3 quick ways to increase employee wellbeing at work. June 21, 2019

3 quick ways to increase employee wellbeing at work.

Today across the UK it is, “Bring Your Dog to Work Day!” This day was established 6 years ago to encourage employees for just one day a year to bring their dog into the office or workplace with them.

The day is for a charitable cause as all proceeds raised from the day go to the dog charity, All Dogs Matter. The animal charity rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes dogs around London.

Apart from being a charitable day, another benefit is employee wellbeing. Studies suggest dogs in the workplace can reduce employee stress levels, improve optimism, improve levels of employee productivity and overall employee wellbeing.

While it may not be possible to have four-legged friends in the office every day, it is important to note the importance of proactively improving employee wellbeing.

Let’s look at 3 quick ways to increase employee wellbeing at work.

1. Let the outdoors in!

Research from the World Green Building Council suggests that natural light, plants in the office, open spaces and windows in office spaces can increase employee wellbeing in many ways.

Some of the benefits include improved cognitive performance, a better quality of sleep for employees and a higher productivity rate from employees. While it is not viable to change the look of a workplace overnight, consider adding some plants, drawing back the blinds and moving desks closer to windows in order to liven up the office space.

2. Add a splash of colour to the office.

Whether it be by adding some bright colours to the walls, putting up some artwork, creating some promotional graphics or even adding some cushions or plants to the office, colour helps to improve the ambience of the workplace!

The office ambience can affect the subconscious emotions of employees through colour. Red is a stimulating and motivating, blue is relaxed and stable and green is tranquil. As colours can evoke different emotions, it is important to identify the ambience you want to create in your office and then add some different elements of colour for the intended mood.

The main thing to remember is to stay away from dark colours or completely plain and washed out colours to avoid provoking a negative ambience.

3. Get moving!

It is important for everyone to incorporate movement into the day and avoid siting at a desk for the entire workday without moving. It is important to move and stretch throughout the day to avoid pain, the negative effects of bad posture, to increase blood flow and to stimulate the mind.

While it can be tricky to get up and move, there are simple things you can encourage employees to do in order to get moving. These include encouraging employees to go for a short walk on their lunch break, encouraging the use of the stairs instead of a lift at work, hosting a walking meeting where discussions happen during a walk rather than around a table, allowing employees to take phone calls while standing up or even encouraging them to set an alarm to remind them to get up and stretch every hour. Some offices also invest in standing desks that allow employees to adjust their desk throughout the day to stand while they work.