Nurturing a healthy environment throughout the lifecycle of a building is critical to maintaining strong output.

One of the most positive developments of this decade has been the increased awareness of wellness throughout the working world. Equally applicable to office and industrial environments, the long-held connection between employee health and output is now backed up by an overwhelming amount of academic and practical study.

It’s fair to say that some of this research makes for troubling reading. Last autumn the Greenlite Group welcomed a major new report by the British Council for Offices, entitled Wellness Matters. Among the many shocking findings, the study revealed that one in six workers believe their office is having a negative impact on their health and wellbeing. The report’s authors also pointed to an inadequate response to workplace-related mental health issues, suggesting that more action could save the NHS billions of pounds every year.

Looking ahead with the conviction that dramatic improvements are possible, Wellness Matters also contains a practical and professional guide to creating a healthy environment across the different stages of a building’s life cycle – from design and construction to occupancy. Throughout this process, there is an emphasis on the importance of good lighting that complements working patterns and circadian rhythms – considerations that have been integral to Greenlite’s R&D for many years.

With the latest generation of LED lighting systems and control infrastructures it is easier than ever to achieve lighting that encourages wellness.

Barriers to change

For facilities managers, the main barriers to the implementation of more effective building systems tend to be the time and cost implications of investment and installation, and the impact on day-to-day activities while the work takes place. That’s why as a company we have focused on making the move to better systems as simple and hassle-free as possible – augmenting our ranges of highly-efficient LED lighting systems with a commercial lighting installation service that works with FMs to minimise the impact on operational patterns.

In short, we can take all the hassle and burden away from the management and maintenance of lighting and electrical assets, electrical compliance and new technology upgrades.

As one of the UK’s leading lighting specialists, we have been aware for a long time how much lighting can contribute to employee safety, productivity and state of mind. The great news is that, thanks to the wellness boom, more people than ever before are also ‘in the know’.

If you’re an FM and looking for external support for to help your organization with its big energy and estate management challenges, drop us a line or give us a call.