ThinkingWorking environment, not time of the year has most negative effect on staff wellbeing

Half of employees say that their working environment has a bigger negative impact on their mental health compared to the time of year.

The research by Peldon Rose, office design, office refurbishment and workplace consultants, was launched to coincide with Blue Monday. One of the highlights of the research showed that 95% of employees said that their physical work environment is important for their wellbeing and mental health yet 51% say their working environment has a negative effect on their mental health and wellbeing. It also shows that 64% of employees currently have poor or below average mental wellbeing and that 56% claim increasing workloads, followed by a lack of time to focus on wellbeing and exercise (46%) are the leading causes of their stress.

Jitesh Patel, Chief Executive at Peldon Rose, commented: “Many of the concerns that underpin Blue Monday, such as post-holiday blues and broken resolutions are largely transient in nature, but our survey reveals that the nation’s employees are actually struggling with longer term issues, such as not feeling valued at work, which are significantly affecting their mental health and wellbeing. Employers must acknowledge that both our mental and physical health is affected by our work environment, and that to have a happy and productive workforce they must understand and meet their employees’ needs.  Workers spend much of their working day sitting down being inactive and they believe that the opportunity for more exercise and activity will help improve their wellbeing and mood. Business that respond to these needs by improving the office environment or introducing new benefits will be the ones to reap the benefits by a more motivated and productive workforce.”

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