24 California Buildings • Q1 2022
Peace of Mind: Office Amenities as a Tool for Wellbeing By Megan Skaalen and Amy Clark Isolation and loneliness have been on the rise even pre-pandemic. Cigna’s Loneliness and the Workplace 2020 Report classified 61-percent of Americans as lonely, a 7% increase from the organization’s 2018 study. Since humans are social creatures, feelings of isolation can contribute to poor physical and mental health. According to Mental Health America, depression and anxiety are strongly
22.8-percent in January 2022. These results represent an increase of about 3.5 times the number of American adults experiencing anxiety and depression over a two-year period. Although we can’t make a direct correlation between the pandemic and the increase in mental health issues, it certainly seems to have accelerated the growing mental health crisis in the United States.
who shared their goals were about 10-percent less lonely on average. Employees that feel less lonely could have better overall health and mental wellness, as well as be more engaged and productive at work. As the Great Resignation marches on, companies that seek to improve their employees’ work experience to retain top talent will outlast the others. One area of focus to consider: How can leadership and the spaces in which we occupy help forge strong relationships among employees?
Identifying the Right Amenities
Residential-inspired living rooms, libraries and lounge areas promote co-worker connection.
related to loneliness, and brain scans show that feeling isolated can activate the same areas of the brain that respond to physical pain. During the pandemic, anxiety and depression rates continued to increase. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that adult anxiety increased from an average of 8.1-percent in 2019 to 27.9-percent reported January 2022. These same studies noted that adult depression increased from an average of 6.5-percent in 2019 up to
Effects on the Workplace Employers must understand these trends and the implications loneliness can have on the organization and company culture. Cigna’s Loneliness Index revealed that workers who identified as lonely are less engaged, less productive and report lower retention rates; more likely to be in the Gen Z cohort. Luckily, the study also found that employees with strong co-worker relationships were almost 13-percent less lonely on average and colleagues
Organizations that hope to positively affect change in a real way should focus on spaces and amenities that foster meaningful, in-person connections. Residential-inspired living rooms, libraries and lounge areas that encourage employees to linger and socialize promote co-worker connections and collaboration. Providing coffeeshop-like break rooms and cafés to serve as a gathering hub could do the same. Organizations should encourage employees to take a lunch break away from their workstation and eat together. Walking trails that allow easy access to outdoor space can also boost wellbeing—especially if employees utilize them with others. Certain types of meetings, like mentoring or coaching meetings, could even benefit from occurring during an outdoor walk. All of these scenarios work best when also modeled by leadership—it isn’t enough to just provide the amenity, the culture also has to celebrate the meaningful connections made. (Continued on next page)
