For decades, organisations were designed as productivity gears: rows of identical desks, cold lights, functional furniture. Places designed more to control than to care, almost like assembly lines. Fortunately, that model is a thing of the past in many companies. Today, design oriented towards flexibility, collaboration or creativity is more the norm than the exception.
But what if we dared to go one step further? What if the workspace was not only comfortable or efficient, but also an active tool for prevention? What if it could be even an environment that promotes wellbeing and takes care of our health?
What will I read about in this article?
- Work as a stage for life
- Spaces that burn vs. spaces that care
- Six ways to design environments that add up to wellbeing
Work as a life scenario
The World Health Organisation defines health as “more than the absence of disease or infirmity”. It’s a holistic concept that encompasses mental, physical, spiritual and social well-being. And if we accept this definition, it is inevitable to look at the spaces we inhabit on a daily basis, including the workplace, with different eyes.
More than three and a half billion adults work in the world. Most will spend nearly ninety thousand hours of their lives in their work environment. It’s not a sporadic activity, but a vital setting, with as much impact on our health as eating, resting or personal relationships.
That’s why moving towards healthy workspaces is no longer just a trend, but a necessity. From natural lighting to acoustics, from furniture layout to air quality, design can help reduce stress, facilitate movement, improve concentration and create a sense of belonging. And although its effect often goes unnoticed, it’s no less important.
On the opposite, a poorly designed work environment -physical or symbolic- can amplify discomfort. Because there’s no aesthetic that compensates for a space that isolates, that overwhelms, that demands without sustaining. That’s why well-being at work goes beyond one-off workshops or courtesy fruit. Designing healthy workspaces is part of this structural transformation.
This is what the spaces they care for look like
According to a McKinsey Health Institute global survey of more than 30,000 employees worldwide, 57% said they’re in good holistic health. That is, health that includes not only the physical, but also the mental, spiritual and social.
The data is not bad: it indicates that more than half of those surveyed feel good. But it did uncover some inequalities. Burnout was more prevalent among women, young people, neurodivergent people or those facing financial difficulties. However, the factor that generated the most burnout was not who you were, but the setting in which you worked: the toxicity of the environment outweighed any other variable.
An uncomfortable but necessary reminder: design alone doesn’t transform an organisation. There’s little point in a nice break room if no one feels they can take a break. Designing healthy workspaces involves a systemic view, where the physical environment and the organisational culture work in sync.
“Design alone does not transform an organisation. Designing healthy workplaces involves a systemic view”.
Ways to design environments that add up to wellbeing
According to McKinsey, there are factors that can affect occupational health which organisations can shape through the design of their spaces and their internal culture:
1. Social interaction
Positive relationships in the workplace are a powerful antidote to burnout. Design can foster these bonds by creating spaces that invite encounters: common areas, cafeterias and canteens, informal rooms for spontaneous meetings or corners that facilitate conversations without screens in between. It’s not just a matter of providing square metres, but of facilitating moments of human connection that reinforce healthy workspaces.
2. Mindset and beliefs
Space also conveys messages. An environment that reflects the company’s values – for example, with sustainable materials, inclusive signage or spaces designed for creativity – reinforces the sense of belonging. Feeling aligned with the organisation’s identity has a direct impact on emotional well-being.
3. Productive activity
Workplace health is also about being able to work efficiently and smoothly. Designing spaces adapted to different types of tasks – concentration, collaboration, pause or movement – improves focus and reduces fatigue. Ergonomic furniture, good lighting or the presence of well-integrated technology are details that together facilitate a day-to-day life more aligned with the principles of healthy workspaces.
4. Stress
Sensory overstimulation – noise, clutter, intense artificial lights – is a common source of stress. An environment that takes care of visual and acoustic comfort, that allows natural light to be regulated or that has quiet pause zones, helps to calm the nervous system and slow down the pace when necessary.
5. Sleep
Rest does not start at home: it is built during the day. Spaces with natural light, areas where you can really disconnect or the possibility of taking short breaks help to respect biological rhythms. Better sleep outside work is also a consequence of healthy workplaces.
Understanding these factors not as isolated elements, but as an interconnected ecosystem, makes it possible to transform the workplace into a true agent of health.
It’s not about magazine offices, or following the latest trend in corporate design. It’s about understanding how space can act on key dimensions of health: from stress to social connection, from productivity to rest.
A commitment to healthy workplaces is a way of putting people at the centre. And perhaps also a reminder that work can – and should – be a place to flourish.
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