May is Mental Health Awareness Month! This month we take the time to reflect on how our workplaces can better support employees’ mental health. Helping to provide mental health care at work requires a holistic approach. It’s important to have emotional support from managers, and health care professionals, as well as providing the tools and experiences needed to increase overall well-being at work. As experts in furnishing and designing office spaces, we know just how impactful the office itself can be for employees’ mental health.
Provide Indoor and Outdoor Workspaces
There are SO many benefits to working outdoors. Increased creativity, improved mood, better collaboration, and decreased stress are just some of the ways that working outdoors can help your employees. Utilizing outdoor space at your office may require some creative thinking, but we do know how much it benefits the overall health of your employees. When creating an outdoor workspace you must consider everything you’d need to get work done. From the seating, we like the SEE! Lounge by Janus Et Cie pictured above, to tables and worksurfaces, to directing sunlight and shade with umbrellas.
Bring The Outdoors In
We know you can’t conjure up a courtyard. So when an outdoor workspace just can’t happen, bring the outdoors in! All of the benefits you get from working outdoors can happen indoors with a biophilic design. We covered this design style extensively in this previous blog post. In a nutshell, it’s great to bring plants indoors: it helps boost creativity, cleans the air, and creates a more positive working environment.
Encourage Employees To Choose Different Workspaces Throughout The Day
Working in an open environment can be a big boost for collaboration and creativity, but it can make some aspects of work more difficult. We like to make sure that employees are encouraged to choose a workspace that suits their needs and helps them to be the most productive. For many of us, taking conference calls or doing focused work can be difficult in an open environment. When this is the case we like using architectural products like the HushPhone, pictured above. It’s an acoustic workspace that allows for focus and clear sound for conference calls.
Support Physical Health With Standing Desks
Mental and physical health are intertwined. Only providing a standard-height desk and chair can make employees feel “stuck” in their office or cubicle. Plus, sitting down for 8 or more hours a day has been proven to negatively impact back, neck, and arm health. Offering your employees a standing desk benefits their physical and mental health. A standing desk gives employees much more freedom throughout the day to sit or stand as they see fit. This agency over how they work helps to encourage employees to feel ownership of their space and their work. The Ergotron WorkFit Standing Desk allows you to modify existing desking to create a sit-to-stand desk without breaking the bank.
Add Ergonomic Support
We’ve all been crabby and achy after a day in a less than comfortable seat. Supporting a positive and healthful work environment also requires some back support. Adding ergonomic support to your office can come in many different forms. One of the most impactful is helping employees to raise their computer monitor to decrease stress on the neck, and support their back with an ergonomic desk chair. Zody desk chairs, pictured above, have adjustable lumbar support and armrests that allows for a comfortable work environment. In fact, the Zody line of chairs are the first and only chair to be endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association!
To learn more about the latest products for healthy workplaces please get in touch with Marie Richoux and set up a meeting. Send an email to marier@kvworkspace.com to schedule.
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