Embedding Wellness into Workplace Design

Embedding Wellness into Workplace Design

We’re more attuned to our feelings and well-being than ever before. While the pandemic sparked a widespread integration of wellness across our lives, from promoting self-care to taking a daily walk, five years later, the ‘wellness boom’ shows no signs of slowing down.

This evolving trend was a key focus during the panel discussion: “Embedding Wellness into Homes, the Workplace, Hospitality, and Beyond,” at this year’s Conversations at Clerkenwell series, held during Clerkenwell Design Week. Moderated by Max Fraser (Dezeen), the panel features insights from interior designers Robyn Landau (Kinda Studios), Sunny Velikova (Noura Wellbeing), and Simon Kincaid (Conran and Partners). This article shares some of the key insights and takeaways from their discussion. 

Lessons from hospitality

Since 2008, the UK has experienced a huge productivity crisis compared to other countries, threatening the revival of economic growth and improvements in living standards, according to the Productivity Institute. This crisis is perpetuated by a vicious cycle of worker stress, low productivity, and a lack of creativity within some companies. However, businesses that prioritise employee wellbeing consistently outperform their counterparts, attracting and retaining top talent, said Sunny Velikova, urging employers to invest in workers’ well-being through workspace design.

Our environments influence stress more profoundly than we realise (a fact that only recently came to light). For example, airports and prisons are intentionally designed as hostile environments to spark feelings of anxiety. Cities, often described as concrete jungles, can be quite stressful too. Robyn shared how solutions have been introduced to evoke feelings of calm in urban spaces, such as sound machines playing white noise and waterfall audio. 

Calming sounds are typically found in hospitality environments, like hotels and spas. But, a recent design trend sees the blurring of lines between different space typologies, said Simon Kincaid, where design elements are taken from one space and placed in another. In the coworking industry, we’ve experienced this through the recent ‘hotelification of the office’ trend. A workspace once filled with desks now accommodates ‘breakout space,’ lounge-like environments complete with soft, comfortable furnishings. Likewise, requests for replacing standard meeting rooms with digital detox spaces, colour therapy, and meditation spaces are on the rise. 

Sensory ingredients of a workspace

Embedding wellness into the workplace involves careful thought, but there is more to this topic than meets the eye. The panel advised how a wellness-embedded workplace must incorporate certain sensory ingredients to evoke feelings of calm and relaxation. Their recommendations included the following examples:

• Low, warm lighting: You don’t have to be a lighting expert to know that harsh, white lighting isn’t comfortable to work in, however, it hasn’t stopped workspaces from installing blinding fluorescent strip lighting or, more recently, LEDs (an energy-efficient alternative). There is evidence that LED light flickering can trigger headaches, said Max Fraser. The panel’s advice? Install low, warm lighting to make a space feel more homely. 
• Access to daylight: While artificial lighting is sufficient, the most impactful lighting source is, of course, sunlight. Access to daylight improves circadian rhythm, and helps source that much-needed Vitamin D for greater energy levels (and productivity). 

• Acoustic consideration: Robyn Landau noted that, as visual elements make up 80% of the sensorial hierarchy when interacting with spaces, the acoustic aspect is often overlooked. As larger, open-plan workplaces filled with noise can be uncomfortable and overwhelming to work in, especially for the neurodiverse community (affecting 15% of the UK population), addressing acoustics early can make all the difference.
• Regulating the nervous system: As the pandemic triggered many people’s nervous systems, we’re becoming more sensitive to radiation and hidden vibrations, even if we can’t see or hear them. Although this is currently an under-researched topic, the panel urged designers to consider the impact of non-visual vibrations in spaces.

The experiential nature of workplaces

Given that “nature is the greatest healer,” stressed Max, this sentiment is shaping conversations in workspace design about forming deeper connections to nature, alleviating work-related stress. The calming combination of soft materials, neutral colour tones, and low lighting (often found in hotels and spas) creates, what Simon described as: “a home away from home.” 

Recently, biophilic design has become a core workplace design trend. Features like moss-covered walls and strategically placed house plants benefit workers beyond increasing access to nature, such as naturally purifying the air. Max pointed out that in the past, little was known about the impact of poor air quality or cheap paints on our health. Today, a growing societal focus on sustainability and self-care shifts the industry toward more natural materials and environmentally conscious practices.

Embracing nature in the workplace doesn’t just benefit employee wellbeing, however, as the age-old question of ‘how do we encourage people back to the office?’ came up during the discussion. Simon explained how experiential spaces can be a huge attractor. For instance, retail spaces are incorporating on-brand cafes and even cinema experiences to increase footfall, customer engagement, and retention. 

In the flexible workspace industry, we’ve seen the introduction of the experiential office where workplaces don’t just belong in isolation but sit alongside gym facilities, nursery amenities, and wellness stations, like saunas. Ultimately, this workspace design shift not only embraces worker wellbeing but also encourages and celebrates it, indicating a more positive future for wellness-embedded workplace design.