Agile working reflects this trend, doing away with classic desking, and dividing the workplace into several zones that are designed for specific tasks. In an agile office, staff no longer have a single desk, but move around into different zones to complete different tasks.

In addition to the business reasons for this approach, another key reason for the growing popularity of agile working are the health benefits to staff.

But what are these health benefits?

1. More regular movement

There have been a huge rise in various problems associated with office workers in recent years. Issues like sciatica, hip bursitis, and other chronic problems occur in office workers due to inactivity and prolonged periods of time spent sitting at a desk.

In an agile workplace, workers rarely sit in the same place for such a long period of time. Instead, staff members move around the office into different zones, loosening and stretching muscle groups that cause problems when you remain static.

2. Less clutter means fewer accidents

For an agile office to work effectively, workstations and zones must be keep tidy and free of clutter. As nobody owns a specific desk or workspace anymore, it’s important that staff tidy up after themselves, making sure not to leave things lying around.

This is more than just picking up your dirty cup and pocketing your phone charger, and a big part of agile working is keeping all spaces as tidy as possible.

In standard offices, clutter can be a real problem at workstations, particularly coats and jackets, which in hot desk offices are used to claim a spot. In addition to looking messy, clutter like this can also be a health and safety risk by causing potential tripping hazards.

Agile workplaces remove these hazards, providing a safer and tidier workplace for all.

3. Mental health benefits

In addition to the physical benefits associated with agile working, research suggests that there are various other positives for staff members from adopting such an approach. As awareness of mental health grows, employers are gaining a greater understanding of how to provide a better working environment that helps staff stay happy and focused.

Agile working is beneficial to workers’ wellbeing in numerous ways. In addition to working in various zones around the office, staff in an agile workplace are usually granted the flexibility to work from home.

Having greater control over where you work and the hours you are in the office is beneficial to workers’ wellbeing, as it offers a greater sense of work-life balance. This can, of course, work the other way too, with flexible working meaning that staff feel they can never truly ‘switch off’.

Generally though, Agile working has numerous health and wellbeing benefits, and is an effective and positive approach to structuring a contemporary workplace.

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