Your place of work or study will influence your Well being in a variety of ways. Within our four subject areas we detail the importance of getting the right balance.

Acoustics

The first subject area is acoustics.

Workplace or areas of study will often require the user to focus on one conversation, or concentrate on a computer screen. Unfortunately we live (and work) in a world of constant distraction which at best can slow our work rate but at worst have an impact on our health.

Workplace acoustics can be affected by simple actions such as:

Making sure the multi function printer/fax is not churning out paper right next to a desk

Position right through to noise cancelling speaker systems for privacy

Fabric walls or ceiling clouds to reduce the amount of noise reflection.

For more information on acoustics, please read our Acoustics Blog.

Lighting

The second are is Lighting.

As with sound too much or too little can have a profound effect on how we work or our general well being.

In open plan environments the ambient light needs to conform to ‘The Schedule to the Workplace (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (Statutory Instrument 1992 No. 2792)’ which requires that: 'Any room lighting or task lighting provided shall ensure satisfactory lighting conditions and an appropriate contrast between the screen and the background environment, taking into account the type of work and the vision requirements of the operator or user.'

This basically sums up the minimum standard and offers wide remit to lighting layout. On an individual basis we advocate the use of personal lighting to add extra light to an individuals workspace – this can be achieved with the use of a good desk lamp.

The other area often overlooked is ensuring that sunlight glare or shadow does not cause a computer user to incline their body or head to better view their screen.

A monitor arm will allow the desk user to rotate or move the screen out of the way of such shadows or glare and allow users to maintain good posture.





Temperature

The third subject area to creating your perfect workplace is Temperature.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (Statutory Instrument 1992 No, 3004) require only that: 'During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside the building shall be reasonable.'

Section 1 (Environmental criteria for design) of CIBSE Guide A: Environmental design, suggests for offices that the temperature range for comfort should be 21-23ºC in winter and 22-24 ºC in summer. The latter range applies to air conditioned buildings. Higher temperatures may be acceptable in non-air conditioned buildings.

Looking at the workplace environment holistically one of two of these areas in isolation will not be overtly detrimental i.e. for a few days in the peak of summer or winter temperature highs and lows outside of the normal are to be expected. There has been no clearly defined link to work rate or health suffering due to a short term increase / decrease in temperature in the workplace.

That said most companies or places of study will want their employees to feel comfortable within that work or study environment.

Aside from air conditioning / radiators and double glazing (depending on whether you are looking to increase or decrease temperature) other solutions to consider are:

Window film protection from solar gain

Moving desk positions away from radiators / windows to stop radiant heat

Free standing or ceiling mounted fans (run at a fraction of the cost of air con)

Low wattage computers and lighting systems

Space

The final subject are is Space.

Actual physical space will often determine how comfortable someone is within the workplace as well as the position of your workspace, i.e. someone who feels they are sitting in a 'corridor' where people are constantly walking behind them will be more likely to be distracted or uncomfortable in their work than someone who has their own defined territory. Similarly the people who are parked next the the multi function printer will often be less productive or show fatigue due to the level of noise and constant distraction they experience.

The amount of space allocated to an office worker depends on where you work and the type of work required.Desk space analysis can help companies understand the amount of wasted space ; often space saving and ergonomics go hand in hand. Our space planning and workplace consultants can offer a more in depth overview on this subject.

We offer a free consultation to companies who want to know more. Just call us today on 0870 103 7777, or fill out the form on the contact us page with your enquiry.