The last few years have shown us, as a society, the sheer importance of public health in built infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a greater social awareness of the connection between our health and the places where we live, play and work. On the latter, organisations have seen the largest shift in recent memory regarding how and where employees conduct business and many expect more from their employers with regard to ensuring their wellbeing at work.

The societal impetus for better health outcomes is clear. But how does this translate into organisational strategy? What about the business case beyond individual health in buildings?

Earlier this year, the International WELL Building Institute released Investing in Health Pays Back: The Growing Research Behind the Business Case for Healthy Buildings and Healthy Organizations. This compilation of nearly 60 independent studies, including research led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, showcases the real return on investment and other economic benefits of healthy buildings and healthy organisations.

Healthy buildings, healthy economy
To understand the organisational impacts, we must first explore the scale of benefits at a macro level. Fundamentally, healthy buildings support a healthy economy. According to the research, by helping boost productivity and reduce symptoms associated with sickness, healthy building strategies have the potential to yield massive, economy-wide financial gains.

In the US, a 20 to 50 per cent reduction in ‘Sick Building Syndrome’ symptoms for office workers would power an annual productivity gain of US $20 $200 bn. Research also shows that boosting minimum ventilation rates in US offices (from eight to 15 litres per second) would create US $38 bn in annual economic benefit.

If the wide-reaching benefits are clear, the need for specific organisations to promote healthier spaces goes further. People are an organisation’s most valuable asset and when they are less engaged, the bottom line suffers. One study included in IWBI’s research review found that absenteeism costs US companies US $2,074 per employee per year, and the UK £595 per employee per year.

Another study found a productivity loss of US $61 bn per year in the US from common conditions such as headaches or back problems. In the Netherlands, researchers showed that workers lost an average of 2.5 days a year from unsatisfactory indoor environmental conditions, representing 25 per cent of total absenteeism.

Strategies for worker wellbeing
These figures make clear the need to improve environmental conditions in the workplace. Incorporating human health considerations into corporate policies, as well as decisions about the design and operations of workplaces, is rapidly becoming common practice for developers, real estate owners and organisations.

Savvy organisations increasingly realise that pursuing strategies to improve their workers’ wellbeing can have a substantial impact on business objectives such as productivity, absenteeism, cognitive performance, recruitment and retention. But the path to implementing real change can be daunting in the marketplace.

In October of last year, a study in the Journal of Building and Environment found that WELL Certification drives significant benefits across occupant satisfaction, perceived health, wellbeing and productivity, including a near 30 per cent improvement in overall satisfaction with the workplace, which jumped from 42 per cent to 70 per cent and a 26 per cent overall increase in reported wellbeing scores.

Employee perception
This year, IWBI commissioned The Harris Poll to gauge US employees’ perceptions of their employer’s investment into their health and wellbeing with IWBI’s 2023 State of Workforce Wellbeing Poll. The poll found that the majority of employees place a high value on a healthy work environment and how an organisation invests in their health, safety and wellbeing. The poll found:
● 96 per cent agree that a healthy work environment is necessary for productivity.
● 87 per cent agree that employers should be “ethically obligated” to create a work environment that enhances the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees.
● 84 per cent of employees agree that supporting the health of employees is a “must-have” for companies.
● 81 per cent agree that their company’s physical work environment has a major impact on their health and wellbeing.

What we long considered to be intuitive is now strikingly clear. Supporting employees’ overall health and wellbeing is in employers’ best interests – and from a business perspective, has the ability to impact the bottom line.