Employee wellness programs have long been growing in popularity, having become almost standard for larger corporations. According to Zippia, 83% of companies with 200 or more employees offer wellness programs and benefits such as free gym memberships, rewards, incentives and more.

While they’re a great perk for employees, these wellness programs tend to focus on surface-level benefits and don’t take steps to address deeper, more holistic well-being for employees.

What is workplace well-being?

Workplace well-being extends beyond corporate wellness programs to address all aspects of worklife, ranging from the quality and safety of a work environment to how employees actually feel about the work they do. Companies incorporate well-being into their corporate structure through programs like flexible scheduling, enhanced return-to-work programs and a physical workplace that puts well-being at its center. Well-being used to be a “nice-to-have” for companies, if it was incorporated at all. Now, accelerated by COVID-19’s impact on the global workforce, employers carry a higher level of responsibility for their employees’ well-being.

Air is vital to well-being

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a critical part of workplace well-being that affects the physical health and performance of employees, but is usually not addressed in corporate wellness programs. Americans spend approximately 90% of their time indoors according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where the concentrations of some pollutants are often two-to-five times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.

According to a recent survey conducted by Fellowes, only 36% of employees describe the indoor air in their current workplace as “very clean.” Surveyed employees were at least somewhat concerned about contracting COVID-19 (73%), allergy symptoms (71%), contracting other viruses (68%), headaches (66%) and fatigue (65%) due to poor IAQ in their buildings.

A greater focus on well-being, like improving air quality in the workplace, can have immense benefits to employees as well as a company’s bottom line. Research has shown that when organizations support the well-being of their people, they can experience lower turnover and burnout, as well as greater employee engagement. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, cleaner indoor air is linked to increased cognition and productivity—plus, the protection against illness and pollutants can help reduce employee absenteeism.

Prioritizing workplace well-being, including investing in IAQ, can significantly increase a corporation’s stock value over time as well. A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine that analyzed stock values for a portfolio of companies that received high scores in a corporate health and wellness self-assessment found that they appreciated by 235%, compared with the S&P 500 Index appreciation of 159% over a six-year simulation period. Making these investments in well-being now, such as a proper IAQ and air purification programs, can have immense financial benefits for an organization down the road.

IAQ can also play a role in an organization’s environment, social and governance (ESG) efforts. Better air quality is closely interwoven within the ESG framework, as it can address environmental factors like climate change and pollution as well as improve employee health. Focusing investment on enhancing your organization’s IAQ is an ideal method to improve employee well-being in a way that also aligns with ESG standards.

Teachers want – and need – IAQ programs

All employees that work indoors can benefit from improved IAQ, but teachers in particular are a group significantly impacted by the quality of the air they breathe at work. Teachers work in high-occupancy classrooms that are often hotspots for the spread of illness, and normally do not have opportunities to be outdoors during the day. Unlike a typical office employee who may be able to work from home when they or their coworkers are sick, teachers and their students suffer greatly from absenteeism, which in turn contributes to learning loss.

With a young population under their care, teachers tend to be more concerned about IAQ than other workers. According to a survey of K-12 educators conducted by Fellowes, 98% of educators believe clean air should be a right for all students and employees, compared to 91% of surveyed office employees.

There is nearly universal agreement among teachers that IAQ is an important part of workplace well-being that must be addressed: 97% of teachers surveyed believe that clean air helps them perform their best work and has a direct impact on how students perform in the classroom. Unfortunately, just 37% of respondents agreed that their school is planning to make IAQ improvements in their classroom, even after the pandemic demonstrated how important clean air is to health and learning. In 2022, the CDC found that fewer than one-third of schools were using portable HEPA filtration systems in classrooms, lunchrooms and other high-risk areas.

Just like businesses see positive impacts on their employees and business success when they incorporate workplace well-being, teachers and their students can benefit from IAQ and other well-being efforts in their classrooms. The EPA reports that better IAQ is linked to higher student productivity,   improved test scores and lower absenteeism rates. School boards and districts should consider implementing air purification and other IAQ improvements not only to benefit the health and safety of students, but to also provide a better working environment for their staff that puts well-being first.

To learn more about the air purification solutions that can benefit your organization’s well-being, visit https://www.fellowes.com/us/en/air-purifiers/default.aspx

Fellowes, with partnership of WeAreTeachers, conducted a survey of over 1,000 teachers regarding their perception of the air quality in their classrooms. The results show that teachers need and expect clean air not only for their own performance but of that of their students.

Because teachers work in high occupancy classrooms that are often hotspots for the spread of illness, 97% of agree that they can benefit significantly from the incorporation of IAQ into workplace well-being programs. Unfortunately, only 37% of teachers believe that their school is currently planning to make the necessary IAQ improvements to their classroom.

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Office occupancy nationwide is at nearly 50% each week on average according to Kastle Systems, a leader in office keycard entry services. That figure represents a steady increase from a year ago, as more employees return to the office at least some of the time. But the return to in-person work doesn’t mean the same pre-pandemic office structure is ideal for these employees. Many have become accustomed to some aspects of remote work, and they prioritize different things from their office space than they did years ago.

According to a recent survey conducted by Fellowes Brands, employees prefer private spaces in the office over collaborative spaces: more than half (58%) of office workers surveyed said that private space was very important for them to do their best work, while only 32% said the same was true for collaborative spaces.

This data is a departure from the era of open concept offices that many businesses continue to use today, and is likely in part influenced by the era of remote work. Employees were given autonomy over their workspaces while working from home during the pandemic, and they have come to prioritize privacy and a level of control over their workspace.

With on-premises work back in the mix, businesses should align themselves with the changing priorities of their workforce to ensure that employees can perform their best work while in the office. Physical changes to the office must go beyond aesthetics to focus on the productivity and satisfaction of employees and the ability to adapt to their evolving needs.

The good news for businesses is that updating an office space does not require large-scale renovations or investing in new construction.

The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturing Association’s (BIFMA) “S&P Global Industry Outlook” reported that commercial construction is expected to drop by 15% in 2023. Design work on existing structures is also at a record high of 52%, signaling that businesses are increasingly opting to adapt their current spaces instead of investing in new construction. Additionally, lease terms have increased over the last 12 months, growing to 9.1 years on average, according to JLL’s “Office Outlook Q3 2022”—keeping more businesses locked into their current office spaces for the long haul.

With these trends in mind, businesses should look to adapt their current office space to ensure it provides a functional workplace that helps employees do their best work, while remaining cost-effective and adaptable to changes in future workplace trends. Modular walls are an excellent solution for businesses to upgrade existing office space to meet the changing needs of the American workforce, without the need for major renovations or new construction.

With on-premises work back in the mix, businesses should align themselves with the changing priorities of their workforce to ensure that employees can perform their best work while in the office. Physical changes to the office must go beyond aesthetics to focus on the productivity and satisfaction of employees and the ability to adapt to their evolving needs.

Why modular walls?

Modular walls offer a variety of benefits without the high cost and long lead time of renovations or new construction. Modular walls can:

• Quickly create private work areas to address the new priorities for employees. With quick installation, modular walls can transform open office space into more private offices or quiet rooms that employees prefer.
• Make versatile spaces that are more useful to the hybrid workforce. As more businesses adopt a hybrid work model, modular walls can be used to restructure existing space to meet the specific needs of your team. They can be used to create coworking spaces, smaller meeting rooms for reduced numbers, or quiet areas where an employee without an office can take time to do focused individual work.
• Easily update and modernize existing workspaces to avoid high cost of constructing new buildings or large scale renovation. Modular walls make impactful upgrades to an office while minimizing installation time, with no large-scale renovation needed. The time savings of modular 3 wall installation over constructing new walls or a completely new office space are significant, which can be critical to keeping your business running smoothly as you redesign.
• Install with less labor and construction waste than building permanent walls. Without the need to hire a large construction crew that will spend days or weeks building permanent walls and offices, modular walls save a significant amount of labor costs, disruptions and downtime for your business. Plus, the simple installation significantly reduces traditional construction waste, making modular walls a much more sustainable option.
• Flexibly change over time with the size and needs of your workforce. Businesses can remove and relocate modular walls without demolition and with minimal impact on floors and ceilings. And it’s easy to change the clear glass walls of a meeting room to the solid walls of a private office, add new offices as your workforce expands, and even install new walls with different colors or finishes to reflect changes in your company’s branding.

The pandemic made it clear that workplace trends can change significantly, and in ways we can’t always predict. Modular walls are an excellent way to effectively upgrade your office space and meet the needs of your employees as they change, without the high cost or permanence of renovation or new construction. To learn more about the modular wall solutions available and the benefits they can provide your office space, visit Fellowes Brands.

American office occupancy hit a post-pandemic high in mid-October according to Kastle Systems, as U.S. workers adapt to the new workplace trends and find a hybrid model that works for them. While workers may be back at their desks, their old workplace preferences may not be what they once were.

The increase in remote and hybrid work in the past few years has given many American office workers a chance to learn what they value in their workspace and the type of working environment that brings them the most success.

Fellowes Brands conducted a survey of American office workers that provided some insight into how offices can leverage workspace design to address the dynamic needs of their employees. Notably, the survey found that 58% of office workers said access to a private work area at their office is very important to producing their best work. Unfortunately, just 35% of respondents completely agree that their employers currently provide a workspace where they can concentrate and produce their best work.

Nearly half (45%) of survey respondents reported they continue to work in a hybrid model (working from home at least one day a week), which places in-person offices in competition with home offices and other remote working locations. The autonomy and flexibility that hybrid employees experience in their remote workspace is guiding their in-office workspace preferences: greater privacy and more adaptable work areas are paramount for an employee to feel they can do their best work.

So, how can employers address this deficit to ensure their workplace is one where employees want to work and can feel their most productive?

Forgo open floor plans and low-height cubicles in favor of modular office spaces that offer more privacy.

Because American workers prioritize private work areas twice as much as collaborative spaces, it’s critical that employers provide access to more private spaces that employees can use to focus. Adding more private work areas into a space doesn’t have to be a floor-to-ceiling renovation, either: Fellowes’ moveable wall solutions can transform an open floor plan into private spaces without major construction, and can adapt as the needs of your organization change over time.

Focus on flexibility.

According to the survey, most American workers desire flexibility in their desk setup (82%) and computer monitor setup (80%) to produce their best work. Provide a variety of desk and monitor solutions to fit the varying needs of your workforce, and communicate to employees that they should feel empowered to make their workspace work for them. Check out Fellowes’ desk and monitor arms for inspiration into how to offer a flexible space for employees when they’re in the office.

Get employee feedback – and apply it.

Just 24% of respondents completely agree that their employer cares about their input when setting up personal employee work areas. With such little confidence in their voice being heard, it’s not surprising that many employees may prefer a remote work setup where they can have greater autonomy. To understand your workforce’s changing needs, ask for feedback from your employees on a consistent basis, and prioritize your investments to be in line with what your workforce says will make them feel the most successful.

Creating a workspace where employees feel their best helps them get “in the zone” to do their best work, which translates to greater productivity for your organization. Small changes to your office space or individual workspaces can make a significant difference to an employees’ productivity. Contact Fellowes today to get started on building the ideal workspace for yo