The modern workplace has shifted from being solely a place to do your work to becoming a space intricately connected to the health and happiness of its employees. With the growing emphasis on sustainable buildings and a heightened recognition of employee wellbeing, the WELL Building Standard has emerged as a comprehensive framework to address the needs of building occupants.

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact the health and well-being of building occupants.

Acknowledging the pivotal role our surroundings play in shaping our health, mood, and productivity, WELL measures aspects of a building that directly impact the health of occupants, focusing on seven factors:

• Air
• Water
• Nourishment
• Light
• Fitness
• Comfort
• Mind

How are facilities management teams supporting WELL factors?

1. Enhanced focus on indoor environmental quality

At Anabas, our facilities teams are utilising IoT sensors and technology to create healthier work environments with air that is fresh, clean, and free of pollutants. These sensors monitor air quality and identify when facilities teams need to make improvements and changes in the workplace. In doing so, employees can have a more productive and comfortable time in the office, and leave feeling good.  

2. Workplace wellness initiatives and support 

To support employee wellbeing and experience in the workplace, facilities management providers are introducing new roles within their teams whose responsibilities involve organising and overseeing initiatives for improved employee mental and physical wellbeing. These roles, like workplace engagement and employee experience managers, can coordinate in-office wellness classes like yoga, dedicated mental health first aid support and even community events that cultivate employee wellbeing and health.

3. Sourcing and working with aligned suppliers

For facilities management providers, the suppliers we use and work with can play a key role in supporting WELL factors within our clients’ workplaces, particularly for ‘nourishment’ and ‘water.’

For example, at Anabas, we work with quality suppliers of nutritious, healthy food and snacks, filtered drinking water and even office plants and greenery for additional physical and mental health and wellness in the workplace.

4. Collaborating with wider business departments

Working in collaboration with other departments, like human resources (HR) enables facilities management teams to have a better understanding of how employees are feeling and make improvements to any of the WELL factors.  

It is the role of HR to gather employee sentiments and opinions in the workplace, which are often focused on wellbeing and engagement. By working with HR, FM teams can translate these insights into actionable improvements that align with WELL. For example, this could involve implementing ergonomic workstations based on employee feedback or introducing on-site wellness programs in response to identified burnout trends. 

The Well Building Standard presents a compelling opportunity for facilities management teams to sharpen and align their service delivery and to prioritise employee wellbeing. By adapting to these evolving standards, FM teams can unlock a range of benefits for both companies and their employees, creating healthier, happier, and more productive work environments that are fit for the future.