Creating exceptional workplaces

The modern office’s approach to health and wellness looks different than in years past.

“(Fitness-studio) demand has softened as of late,” Kethcart said. “The focus needs to be throughout the workday. (Wellness needs) are being solved for in different ways.”

Whereas wellness previously meant addressing fitness needs, perhaps through an on-site gym, today it refers to an overarching approach. Health and wellness programs in the workplace range from smoking cessation to fiscal prudence to team-building activities. Mindfulness is also a major concern in today’s workplace, meaning a property owner may incorporate spaces for quiet reflection or an employer might subsidize employee subscriptions to online meditation apps.

According to the National Library of Medicine, wellness is an active, not passive, proposition. “In recent years, wellness has moved into the workplace as enterprises – meaning both for-profit and not-for-profit companies, businesses, firms, institutions, and organizations designed to provide goods and/or services – have recognized the role that the workplace can play in supporting worker health,” the organization posits in Wellness at work: Building healthy workplaces. “While enterprises have the responsibility to provide safe and hazard-free work environments, they also have the opportunity to promote worker health and foster healthy workplaces.”

Property owners and employers are finding that it’s not enough to give employees the amenities they think that they want. It’s crucial to keep a finger on the pulse of their feelings.

“The last wish of corporate employees is that their needs are being heard, (that employers try to) raise awareness,” Kethcart said. “Active listening – that’s what we need to be doing. Survey our tenants, ask them, ‘Hey, what do you like about your experience here?’”

Active listening also rides on effective communication. This means clarity, concision, and responsiveness. Tenants want multiple channels through which they can communicate – email, phone, text messaging, and online portals – as well as proactive property owners who don’t wait for them to bring up issues or concerns, but rather check in on a regular basis.

“All these experiences play into what we see in the amenity spaces,” Despot said. “It’s more than what meets the eye.”

Want to learn more about how JLL’s Experience Management experts can bring added impact to your property? Click here.