it will also reflect in lower healthcare costs, less turn-
over, and fewer sick days,” Stewart adds. “If you start to
really address team members’ health and well-being and
healthcare costs go down, those dollars can be directed
elsewhere into new programs or salaries.”
If there’s no room for a fitness center, bring well-being
considerations into your day-to-day tasks. Make sure your
O&M practices support employee health. For example,
how often are door knobs wiped with disinfectant, espe-
cially during cold and flu season?
“FMs need to start taking a human-centric approach
instead of a building-centric one. In addition to environmental sustainability issues, companies are looking to
eliminate chemicals of concern and design places that
encourage movement,” says Sargent. “The other place to
look is cleaning practices. People’s desks are dirtier than
their toilets because most cleaning contractors are told not
to touch the desks. Have standards set about how things
are cleaned. When you go to a gym, you’re encouraged to
clean equipment after you use it, but at the office there’s no
etiquette for that.” Increased use of unassigned desks and
shared work settings will only increase the importance of
cleanliness, Sargent adds.
Buildings that are already operated in a way that supports employee health may be eligible for WELL Building
certification. Backed by the International Well Building
Institute, the WELL Building Standard focuses entirely on
the health and wellness of occupants. Learn more about the
requirements on page 27 or at www.wellcertified.com.
“Certifying to the standard requires that buildings
complete a post-occupancy on-site audit that tests for
performance in different areas, rather than prescriptive
measures,” explains Michelle Moore, senior vice president of
the International WELL Building Institute. “It’s designed to
work in harmony with LEED, Living Building Challenge, and
other existing green building programs. If you’re pursuing or
already have a LEED rating or are otherwise operating a high
performance building, you’re an ideal candidate.”
Whichever path you take, be sure to document your
efforts in order to gain support for future initiatives.
Approached thoughtfully, a holistic health program that
supports all aspects of employee health can not only create
a healthier environment for building occupants, but also
raise the FM department’s profile.
“Well-being is a significant opportunity for facilities
and real estate professionals to reposition themselves
and create value in an organization where they haven’t
had the opportunity before,” says Schmidt. “Start thinking of the workplace as an experience. It’s not just about
keeping the lights on and the water running – it’s providing the right kinds of spaces for people to work, walk,
and be well.” B
Janelle Penny janelle.penny@buildings.com is senior
editor of BUILDINGS.
and even stress by allowing workers to move around and
choose a space that supports their needs.
Schmidt suggests locating printers and copiers a short
distance from workstations so people have to get up and
walk to use them. Coffee pots and other amenities can
go in a central location on the way to another area (for
example, the midpoint between two sides of your building)
so employees can meet, interact, and cross-pollinate in a
common area.
Allowing people control over their own lighting with
dimmer switch retrofits can also reduce stress and increase productivity, as can plants in the office.
“It doesn’t matter what your budget is, you can find a
way to make small changes that make a big impact,” adds
Schmidt. “Make it easy for people to stand. If you don’t
have the money to buy new standing workstations, can you
bring in smaller tables? Can you use environmental cues to
get people working and moving?”
ACT, Inc., an educational assessment, research, and
management firm headquartered in Iowa City, IA, is al-
ready on board with walking-friendly workplaces, explains
Sandy Stewart, wellness manager for ACT. The company
mapped out several walking trails on its campus, plus a
quarter-mile path inside one of its buildings. It is gradually
implementing workstations that offer both standing and
sitting modes and plans to roll them out to about 75% of
team members by the end of 2015.
“We’re huge proponents of taking breaks, getting up,
and going for walks,” Stewart says. “If it’s too cold, walk
inside or down the hall. Having standing workstations is
critical to improving health outcomes, based on a growing
amount of research showing that extended periods of sit-
ting are bad for your health. We also have a shared walking
workstation – people can log into the computer or bring
their own laptops and work while they walk.”
In kitchens and breakrooms, phase out the candy in the
vending machine and offer healthier snacks, Sargent recom-
mends. Organizations with on-site dining centers can ask
their food service vendors to provide more healthy options.
In addition, make sure the building infrastructure itself
supports employees in their pursuit of better health. What
class are your HEPA filters? How often do you deep-clean
the carpets to rid them of unseen dirt and microbes? Can
you reorganize some of your open office space to locate
more people near windows?
“It’s about breaking down barriers to wellness,”
Stewart says. “People don’t want to be unhealthy, but they
don’t necessarily have the resources to get active at work.”
5) Be Smart about Next Steps
Building on its previous successes, ACT opted to renovate an old space into an 8,000-square-foot wellness center
with a fitness area, locker rooms, and showers, says Paige
Butterfield, design project manager for ACT.
