What’s an office biome, and how can it help ensure employee wellness?

A balanced and healthy office biome can ensure employee wellbeing now that a shift in work attitudes, health and safety expectations and most importantly an emphasis on the value of employee wellness brought about massive changes in workspace design.

A biome is a natural environment with all vital resources functioning in harmony with each other. Take the concept indoors and to the office in particular and it includes a range of variables, from air quality and viral load to human density and traffic, as well as light and noise levels, which can all be tracked and responded to, to create an optimal environment or biome for its users.

In the post-pandemic world, office biomes must function better and be more focused on creating healthier and happier environments for the people who work there.

Just as smart homes, with their remote alarm, air conditioning and water irrigation systems are a reality, smart offices are here to stay.

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Working smarter for the future

It was inevitable for people to return to the workplace after the pandemic and also to know that the workspace as we knew it before 2020 may never be the same.

This is top of mind for the team at interior architecture firm Inhouse, who use insights gleaned from their Ergosense data capture system to rethink and design optimal work environments for their clients.

“There are a few ways of looking at creating a healthy work biome,” says Aidan Hart, creative director at Inhouse and the co-creator of Ergosense, the software system Inhouse uses to capture data before they begin an office design rethink.

“The first way is to consider office layouts and spatial elements but other factors such as lighting, temperature, noise and even hygiene are also important.” 

While Ergosense monitors allow the design teams to rethink existing spaces, they also allow them to monitor new builds with a view to workshopping relevant responses as and when they are needed.

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No more sick buildings, but a healthy office biome

Remember how you used to work in a sick building with poor air quality, general hygiene and inefficient heating and air-conditioning management?

Sick buildings were common in post-World War II buildings that were never designed with people in mind, as well as the office blocks of the ’80s that were focused on fitting as many cubicles onto one floor as possible.

Sick buildings were also said to have been responsible for the rapid spread of viruses in offices. In a post-Covid-19 world, this knowledge is enough to spark panic and shut down any office environment.

Hart says Ergosense receivers can monitor noise levels and counter them with white noise, monitor viral loads to ensure that relevant health measures are applied and even record practical considerations like heavier bathroom traffic to deploy relevant cleaning services.

Smart lighting monitors read when a space is occupied so that task lighting is only active then, and adjusts according to the ambient light in the office, while elements such as responsive temperature adjustments ensure each and every zone is comfortable and adjusted according to the number of people currently occupying it.

“Aside from resulting in healthier environments for its occupants, the energy savings implications are also significant. Using data to design better biomes means we can fulfil sustainability mandates for companies much more efficiently.”

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Making the office feel more like home

With a growing number of staff returning to offices, even if it is not fulltime, more focus is placed on creating environments that are conducive to employee wellness.

Working from home changed employee needs and expectations and this had a significant impact on office design with the creation of hybrid spaces that incorporate and embrace home elements, creating a sense of comfort and putting an emphasis on employee wellbeing.

“Creating ‘good for you’ hybrid offices that feel like home has meant a total rethink around how office spaces are designed. We spend a lot of time focusing on the psychology behind the architecture of a space. How to make people feel good in a space is our major driver.” 

One major change is that the highly desked offices of the 2000s are set to be replaced with more flexible spaces. Hart says Inhouse is putting privacy back into offices in a big way, making pause areas smaller and creating more pods where people can work or talk discreetly without being part of a loud and often unproductive open plan space.

With the advent of Zoom meetings, breakaway rooms trump boardrooms and glass walled offices with doors are becoming popular, allowing people to get on with work without being interrupted unnecessarily.

“We know that people want their time in office to count and they want to be efficient. We work hard to make that happen by creating spaces that fulfil their comfort and efficacy expectations.”

Creating healthy work environments around the people that occupy them is essential for the post-COVID-19 workforce.

“Building healthy work biomes will be key to staff retention, productivity and ultimately positive company cultures. It is exciting to be part of an integrative approach that marries technological considerations with practical requirements relevant to the humans who operate within them,” Hart says.