being at workplaces is beneficial for the employees. It also helps keep your organization healthy in the competitive industry. With the world witnessing poor air quality and a sedentary work culture, wellness is necessary.
Plan active workspaces, versatile layouts, and healthy interiors. Allow the design to breathe freshness and productivity into the ambiance. Let your employees enter the ultimate inspiring and empowering offices.
Kirit JoshiCo-Founder & Director – Spacewood
Kirit Joshi, a natural entrepreneur with a mechanical engineering degree from VNIT Nagpur and a couple of years of experience in the modular furniture industry, co-founded Spacewood Furnishers Pvt. Ltd. in 1994 as a Director along with his college mate Vivek Deshpande. Later in 2011, he co-founded Spacewood Office Solutions Pvt. Ltd, where he plays a role as Director, apart from other group companies. Starting as a small establishment with a 2000 sq.ft. space; 10 workers and a modest investment, Kirit Joshi’s hard work and determined entrepreneurship helped to take the company past the 100 Crore mark in just about ten years and eventually become a market leader.
Vivek DeshpandeCo-Founder & Director – Spacewood
Vivek Deshpande, a mechanical engineer from VNIT Nagpur started his career in the modular furniture industry, but quickly found that his true calling in establishing a manufacturing unit of his own. Eventually, he teamed up with his college mate Kirit Joshi and he jointly set up Spacewood Furnishers Pvt. Ltd. in 1994 as a Director. Later in 2011, he co-founded Spacewood Office Solutions Pvt. Ltd, where he plays a role as Director, apart from other group companies. His keen skills and intuition and the decisive push into a nascent industry in India (at that time), gave him and the company a first-mover advantage and these factors contributed greatly to the rapid growth and emergence of Spacewood Furnishers Pvt. Ltd. as a giant player in the modular home furniture business over the last two decades.
Nitin SudameFounder & Managing Director SOS
Nitin, an entrepreneur, founded Spacewood Office Solutions (SOS) in 2011, leading it to prominence in the office furniture segment. With over 34 years of industry experience, including roles at leading companies like Thermax Ltd. and Blow Plast Ergonomics Ltd. (BPEL), Nitin’s expertise in material management and logistics has been instrumental. As Director of Spacewood Furnishers and co-founder of SOS, he prioritizes employee development and fosters a strong company culture. Under his leadership, SOS has become one of India’s fastest-growing modular office furniture companies, driven by his ability to build high-performance teams and nurture enduring client relationships.
