As more companies bring employees back for regular days in the office, the need to give tenants healthy, clean and safe spaces is paramount. The past few years have put into stark reality the kind of disruption that sickness causes for yourself, your family and your colleagues, even when it’s not life threatening or serious. Early pandemic response was focused on personal responsibility—washing hands, masking, etc., but now people know their efforts can only do so much and that collective actions are what truly makes a difference.
But sickness isn’t the only thing—general safety is a concern too. Employees who have the option to work from home want to know that when they make the effort to go into an office, the building owner and operator is prepared for any contingency. This means building managers must communicate transparently and frequently about those preparations. Lessening anxiety and worry is part of supporting tenant wellness.
Today there is a greater consciousness about how building features can impact tenants’ health and safety, for better and for worse. Air quality is a particular concern. Breathing is something we all have to do, yet it’s not something individuals or companies can improve on their own. In fact, one study of office workers cited in a Harvard Business Review article found that office workers “reported more headaches and worked 6.5% more slowly on a typing test when they were in an office with a pollution source.” As extreme climate events and outdoor air quality warnings become more frequent, building owners will have to have a response to maintain safe indoor environments.
In a large commercial building, advanced ventilation technology, access to natural light, and greenscaping are all given greater consideration than they may have in the past by potential tenants. Retrofitting older buildings can be a costly and laborious undertaking upfront, but it’s important to building long-term relationships and trust.
Urban Innovations is committed to being a people-first building owner and operator, and keeping people healthy and safe is intrinsic to that. We’ve looked at how each of the buildings in our portfolio can support tenants’ wellness through cleaner air, better building materials, and access to green spaces.
One of the measures we’ve taken is obtaining the WELL Health-Safety Rating, which is an evidence-based, third-party verified rating for all new and existing building and space types. WELL Health-Safety rating includes strategies to help building owners:
- Keep spaces clean and sanitized
- Provide essential health benefits and services
- Communicate our health and safety efforts
- Help everyone prepare for an emergency
- Assess air and water quality
The rating recognizes owners and operators who adopt evidence-based measures and best practices to prioritize the health and safety of their staff, visitors and stakeholders. It looks at operational policies, maintenance protocols, stakeholder engagement and emergency plans. We’ve retained the rating since 2021 and plan to renew it for years to come to ensure our continuous efforts toward health, safety, and accountability in our wellness initiatives.
We’ve also looked at what structural and technical enhancements we can make to upgrade our buildings and support our tenants. We’ve focused on utilizing state-of-the-art technology such as Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization. These air-purification devices improve indoor air quality by releasing charged ions that effectively eliminate harmful substances such as: airborne particles from viruses including COVID-19, smoke, dust, mold, bacteria and odors.
Perhaps most important, we keep our tenants informed about the measures we’re taking, collaborating with employers on safety plans and health and wellness initiatives, listening to our building users about what’s important to them. The investment is well worth it because it builds the kind of longstanding, trusted partnership with our building tenants and their employees that we want to foster.
Safer, healthier buildings set the foundation for more productive and happier workforces. Providing peace of mind can be an invaluable benefit for employers and building owners alike. It takes a combination of tangible improvements, transparent communication, and resources to implement them, but it’s an investment that will prove worth the effort.
Urban Innovations General Manager Joi Harrell oversees the daily operations of the portfolio of commercial properties and supervises a tight-knit team of building maintenance engineers, property managers, and administrative support team members. In total, her team manages in excess of one million square feet of commercial and retail properties with modernized improvements in Chicago’s neighborhoods and Milwaukee’s ever-developing Westown.