According to “Wellbeing: A Bottom Line Issue” in Steelcase 360, IBM’s 2012 global CEO study revealed the need for companies to become “more collaborative, communicative, creative, flexible, and ultimately more innovative.”
To foster these characteristics, the article said, organizations have to focus on employee wellbeing. Creativity happens best when employees can choose the work settings that best meet their physical, cognitive and psychological needs.
Did you catch that definition of employee wellbeing? It’s not just physical wellness—ergonomic workstations, smoking cessation programs and employee fitness challenges—but it encompasses the whole person, including mental and emotional health. Wellbeing even extends to having a sense of purpose at work.
This month on the Coalesse blog, we’ll look at various facets of wellbeing in the workplace—and what designers can do to enhance worker wellbeing through space design.