Office environment linked to mental health
Date: 13 October 2006
Employers should do more to improve the office environments in which their staff work, a mental health charity has claimed.
Publishing a report today on the impact which style of layout and amount of daylight can have on employees' general wellbeing, charity Mind argues that productivity is directly affected by the nature of the working environment.
Over a quarter of the Mind survey's respondents said they felt their office had negatively affected the way they worked, while 22 per cent had made a formal complaint about their workplace environment.
Working space, temperature and the amount of natural light are all particular gripes of employees which employers would do well to act upon, Mind chief executive Paul Farmer claims.
"Dilbert-type cubicles won't cut it in the information economy," he said.
"To maximise productivity and creativity, it's crucial that staff have inspiring, flexible work environments. What can often be a fairly small investment in improving your workspaces will reap rewards in staff morale and productivity."
According to Mind, the government would also benefit from improved office spaces. Mind's research found that 40 per cent of all incapacity benefit claims come from those who cannot work on mental health grounds.
Source: Netdoctor.co.uk, Thursday, 05 October 2006
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