Facilities Wellness

How to Effectively Manage the Changing Needs of Occupants

As a facility ages, facility managers face a number of different challenges. It’s no longer enough to just make sure everything is working. Today’s facility managers are being asked to craft strategies that focus on buildings working to fit the needs of the occupants—a far cry from year’s past.

The condition of your facilities is a constant representation of your brand in the eyes of your employees

The thinking behind this concept known as Facilities Wellness is that the state of a facility can have a significant impact on the wellness of the staff it houses. With this shift in thinking, several areas have been pinpointed including:

• Lighting: As workers are being asked to work longer hours, they receive less and less sunlight. Humans react negatively when deprived of sunlight. It also impacts how well we function in professional environments. Artificial lighting is a part of the facilities mix, but in order to get the most out of your staff, be sure to provide them access to natural sunlight. It will do wonders for their productivity.

• Air Quality: Air quality can have a tremendous impact on the health of your staff — and your bottom line. If the air is unhealthy, expect productivity to decrease while the number of sick days being used increases. To save money and protect your staff, it’s important to monitor the quality of the air your office is breathing and using corrective actions where necessary.

• Noise: Noise is a part of the workplace. But when it’s coming from an overworked HVAC system, a deficient sprinkler, or an old chiller, that can be a problem. These types of noises are stressors which is why managing them is a must.

• Cleanliness: When employees walk into a fresh, clean environment, their levels of energy and satisfaction increase and so too does the overall morale of the office.

• Design: We’re living in the age of the Open Office Space which means all bets are off when it comes to integration and mixed-use space utilization. Before deciding to make the switch from a traditional office to a more modern, open design, make sure your building can support this move. Make moves that are in the best interest of the workforce that will enhance not detract from their ability to perform.

• Functionality: Regardless of the work being done in it or age of the facility it has to be functional. Get to know the staff that’s being asked to support your vision and go back to what your brand stands for. Doing these things will help your facilities management providers build the type of environment you need to be more productive.

Facilities all over the nation are aging. There’s nothing that anyone can do about this. But while they continue to age, there are measures that can be put in place that increases their functionality and allows them to continue to be a central part of your success.

Millian, Naomi (2016 January 1) Retrieved from https://www.facilitiesnet.com/green/article/Defining-Wellness-and-How-to-Achieve-It-in-Buildings-Facilities-Management-Green-Feature--16348