In an era where creating environments where people can work authentically is required, we have come to hear the term well-being frequently. Here, after covering the basic meaning of well-being, we introduce examples of initiatives aimed at achieving well-being, primarily in offices.
What is Well-being?
Well-being is a concept that means being in a physically • mentally • and socially good state. It represents not only physical and mental health, but " health " and " happiness " in a broad sense where everything is fulfilled.
While wellness is a concept that aims for a lively lifestyle with both physical and mental health, well-being encompasses this wellness and captures health and happiness from an even broader perspective. It is considered to mean a state of fulfillment in all aspects, including job satisfaction and good human relationships.
Elements that Constitute Well-being
To better understand the concept of well-being, let's look at the elements that form well-being. We introduce the indicator called " PERMA " and the elements defined by Gallup in the United States.
" PERMA ", which is often used as an indicator of well-being, proposes that the following five elements need to be satisfied for people to feel " happy ".
- Positive emotion
- Engagement (involvement in things • immersion)
- Relationship (good human relationships)
- Meaning and Purpose (meaning and purpose in life)
- Accomplishment (sense of achievement)
Gallup in the United States derived five components of well-being from survey results in countries around the world.
- Career Wellbeing (happiness in work style and lifestyle)
- Social Wellbeing (happiness related to human relationships)
- Financial Wellbeing (economic happiness)
- Physical Wellbeing (happiness in physical and mental health)
- Community Wellbeing (happiness in local communities and communities)
Well-being in Business
In recent years, the concept of well-being has attracted attention in the business field as well, and its importance is increasing. The background to this is that as values have changed, diversification of work styles has progressed, and creating environments where people can work authentically, including work-life balance, has become required. In response to these demands of the times, movements to improve work styles and workplace environments from the perspective of well-being are beginning to spread in companies as well.
Benefits of Adopting Well-being
The main benefits of adopting well-being as a company include the following three points:
- Employees can work in good condition
- Securing human resources
- Corporate value increases
Through management conscious of well-being, improvements in work systems and office environments progress, and employees can work in good condition in all aspects. When a comfortable work environment is established, employees' physical and mental states stabilize, and motivation for work also increases. As a result, improved productivity across the organization can be expected. If employees can work with satisfaction, turnover rates decrease. Additionally, corporate value rises as a company actively working on well-being, leading to opportunities for securing new human resources and fundraising.
Examples of Well-being Initiatives in Offices
Well-being initiatives are already being advanced in various forms at many companies, but here we focus on offices as work environments and introduce examples aimed at achieving well-being in office spaces.
Reference：Improving Office Well-being with Smart Technology! Introduction of WELL Certified Buildings
Takenaka Corporation Tokyo Head Office
This office is the first domestic example to obtain certification from " WELL Certification v2 ", an evaluation system focused on well-being. Various initiatives were recognized, including a comfortable indoor environment incorporating nature, an office supporting ABW where work time and location can be freely selected, and the establishment of a lounge as a relaxation space.
Reference：What is WELL Certification? Introducing New Standards for Office Spaces
Nomura Real Estate H1O Series
In the H1O series, a small-scale office series with services developed by Nomura Real Estate, they are creating an environment centered on well-being, aiming for workers to spend time happily. In addition to biometric security, individual air conditioning, and the introduction of various IoT devices, they have adopted " biophilic design " that allows people to feel nature, realizing a comfortable and relaxing space.
IRIS Group Tokyo Antenna Office
They are enhancing the comfort of office space by utilizing mainly their own products, including circadian lighting and autonomous AI disinfection cleaning robots.
Summary
While well-being is a broad concept and approaches to its realization vary, when we narrow the target to offices as work environments, the first step toward achieving well-being seems to become more concrete. Examples utilizing smart technologies such as IoT and AI are beginning to stand out. Initiatives aimed at creating comfortable work environments from the perspective of well-being will surely continue to advance.