Acheive a Happier Workplace
We’ve heard in previous recent blogs how prolonged sitting can seriously affect the health and wellbeing of our bodies and minds. We’ve heard the scary statistics around sedentary behaviours, and detrimental health risks.
How Can We Achieve a Happier Workplace?
We’ve heard in previous recent blogs how prolonged sitting can seriously affect the health and wellbeing of our bodies and minds. We’ve heard the scary statistics around sedentary behaviours, and detrimental health risks.
With 80% of the work force in the UK now office based, it’s no surprise that the number of workers sitting for long periods of time has increased… Londoners are worse off and work 100 hours per year more than workers in the rest of the UK. One of the major reasons for this is the time (and money!) spent commuting, which is on average of 75 minutes per day!
It’s the law to carry out a DSE assessment, but at present there is no other legislation or guidance on the amount of time we spend at a desk. Many office workers are unhappy and blame the number of hours sitting as one of the reasons for their unhappiness.
So why don’t we look to others for inspiration?
Which has the happiest workforce in the world? Scandinavia generally comes out top. It’s the only culture to have a specific word for workplace happiness:
arbejsglaede
Scandinavian employers make it their priority to ensure their workers are happy, loyal and successful with less absenteeism. They recognise that a happy worker is more productive… Happy employees make customers happy and therefore make the business more profitable.
What makes employees in Scandinavia happier?
- They trialled the 6-hour working day in Sweden which made everyone happy!
- Scandinavians are more open to alternative tools in the workplace to promote healthy working... 90% of workers have access to products which promote wellbeing (such as the height adjustable sit stand desk to help ensure they move around during the working day)
- In the UK, this is currently at just 1%
Although the Scandi’s lead the way in workplace happiness, many companies in the UK and US starting to take this very seriously. Facebook as an employer boasts employee satisfaction at 97% by offering generous company perks and adopting an inclusive company culture. Google are another giant that offer generous holiday packages, gym membership, free gourmet food and ‘passion projects’ to help feed creativity, all ensuring the happy and loyal worker.
So how can you ensure your have a slice of arbejsglaede in your business? Apparently, it all starts with you.
