The 6 Emotional Factors of Well-being at Work
10 December 2014
Read by 2313 persons
In an interview, Beatriz Arantes, psychologist and researcher at Steelcase, a company specializing in office furniture and workspace design, explained how emotional experience is key to well-being at work. The result of an in-depth study conducted with a team composed of an ergonomist and a designer shows how emotion impacts our efficiency and our sense of happiness at work. Beatriz details her research by reviewing the 6 emotional factors that determine well-being at work: mindfulness, authenticity, belonging, meaning, optimism, and energy.
1. Mindfulness: Having a Choice of Workplace
"Mindfulness comes from Eastern philosophy and meditation. It means simply paying attention to the present moment. The benefits to health and concentration are proven. It's not easy to implement, especially in open spaces where there are noises from conversations and people passing by. Technological tools also constantly solicit us and lead to multitasking without organization. What we propose is to encourage employees to find the right space depending on the work to be done: isolated spaces when they need to concentrate and more convivial ones when it's time for collaborative work or meetings. Having more intimate spaces also allows one to withdraw for a moment to meditate; it's a good way to reduce stress when feeling vulnerable."
2. Authenticity: Working in Line with Your Values
"Authenticity is the second pillar: acting in line with our values. The company is out of sync with the trend of finding one's own path. Professional codes – clothing or posture – are still very rigid. The arbitrary nature of these codes is poorly understood, especially by younger generations. People want more transparency, the ability to express themselves to be more creative. Demanding formalism prevents creativity and adds cognitive filters that are contrary to the feeling of well-being. To feel at ease in an authentic environment, we recommend, for example, softer textiles, colors, and materials that make us feel at home, as opposed to the coldness of gray and metallic offices. In terms of ergonomics, we offer different body postures to allow for standing work."
3. A Sense of Belonging Encourages Commitment
"A sense of belonging is also fundamental. It's the need to feel supported, to create bonds with others. Feeling part of a group, cultivating friendships at work helps encourage employee involvement and attachment to the company. The work environment must facilitate these bonds with places and moments of socialization where spontaneous interactions can be created. The company must also invest in technologies, particularly visual ones, to encourage conviviality."
4. Giving Meaning to Work
"Employees need to feel that they are contributing to something bigger. Meaning is a huge satisfaction factor. Researchers at Harvard University have also shown that what is most determining for our morale at the end of the day is the feeling of having progressed in our work and having changed someone else's life. This means that a manager's job is to support their collaborators to allow them to progress. At the workspace level, they must have all the resources at their disposal.
The "clean desk policy" should be questioned: the act of cleaning one's desk every evening before leaving so that everything is clean. It leaves a clean and smooth workplace but also erases the impression of having progressed. In a company where work is distributed, it's important to display the progress of the work."
5. Optimism Must Be Cultivated in the Company
"Optimism plays a role in the current context. It's important to regain this feeling of belief in our own ability to act. It's about keeping an open mind, looking for what is good. It's an emotion to cultivate in the company to stay motivated. Optimism is also good for health and the immune system. The key to encouraging optimism is to give employees the possibility of choosing where they work. Being able to escape from an open space, for example, to avoid feeling powerless in a noisy office that they cannot leave whenever they want."
6. Energy Is Vital to Feeling Good at Work
"Energy is feeling full of vitality. What can be done to make people feel good at work? We know that you need to eat properly, exercise, and rest, but in companies, this is not really encouraged. The only activity is to work as much as possible, whereas using the body to respect rhythms is much more beneficial. This involves the possibility of resting at work at some point during the day, taking a nap, for example. Sitting all day is very bad. A sedentary posture increases the risk of mortality. Mentally, we also need to move to learn and be creative. What we recommend is having different work zones or working standing up with a height-adjustable desk. The key is not to stay in the same position throughout the day."
How to Design Offices to Promote Well-being?
According to Steelcase, these 6 emotions translate into a workspace design model with different places that correspond to different moments or types of work to be done: rooms or spaces for sharing, innovating, and meeting. More intimate places to isolate oneself, concentrate, reflect, and be creative. Places to relax, eat, etc. Not forgetting desks for nomadic workers to welcome visiting collaborators. A campus-company model summarized in this ideal layout plan.
Blog-emploi.com
Published August 28, 2014.
Posted December 10, 2014.
1. Mindfulness: Having a Choice of Workplace
"Mindfulness comes from Eastern philosophy and meditation. It means simply paying attention to the present moment. The benefits to health and concentration are proven. It's not easy to implement, especially in open spaces where there are noises from conversations and people passing by. Technological tools also constantly solicit us and lead to multitasking without organization. What we propose is to encourage employees to find the right space depending on the work to be done: isolated spaces when they need to concentrate and more convivial ones when it's time for collaborative work or meetings. Having more intimate spaces also allows one to withdraw for a moment to meditate; it's a good way to reduce stress when feeling vulnerable."
2. Authenticity: Working in Line with Your Values
"Authenticity is the second pillar: acting in line with our values. The company is out of sync with the trend of finding one's own path. Professional codes – clothing or posture – are still very rigid. The arbitrary nature of these codes is poorly understood, especially by younger generations. People want more transparency, the ability to express themselves to be more creative. Demanding formalism prevents creativity and adds cognitive filters that are contrary to the feeling of well-being. To feel at ease in an authentic environment, we recommend, for example, softer textiles, colors, and materials that make us feel at home, as opposed to the coldness of gray and metallic offices. In terms of ergonomics, we offer different body postures to allow for standing work."
3. A Sense of Belonging Encourages Commitment
"A sense of belonging is also fundamental. It's the need to feel supported, to create bonds with others. Feeling part of a group, cultivating friendships at work helps encourage employee involvement and attachment to the company. The work environment must facilitate these bonds with places and moments of socialization where spontaneous interactions can be created. The company must also invest in technologies, particularly visual ones, to encourage conviviality."
4. Giving Meaning to Work
"Employees need to feel that they are contributing to something bigger. Meaning is a huge satisfaction factor. Researchers at Harvard University have also shown that what is most determining for our morale at the end of the day is the feeling of having progressed in our work and having changed someone else's life. This means that a manager's job is to support their collaborators to allow them to progress. At the workspace level, they must have all the resources at their disposal.
The "clean desk policy" should be questioned: the act of cleaning one's desk every evening before leaving so that everything is clean. It leaves a clean and smooth workplace but also erases the impression of having progressed. In a company where work is distributed, it's important to display the progress of the work."
5. Optimism Must Be Cultivated in the Company
"Optimism plays a role in the current context. It's important to regain this feeling of belief in our own ability to act. It's about keeping an open mind, looking for what is good. It's an emotion to cultivate in the company to stay motivated. Optimism is also good for health and the immune system. The key to encouraging optimism is to give employees the possibility of choosing where they work. Being able to escape from an open space, for example, to avoid feeling powerless in a noisy office that they cannot leave whenever they want."
6. Energy Is Vital to Feeling Good at Work
"Energy is feeling full of vitality. What can be done to make people feel good at work? We know that you need to eat properly, exercise, and rest, but in companies, this is not really encouraged. The only activity is to work as much as possible, whereas using the body to respect rhythms is much more beneficial. This involves the possibility of resting at work at some point during the day, taking a nap, for example. Sitting all day is very bad. A sedentary posture increases the risk of mortality. Mentally, we also need to move to learn and be creative. What we recommend is having different work zones or working standing up with a height-adjustable desk. The key is not to stay in the same position throughout the day."
How to Design Offices to Promote Well-being?
According to Steelcase, these 6 emotions translate into a workspace design model with different places that correspond to different moments or types of work to be done: rooms or spaces for sharing, innovating, and meeting. More intimate places to isolate oneself, concentrate, reflect, and be creative. Places to relax, eat, etc. Not forgetting desks for nomadic workers to welcome visiting collaborators. A campus-company model summarized in this ideal layout plan.
Blog-emploi.com
Published August 28, 2014.
Posted December 10, 2014.
