THE ZONE

Work. Life.
Balance.
2020-style
Those working at the forefront of design suggest the
modern workplace represents a person’s identity and
should therefore reflect their needs for physical and
emotional wellbeing. Matthew Cox reports
We’re living in what some are calling a post-growth
society, in which a company's GDP becomes less
important to an employee than the new metrics
of success such as wellbeing, emotional fulfilment and doing
social good. Wellbeing at work is more than a buzzword, catchy
phrase, or a box to tick, it relates to "all aspects of working life,
from the quality and safety of the physical environment, to how
workers feel about their work, their working environment, the
climate at work and work organization," says The International
Labour Organization. And according to the Nespresso Professional:
Workplace Futures report discussed here, 95 per cent of office
workers say the quality of their workspace is important to their
mental health.
The importance of company values
Businesses in 2020 are offering more than just a salary and
a desk, as work becomes inextricably linked with employee’s
identities, and as noted above, how they feel about it all. It is
becoming increasingly important that the values of a company
and its employees are aligned; according to professor Jeremy
Myerson, from the Royal College of Art’s Helen Hamlyn Centre
for Design, employees need to feel they are doing something
worthwhile in what he calls a "human landscape". The workplace
is where a company connects with its employees, and offices
of the future will send out clear communications about the
company, and its ethos through design and services. Even simple
things like providing high-quality coffee (unsurprising that this is
highlighted in a report by Nespresso) can send a strong message
with 75 per cent of employee’s believing this shows an employer
cares about them according to ComRes who surveyed 2,772 UK
workers for Nespresso about the impact of coffee and other office
perks on their engagement and well-being.
Always on? Prepare for burnout
The way we work has drastically changed over the past decade,
with a digital transformation enabling workers to build their
professional identities whilst combining work with travel, play
and exploration. But this "always on" hyper-connectivity has led
to an increase in concern amongst employers for the wellbeing of
employees. Hardly surprising when 85 per cent of British adults
said they experience stress regularly. According to HSE (Health
and Safety Executive) work-related ill health accounts for some
28 million working days lost a year in Great Britain. By far the
biggest cause of this – up to half of all work-related absence in the
education sector – is stress and related mental health issues. And
in May 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially
identified workplace burnout as an occupational phenomenon,
and are about to embark on the development of evidence-based
guidelines on mental wellbeing in the workplace.
Responding to burnout and stress with wellness programmes is
the focus of many businesses and the workplace wellness market
is expected to grow from £38bn in 2017 to £52.2bn in 2022
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