How can companies boost workplace productivity?

As the return to office debate continues, there’s never been a more important time for companies to create healthy and productive offices for their employees.

One company that’s changing the game when it comes to assessing and boosting workplace performance is ART Health Solutions. 

In this blog post, we get all the details of one of their latest case studies from Lauren Gourlay, Workplace & Wellbeing Consultant.

How does ART Health Solutions drive productivity in the workplace?

Here at ART Health Solutions, we use a data-driven approach to enhance health, wellbeing and performance, allowing employees to make positive changes while providing evidence to support workplace strategies.

With a background in elite sport, our team understands how to get the best out of world-class athletes – and we use these same principles to improve workplace performance.

Can you tell us about one of your recent projects?

We worked with our client to provide an assessment of their new state-of-the-art office to determine whether its environment was beneficial to employee wellbeing, productivity and overall job satisfaction. The outcome of this study would allow the client to build a business case to implement this strategy across the global portfolio. 

The client’s real estate team were eager to investigate the impact of a new office on employee performance, and were interested in validating guidelines for new ways of working with a purpose-built office for maximizing performance, productivity and experience.

What method did you use for this particular case study?

We recruited 146 volunteers across various business units and demographics within the client’s organization. 

Using our OmicsTM mobile app, we conducted three months of data collection of physical activity, sleep data – using wearable devices – and ran cognitive tests that measured decision making, distractibility and memory, within OmicsTM. We also collected data on employee mood and sentiment via pulse surveys. 

Employees were invited to join a group community page, which included regular wellbeing content and education pieces, as well as competitions and challenges to keep them engaged with the project.

This data was aggregated and anonymized before providing a detailed insights report. We also worked with the client to create a bespoke dashboard that allowed them to compare this dataset against all their other sites.

What were the key findings of the study? 

Our assessment allowed the client to gain a much better understanding of employee experience and the impact of their new office space. 

• There was a 9% improvement in working memory in the new office compared to home and traditional offices
• Employees reported 13% less stress and 15% more energy when working from the new office compared to home
• 90% of employees agreed that the lighting in the new office positively contributed to their overall wellbeing and productivity
• 79% agreed they find it easy to plan for times that they wish to work from the office
• If given the choice, employees would prefer to work a 50:30:20 location split (home:office:other)

We also found that one one of the main limitations to productivity was the number of meetings. This made it difficult for employees to dedicate focus time to demanding tasks as well as distractions from others both in person and virtually.

Overall, the study provided objective data to support the benefits of the new office, and helped the client to fine-tune their strategy to optimize workplace productivity.

Looking to boost productivity in your workplace?

To find out more about the game-changing work ART Health Solutions are doing, get in touch with their team. 

And to learn more about the huge range of elements that can boost workplace productivity, check out The Measure magazine.