How to Boost Wellbeing in Your London Office
Now the holiday season is over, many of us are slowly returning to normality.
This means getting back into the office, and getting into work.
January can be a tough time for some people, with the infamous Blue Monday taking place in this month.
That’s why the team at One One One have created this guide on how to boost positivity and promote wellbeing in your workplace, not just in January, but throughout the year.
Let’s take a look.
Blue Monday in the Office
Blue Monday is known as the most depressing day of the year.
This day often falls on the third Monday of the year, and there is a scientific formula behind the reason for this day being chosen. It contains a mixture of bad weather, rising debts, and a lack of motivation due to failed resolutions and more.
If you are a business owner, and you are realising your team seem slightly down, then there are many things you can do in your office to boost morale and productivity.
The wellbeing of your team should be one of the most important things for a business owner, so here are some tips on how to ensure things stay positive not just in January, but all year round.
Wellbeing Tips in the Workplace
1. Make Things Comfortable
When we talk about office comfort, we mean much more than just chairs and desks. Comfort can be found in many different places, and there are some quick methods of building comfort, and some more long-term ones.
So, how can you improve your London office comfort levels?
Well, an important place to start is temperature. If your staff are too hot or cold, it can really affect their working day negatively. You can also look into the colour and design features of your office. Using calming colours such as blue and green is proven to create a more peaceful atmosphere so spending a bit of time painting is always definitely worth it.
And of course the calming colours don’t have to come from paint alone, you can use your furniture to create comfortable seating and a calm environment, such as in this Serviced Office on Regent Street.
These may be more long-term, but there are some quick ways you can make your office comfortable right now.
Why not look into your office rules such as the use of dress codes and allotted break times? Being generous to your employees here can make them feel much more at home and at peace when in the office.
2. Promote Regular Exercise
Exercise can have a huge effect on mental health.
Many studies have proven this fact, including one in which two groups rated their mood , one after a period of physical activity, one after a period of inactivity.
The physical group felt much more content, awake, and calm, and many that were feeling low found an increase in their mood.
But how can you promote exercise in an office environment?
Well, some offices are lucky enough to come equipped with some physical features, such as gyms and yoga rooms, like this Farringdon office space.
If you don’t have the space for this, why not look into standing desks, and provide these to employees who would much rather be stood when working than sitting down.
Another way of promoting physical exercise is by making it easy to bike, walk, or run into work.
Provide a place where people can store their exercise equipment or lock their bikes, such as in this Managed Office in Holborn is a great way of making biking into the office easy and safe. Another thing that puts people off is the idea of working up a sweat before work, so why not install some showers so your staff can get clean after a physical commute?
3. Add Some Greenery
Office plants are amazing at boosting wellbeing in a workplace.
Especially in the summer when people strive to be outside, adding a bit of nature into your workspace can have a huge effect on your staff. Take a look at the lounge area of this St James’s office for example, or the whole of this Fitzrovia office, which is brimming with lovely plants.
As mentioned earlier, the colour green itself is a calming colour, so that is a big boost straight away.
But plants offer so much more than just their colour.
They have been proven to reduce stress and increase productivity and happiness.
Another great benefit of plants is that they clean the air around them. If you constantly have the windows shut in your office, this can be a way of reducing stuffiness, and can even help reduce employee sickness.
If your office is feeling chaotic and causing increased stress levels on your employees, then plants are a great way of breaking through the tension, providing something that smells and looks nice and importantly makes your office feel much more natural and fresh.
This relates back to my earlier point about building a comfortable environment, and plants can definitely help go a long way to doing that.
If you can get an outside space to help your staff get even more fresh air, then even better!
4. Provide Healthy Food and Drinks
It is often said that having a healthy body leads to a healthy mind.
One thing that you can do to boost your employee wellbeing is to provide healthy food and drink.
Offering things like fruit and healthy snacks can go a long way in increasing the wellbeing and physical health of your employees. So having somewhere like the canteen in this Southwark office, which is packed with healthy food, is a big bonus.
Something that is essential to provide is water. Staying hydrated is vital for your staff, so water is a minimum requirement. Try also to provide hot drinks such as tea and coffee like in this Paddington office space.
If you have a canteen, offering healthy meals such as salads is sure to help and studies have proven that eating well leads to an increased focus, less feelings of anxiety, and a better mood.
A well hydrated and well fed workforce is much more likely to feel positive about work, and if you can provide nice food that your staff enjoy, they are sure to feel happier about eating (and socialising) in the work canteen over lunch.
5. Have a Great Breakout Space
Something that is vitally important to employee wellbeing is having a space they can take a breather and relax.
This is somewhere they can get away from their desk, forget about work for a while, and socialise with their colleagues.
Breakout space comes in many shapes and sizes and can contain many different things.
It can be something as simple as somewhere to sit and enjoy a chat over a cup of tea such as in this Victoria office. Or something much more grand and a space that is packed full of ways to let off some steam, such as pool and ping-pong tables, like this office in Finsbury.
This can be a great place to use some of the other points mentioned in this blog. Why not offer free fruit in the breakout room? Use calming colours and plants to make this a really stress-free environment that is the ideal atmosphere to take a short period away from your desk when you can feel anxiety building.
Building positive relationships with fellow workers is also really important, and when you’ve grown to have many friends at work, it can be a very enjoyable place to go. So, providing a breakout space in which colleagues can have a chat and forget about work for a while is ideal for helping these friendships grow.
You can even have stunning outside breakout space like the roof terrace in this Mayfair office, to give your staff a bit of fresh air while they take a break.
Build Your Perfect Office with One One One
If you’re looking to find the perfect workplace for your employees, then why not get in touch with One One One.
We have access to Every London Office and can help you handpick your ideal London office space.
Whether large or small, we have the right workspace for you.
Why not visit our new build your own office page and let us know exactly what you need.
January can be a tough month for some people, so by following these tips above, hopefully you can build a workplace that your employees, and yourself, really love and enjoying working in.