What is a work environment, and what characterizes a good work environment?

‍What is work environment?

Since work environment is a broad concept and can be about many different things, the work environment is usually broken down into three dimensions:

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Physical work environment

The physical work environment is primarily about how external factors affect us in our workplace. This can range from light, sound, air and temperature to how the workplace is designed to support employees in areas such as safety and ergonomics. In other words, the physical work environment really refers to everything that is seen, heard, smelled or felt and how these things affect us in our work.

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Digital work environment

The digital work environment is about the parts of the work that are controlled by or take place in digital systems. By today's measure, almost all parts of the work could be counted in the digital work environment, as we almost always work digitally to some extent.

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Therefore, in order to understand what is included in the digital work environment, one can advantageously look at it from the following perspectives:

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• Ease of use: How well are the digital systems adapted to humans and how well do they support the data they are supposed to help us with? Are they easy to understand and easy to manage?

• Technical capacity: What are the technical and qualitative capabilities of digital systems? How fast, safe and reliable are they?

• Efficiency: How do digital systems affect us in our work? Do they help us and our business work better, smarter and more efficiently?

• Digital leisure: How does the workplace manage the boundary between work and leisure? When is it OK to work and communicate digitally?

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Organizational and social work environment

If the physical work environment is primarily about external factors, the organizational and social work environment is more about internal factors, structures and culture, about things that cannot be addressed in concrete terms, and how these things affect us in our work.

In order to distinguish between organizational and social work environment, organizational work environment can be described as dealing with the organizational structure. That is, about things that deal with how decisions are made in the business and how the work is organized, controlled and communicated.

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The social work environment is fundamentally about what company culture we cultivate and how it makes us interact, interact with and treat each other at work. Digital communication and digital interactions in different systems and platforms are also usually included in the social work environment.

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What characterizes a good work environment?

As the animals of habit we are, we quickly get used to the environment in which we find ourselves and operate, and in our ability to get used to ourselves, many times questions about how our environment actually affects us end up beyond our thinking horizon. We simply drive on. We get used to it, which in a way can create some problems. Because once we get used to our work environment, once we get used to this being the way things work, who are we to judge whether it's good or bad? How do we know what really characterizes a good work environment?

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But no need to despair quite yet. Below are some examples of what makes a good work environment:

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Flexibility

What constitutes a good and bad work environment is in many cases a highly subjective question. What is perceived as good by one colleague can be experienced in the opposite way by another. Therefore, in a larger perspective, a “good” work environment is primarily an environment that is flexible in its design and can be adapted to several needs at the same time.

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Well-planned premises

In good work environments, the workplace is tailored to the business, and not the other way around. The design and layout support and enhance the business, where each square meter serves its purpose by somehow helping employees do a better job. Whether it is about more conference rooms, nicer lunch rooms or something completely different is of course a question for each individual business to answer.

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Varied soundscapes

In a good working environment, noise and other distracting noises have been eliminated, while there are surfaces for different sound images. There are places where you can work completely undisturbed, both as a group and as an individual, but there are also places where you can discuss and talk more vividly with each other.

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Ergonomically adapted

A good working environment is also characterized by the fact that the workplace is ergonomically adapted according to the activities carried out. This can range from height-adjustable desks to solid protective equipment or optimised lighting.

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Technology that works

A good work environment also supports a good digital work environment, where technology is fast, safe and reliable, and where the digital systems are both user-friendly and work seamlessly with each other. At the same time, there are clear limits to how and when it is okay to communicate digitally. With these pieces in place, we can reduce the cognitive load and counteract unnecessary frustration and microstress, thus improving the overall work environment.

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Inspiring interior

Comfortable and pleasant furnishings often lead to more people experiencing the working environment as better, especially younger employees. By spending a little extra on paintings, plants, sofa groups and colors, a lot can therefore be gained.

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Inclusive

In a good working environment, everyone feels welcome. They respect their colleagues and maintain a good conversational tone with each other. There is no discrimination and there are clear policies on how to deal with and discourage abusive behaviour.

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Motivational

Finally, a good work environment is an environment that motivates and inspires its employees. It's an environment you enjoy being in. And certainly, very few yearn to go to work when the clock strikes Friday or when it rains horizontally on a cold November morning, but if you feel a kind of intrinsic motivation when you are at work, if there is that basic pleasure; well then there is a lot to say that your work environment is to be considered good.

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Who is responsible for the work environment?

The employer always bears the ultimate responsibility for the working environment, and is the one who must ensure the prevention of ill health and accidents and create a good environment in which to work. If something breaks, it is also the employer who bears the responsibility under criminal law. At the same time, it is important that everyone in the workplace is involved in environmental work and knows their role and responsibilities. Ultimately, we are each other's work environment, and by working together and taking our own responsibility, we create the best working environments possible.

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XLNT Workplace helps you create world-class employee experiences

Whether small or large, we have extensive experience in helping our customers change their workplaces for the better. With sustainable end-to-end solutions and services, we create better workplaces where the work environment and employee experience are the focus. If you have questions or need tips on how to create a better work environment and workplace, do not hesitate, get in touch. We are here for you, just a call or email away.

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