A couple of years ago, Richard Branson–of Virgin Group fame–unveiled what felt like a brand new idea: that employers should actively care about the health of their employees. Breaking at a time when The Affordable Health Care Act was still the subject of massive attention (and a deciding factor in the national election that year), the idea that employers should care about an employee’s actual health, as opposed to what that employee’s health could cost the company in insurance premiums, Branson’s DASH app definitely made some waves.
Since then, many offices have been working overtime (pardon the pun) to make their office spaces as healthy and as accessible as possible. There have been some bumps in the road (the open office plan, anyone?) but real strides are being made and companies that focus on their employees’ overall health have higher levels of productivity and work-place satisfaction than those that remain staunchly in the “automatons at all costs” camp. Here are some of the trends that are currently making headlines.
Standing Desks
Once billed as “just a Silicon Valley thing,” standing desks are becoming more widespread every day. Some people love them. Other people hate them. Regardless, the science is in: standing desks reduce fatigue, increase productivity and focus and offer a number of other health benefits that are harder to quantify.
Taking this one step further, many employers are choosing to provide ergonomic standing desks for their employees. This means, basically, offering convertible desks instead of fixed height desks. This allows employees to sit as they need to and to raise the desk to a height that is best for their individual postures (arms bent at 90 degrees).
Ending the Open Office Plan
The open office plan is reminiscent of the “bull pen” approach that employers often take in creative industries. Everybody’s desks are in the same open space. The idea behind them is that, the close proximity to one’s coworkers will encourage them to work more collaboratively. A side benefit is that, with so many potential eyes checking out your screen, there is less chance for slacking off while on the clock. Employers love the open office plan. It looks hip and trendy and, supposedly, made companies more efficient, productive and, by extension, profitable.
It turns out, the open office plan is one of the worst layouts for employees to work within. Open office layouts make employees feel more stressed out, resentful and un-focused. While, symbolically, employees know they are supposed to enjoy the collaborative atmosphere, psychologically they (and, by extension, their employers’ bottom lines) benefit more from a cubicle and office arrangement.
Increased Privacy
Riding on the heels of the “closing” of an office space, more employers are starting to take measures to protect employees’ focus and productivity. While the “walk and talk” method has been encouraged for years, employers are now realizing that it’s constant interruptions are devastating to an employee’s workflow.
The “walk and talk” is where, instead of sending an email or an instant message, employees are encouraged to get up and physically walk over to the person they need to talk to and actually talk to them. The idea is that a quick face to face conversation is faster than writing and editing emails and then waiting for replies. They are supposed to get employees up and moving more, which is better for their health, and can encourage the fostering of employee relationships.
What science has found, however, is that it takes several minutes to regain focus after being interrupted and, having to deal with several interruptions every day, employees were wasting hours of time trying to get back on task. As a result, many employers are encouraging employees to go back to digital forms of communication.
Encouraging Fitness Competition
Fitbit, one of the best and most innovative business ideas to date, has spurned a huge wave of competitive, yet mostly passive, fitness. Fitbit wearers can upload their stats to a wide variety of apps and then compare their activity levels to those of their friends, family, coworkers, etc.
Many employers are cashing in on this tracking ability by encouraging their employees to compete against each other to see who can take the most steps, burn the most calories, etc. They encourage employees to set fitness goals and then give out awards to those who meet them.
Taking an active interest in employees’ health is in every entrepreneur and CEO’s best interest. The healthier your work force, the better your business will perform. Healthy employees miss fewer days of work, are more productive and generally more positive than those whose health is questionable. How will you encourage your employee’s health this year?