aberley white paper healthy workplaces and work cultures

PREPARED BY Aberley Limited CONTACT Kevin Reader [email protected] DATE 09 November 2016 Aberley Limited Cedar Court 5 Parkway Porters Wood St Albans Hertfordshire AL3 6PA 2017 167 5757 www.aberley.com

Healthy Work Places and Work Cultures Developing a World Class Workforce by providing a World Class Workplace and Culture Introduction The Green Council report on Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices, stated that, overwhelmingly, research clearly demonstrates that the design of an office has a material impact on the health, wellbeing and productivity of its occupants. Whilst to many of us this would seem obvious it hasn’t been translated into significant investment in environments that tackle the impact of a poorly performing workplace on its occupants. Could this be down to the lack of measurable data on the impact on people of the buildings performance and working culture? The facts are that sitting within organisations are huge amounts of relevant information that could be used to assess the tangible impacts of its workplace on the performance of its people, they need proper collation and assessment and turning into report that can be used to formulate an approach and return on investment strategy, that tackles the well-being issues. In addition to the environmental impacts on people’s health and well-being are cultural ones too. The recent announcement by the Faculty of Dental Surgery stating that eating cake and biscuits at work was fuelling obesity and poor oral health, is only one aspect of poor understanding of the cultures within workplaces and there potential detrimental impact on the work force. These ones are much harder to assess and deal with but Google offer their staff healthy food options at the workplace, which would suggest this area must not be overlooked. Context Current medical and academic research is providing a wealth of evidence of links from workplace environments and cultures to poor health and performance. For the employee these are impacting their personal heath, well-being and morale. For the employer these are impacting business outcomes through poor productivity, significant absenteeism, early retirement and health related claims. We have not yet evolved to cope with working in large numbers in sealed buildings deprived of fresh air and natural light. The result is an undetected epidemic of workplace well-being issues, these have been attributed to: Lack of job security Management bullying Racial & social tensions The Government Poor workplace design


Recent research by Reading University, Cromwell Hospital, US Department of Labour Occupational Safety & Health and other universities, however shows that 60-70% of this problem can be found in the workplace environment. Individual research has highlighted that there are problems in the modern workplace, however it’s the combination of the environmental stressors on the human physiology that now need to be considered. By understanding the implications these are having on an organisations workforce you can provide a solution based on measurable data, focusing on solving key issues and delivering the optimum environment. This optimised solution will provide a healthier workplace that treats workers like athletes, supplying them with an environment that enables them to perform better and deliver a first class service. The result will be a space that will increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, improve morale and deliver greater profitability for the organisation its staff and customers. Healthy Workplace Information technologies, air conditioning and artificial lighting have all contributed to growing health problems in the workforce. Many of these claims are quoting stress as the cause. The seriousness of the issue was recognised by the Government in a press release. Quote from HSE "500 people a week leave the labour market for ever because of work related illness. Every week some, 3,000 people move from long term sick leave to incapacity benefit with 90% never returning to work again. The cost of work related ill health is estimated at around £10bn per annum." Research has been undertaken by leading institutions around the world, including Reading University, who are one of the key research centres in this field. They identified specific areas which give rise to stress and illness in the office. The key causes of stress and illness in the office are: Poor Lighting Poor Air quality Poor Air-temperature Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) Synthetic fibres Bad workplace ergonomics Poor Acoustics Lack of visual stimulation


There is a growing requirement upon employers to fulfil a duty of care to their employees including the mitigation of potentially harmful conditions in the workplace. More and more employers are increasingly concerned about the health of their employees at work in order to: Maximise innovation and productivity Reduce absenteeism Provide an improved working environment to attract and maintain a healthy staff Reduce litigation and claims due to stress related illness Solutions One of the leading researchers in the field of and the related research is Professor Clements-Croome at the University of Reading. Together with environmental consultants, he has conducted trials conducted in real office working environments in many different types of office buildings. Professor Clements-Croome’s research shows that by addressing all of the above areas which create stress, the incidence of adverse health symptoms can be reduced by up to 80%, giving productivity increases of up to 30%. It is the first three of these areas, lighting, air quality and a lack of thermal individual control which are main issues which are most readily acknowledged, by office staff and experts as the principal sources of ill-health. EMR emitted from computers and mobile telephones is another possibility but the evidence is still in debate. By providing solutions in the three areas of lighting, air quality and thermal control, independent tests clearly show that adverse health symptoms in the office can be reduced by over 40% giving increases in productivity of around 15%. Lighting The adverse effects of poor lighting can be readily solved with the use of full spectrum, polarized, lighting which is now starting to be installed as standard in new office buildings where the productivity and health of staff is being put at the forefront of office design. Clean Air The use of an air purifier/ioniser removes dust and other airborne contaminants and replenishes and maintains the balance of positive and negative ions in the air. This has been shown to improve people’s health and lead to increased productivity. The graph below is from the BT Kingstanding pilot project showing productivity indicators demonstrating the combined effect of


polarised lighting, air ionisation and filtration over a three month moving average. The rise in sick days shown was due to failure to change air conditioning filters as scheduled. Diagram One BT Kingstanding

CO2 Levels The build-up of Carbon Dioxide within workplaces and schools has been shown to cause drowsiness reduction in decision making and productivity even at levels that are well below industry standards. As organisations attempt to put more people into buildings and increase utilisation this will become even more important to monitor and regulate. Electro-Magnetic Radiation The effects of EMR are still in debate and there is no certainty how EMR affects health. It is vital we keep reviewing the research and cases where ill effects are reported. Synthetic Fibres Synthetic fibres from carpets and upholstery are a major source of respiratory and skin irritation. They also retain a high electrostatic charge. Carpets can retain up to 3 thousand volts and the back of an upholstered chair can have 5 thousand volts accumulated charge. The combined effect of this high static environment is to increase the level of body charge, which in turn affects skin sensitivity and the immune and hormonal system. The solution lies in negative ionisers to get rid of static charge and filter out airborne fibres; Carpets and chairs can be earthed; Carpets can use continuous filament fibres to avoid static.

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CALLS PER DAY 100.0% 103.7% 103.6% 104.1% 104.0% 104.0% 102.7% 101.3% 102.2% 105.4% 106.40%HANDLING TIME 100.0% 98.9% 98.7% 98.0% 97.4% 96.9% 97.3% 98.6% 99.3% 99.1% 98.70%SICK DAYS 100.0% 81.7% 73.6% 56.1% 49.5% 49.9% 53.4% 55.7% 60.5% 58.1% 51.20%

Base June-Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

(Severe Air Conditioning problems)


Workplace Ergonomics 90% of lower back pain comes from poor sitting posture. Over 80% of office workers report varying combinations of pain in the back, neck, shoulders, arms and hands. Poor posture at work comes from the tendency when working with a PC to sit for long periods in one position. This places static loads on the body. These in turn create muscle tension in supporting the load which causes pain from the toxin build up in the muscle fibre and sinews. The solution is a chair that is designed to support the crest of the pelvic bone and allows the seat to tilt forward. This combined with a height adjustable sit stand desk means that the working posture can be optimised and altered during the course of the day. Acoustics In an open plan office noise is a major source of stress. The problem is that many a modern office is a large glass and concrete box. Glass and concrete are excellent sound reflectors. However the main problem is not simply one of distracting conversations or even the overall noise level. The problem is machine generated noises such as cooling fans which are tuned out by the conscious mind but nevertheless trigger the alarm mechanisms in the sub conscious mind... The solution is sound absorbent ceiling and flooring with selective sound absorbent vertical surfaces. This combined with sound masking to raise the ambient level can create a comfortable stress free working environment. Temperature Thermal comfort needs suitable air and mean radiant temperatures in the space. Sitting by a single glazed window will feel cold and draughty due to the low surface temperature for example. Also it is better to have warmer temperatures at lower levels in the space whilst ensuring fresh slightly cooler air circulates at head level. The air temperature selected depends on the outside temperature as very large differentials can cause thermal shock. So in Saudi Arabia a comfortable temperature may be 27C but in the UK is closer to 22C. Colour & Visual Stimulation Offices tend to be bland and boring with a considerable use of grey. This is considered better than using stronger colours, which could be perceived as irritating. The choice of colours is usually subjective on the part of the architect or professional designer and on the part of the management and or staff who make a final choice from alternative schemes that are presented by the designers. The science of colour psychology has existed for many years but has not been widely applied. Various colour combinations and tones can energise or depress. Most conventional colour schemes unintentionally have the latter effect. Working with a


colour VDU which has bright colour images when surrounded by surfaces that are virtually colourless increases the levels of visual stress. Staff can actually suffer from colour deprivation symptoms that are similar to Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) symptoms. The solution lies in a colour scheme for a working environment that has the right balance of colour and tone for the activity involved. Conclusion These solutions will at last enable employers and work place designers to install a cost effective staff care programme that will deliver measurable benefits in terms of improved productivity, reduced sickness absenteeism and improved staff morale & well-being. It is only a matter of time before office environmental planning requires measures such as these as standard in new build offices. The development of the WELL global standard, Well-Being sections in the RICS SKA Good Practice Measures for Offices are two examples of how serious this issue is being considered as a crucial aspect of workplace design and management. Case Study In 2007 Walsall Council set up a project to deliver a “Model Office” this was a part of the longer term transformation of the way the Council delivered service and involved bringing together a number of teams in seven locations into its Civic Centre. Part of this project was to explore the opportunity that desk sharing could have on the reduction in the Council’s property portfolio, it also was to address why there was such a high levels of sick days within the staff that worked within the Civic Centre. As part of the analysis it was decided to conduct a series of interviews with the staff working in the CC, asking questions on their perception of the quality of the environment and any typical poor health symptoms that could be attributed to the working environment. This study demonstrated that over 50% of the staff had over seven symptoms at any one time and that the levels of sickness that could be attributed to the poor working environment was at the upper end of the range. Further analysis went on to discover that the level of particulates and CO2 levels were higher than acceptable in a workplace. This enabled the design team to put in place solutions to address these and refocus the profile of the fit-out budget. The result on completion was a dramatic reduction in absenteeism confirmed by the clients own data as shown in the graph below.


Diagram Two Walsall Council The resulting improvements in the way the staff worked, a desk sharing ratio of 10:7 and improved productivity across a range of areas delivered a return on investment within 18 months. The space continues to be an exemplar to the Council and Local Government on what can be achieved within restricted budgets and timescales. Delivering the following measurable benefits: Reduced environmental impact Improved productivity Improved working environment for staff Improved staff morale Improved customer service Improved security Improved confidentiality Improved corporate image Improved flexibility of accommodation The Opportunity The targets for reducing adverse health symptoms include all businesses with office staff and all home offices where people spend any significant portion of their working day in a single given environment. Those work places and buildings with in-built environmental enhancements will have the edge over those which have ignored such issues. Office development is still growing rapidly along with the simultaneous growth in mobile and home office working and the workplace environments impact on people’s health, well-being and happiness has never been more important.


The changes in the needs of new generations in the workplace will become essential for all organisations to consider along with the governments drive to reduce the cost of an aging work population on our health services. With more information available on what is really going on in work places and how it is impacting performance, there is an opportunity to deliver solutions that can deliver work places and work cultures that can provide a World Class Workplace and Culture.

aberley white paper healthy workplaces and work cultures

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