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The
relationship
between
‘where we
are’ and ‘how
we are’ is
becoming
clearer
Well workplace
Retaining talent
Misery matters
Happiness counts
The case for
investment
There are proven links between
wellbeing, performance and the office:
• Background noise in offices can lead
to performance drops of 66%.
• There is a 10% reduction in
performance if offices are too hot or
too cold.
• Levels of cortisol, a stress indicator,
decrease significantly after 20
minutes in a more natural setting.
• Seeing the colour green for just a
few seconds boosts creativity levels.
• Cognitive functioning doubles when
workers are in well-ventilated offices.
• One third of absenteeism is due to
poor interior air quality.
In fact, bodies of evidence from all
parts of the globe prove that well
designed workplaces are critical for
wellbeing. The message to the real
estate and built environment sector
seems clear: re-humanise spaces to
improve employee performance.
Three quarters of CEOs globally
see accessing and retaining skilled
labour as the biggest threat to their
businesses. Attracting talent is not
easy, and losing it is expensive;
anywhere from 50-200% of a
lost employee’s salary is spent on
recruiting and on-boarding. Some
banks are incurring up to US$1
billion annually in costs associated
with replacing employees. The
‘well’ workplace can be a valuable
attraction and retention tool. A 2013
survey by mental health charity
Mind found that 60% of staff were
more likely to recommend their
organisation as a good place to work
if the employer took action to support
wellbeing. Meanwhile global analysis
shows that companies with satisfied,
engaged workers have 25-65% lower
employee turnover.
Most workers are unhappy. 76% of
the global workforce report they
are struggling with wellbeing, while
research estimates the cost of work-
related stress to be as high as US$650
billion in Europe. Presenteeism –
when workers are present in the
office but functioning at sub-optimal
levels – costs businesses US$1,500
billion each year. Corporations are
understandably striving to identify
links between work environments and
business performance. New data sets
and ways of monitoring activity within
the workplace expose the impact that
the workplace has on staff wellbeing,
retention and ultimately bottom
line performance. The relationship
between ‘where we are’ and ‘how
we are’ is becoming clearer, and as
it does, occupiers are increasingly
willing to invest in real estate to
enhance employee performance.
Our wellbeing as a society is often
measured though gross domestic
product. As real GDP grows, so does
our aggregate standard of living.
However, there are deep flaws and
nuances in this approximation, not
least because it does not address
social or environmental factors.
Consequently, economists and
national leaders are increasingly
measuring the level of a country’s
success using new metrics, including
proxies for happiness. A 2009 study
on alternatives to GDP, commissioned
by then French president Nicolas
Sarkozy, provides challenges to
our basic understanding of the
importance of non-financial factors.
This develops longer standing
thinking, for instance the United
Nations’ Human Development
Index and the Kingdom of Bhutan’s
insistence that it is out to maximize
not GDP but GNH – “Gross National
Happiness.” More than a ‘fad’ this
is becoming a more pervasive shift
in how we categorise a successful
economy – rue the industry that is
not moving to address it.
An abundance of research
demonstrates links between employee
wellbeing and bottom line financial
outcomes. Human happiness has
been found to have large and positive
causal effects on performance.
Positive emotions appear to motivate,
while negative emotions have the
opposite effect. A study by PwC
found cost-benefit ratios ranging
from 2:3 to 1:10 – meaning for every
US$1 spent on promoting employee
happiness, an organisation can expect
to receive US$10 in value back.
Tim Munden, chief learning officer at
Unilever, reinforces this. He estimates
that Unilever recoups an estimated
¤6 for every ¤1 invested in wellbeing
programmes across its European
businesses.
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
04
COVER STORY