 |
| - Is Your Office Harming Your Health? - |
Many of us spend a large chunk of our waking lives at work, but rarely do we give much thought to how our on-the-clock environment might be affecting how we feel around the clock.
If the recent literature has anything to say about it, working in offices could be making us feel pretty crappy. Open office plans (and cubicles, to a certain extent) may be the worst offenders when it comes to harming employee wellness and productivity, and some studies on the fallbacks of the popular design have called the entire structure of American work life into question.
"The thinking goes that employees will be happier and more productive if they work together instead of being separated by thick office walls. Except they aren't," Fast Company wrote of the open office trend. "Far more workers stuck in cubicles and open office spaces are dissatisfied with their work environments than people in enclosed private offices."
As a result, flexible work schedules and alternative office designs that incorporate greater privacy and calming elements are becoming more desirable and commonplace alternatives to spending 40+ hours a week in a cubicle or on an open office floor. And with entrepreneurial and freelance career paths becoming viable options for more American workers and some millennials ditching the 9-to-5, a redefining of the American workplace may indeed be slowly underway.
The negative impacts of various office environments on health and productivity alone provide a compelling argument for the need to change the way we spend our work days.
Ready for more? Head over to The Huffington Post to learn five ways working in an office could be harming your health and happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment