Creating a work environment that improves wellbeing

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And it gets worse, nearly half of the unengaged employees are 'actively disengaged', which means they are "indicating they are unhappy and unproductive at work and liable to spread negativity to co-workers".

These are statistics that send shivers down the spines of business owners and managers. Disengagement in the workplace costs companies around South Africa millions of rand, due mainly to a loss in productivity. Gallup estimates that a somewhat disengaged employee has an 80% return on his salary in value and disengaged employees return 60%. It further estimates that a disengaged employee costs an organisation approximately R30,400 for every R100,000 of salary.

One significant contribution to engagement at work is the quality of the environment and suitability of the workplace. In fact, according to research by global researcher and furniture manufacturer, Steelcase, 69% of employees who are not fully engaged at work are also the most unsatisfied with their work environment. Workspace is clearly related to engagement.

This ties in nicely with Gallup's research that indicates that one important way to help boost employees' engagement is to focus on their wellbeing. And Steelcase studies have shown that place matters: the physical work environment can have a strong impact on employee wellbeing and engagement.

Improve poor engagement levels

Workplace intelligence company, Know More, is helping South African companies improve their poor engagement levels by helping organisations better understand their workspaces and helping them create more productive spaces that improve staff satisfaction, retention and wellbeing.

"There is a wealth of information that links engagement with the work environment," said Know More's MD, Peter Townshend. "But the most startling research, and the most important for changing the disengagement trend, is the link between engagement and wellbeing," he continued. "The benefits of creating a work environment that improves wellbeing have been screamed by industry leaders for years, and yet managers in South Africa don't seem to be responding as quickly and as comprehensively as they should.

"Now, with this link between engagement and wellbeing, and wellbeing and the work environment being so clear, hopefully we will see more offices designed to increase staff wellbeing."

Townshend explains that the benefits of creating a healthy work environment are numerous and small changes can lead to big returns. "Simply by improving the lighting in your office, you will improve productivity," he said. "And better seating reduces absenteeism. All these small changes have a significant impact on the work environment and how people work within it."

Steelcase's research supports this and further highlights the need to design office spaces that enhance staff satisfaction and, by doing so, improves engagement. For example, Steelcase has found that 85% of disengaged staff cannot concentrate easily at work, 84% don' feel a sense of belonging to their company and 85% don't feel relaxed and calm. If we can change these statistics by offering a more satisfying work environment, then surely we should?

"Workplaces that offer employees an accommodation choice, that promote mobility and that have specific areas designed for working on specific tasks have been shown to have a positive effect on engagement," said Townsend. "Too often, organisations design their offices solely around how many people they can get into how many square metres and completely ignore the real cost of an office space. Offices exist to enhance human productivity and should be designed with this in mind. By doing so, you will see greater engagement in staff members."