As we settle into the new year (and decade), people are undoubtedly focusing on wellness trends and other ways to better themselves. Whether it be working out more, eating healthier, or prioritizing mental health, it’s difficult to not have resolutions in mind at the start of the new year.
However, while this predictable uptick in goal-setting is bound to repeat each year, the global trend of wellness is not going anywhere.
But what do these wellness trends mean for the PropTech and tenant experience space? In short, a lot — or at least they should, which is why landlords and property managers alike need to consider these wellness trends when establishing and maintaining tenant experience programs.
Wellness Trends Are Continually Rising
The Global Wellness Institute found the wellness economy to be worth $4.5 trillion globally in 2018, and it’s only increasing. Millennials and Gen Zers are spending more money on wellness than ever, which reflects the changing priorities of these generations. The wellness movement is driven by not only an emphasis on physical health, but mental and social as well: 72% of Gen Zers say managing stress and mental health is their most important health and wellness concern. More and more employers are recognizing the importance of keeping their Millennial-age employees happy in the workplace, but they also must focus on meeting these standards of the younger generation that comprise the up-and-coming workforce.
What Do Wellness Trends Mean for Tenant Experience?
The wellness trend plays a large part in the direction that workplace amenities are shifting today. We know that workspaces that can make tenants’ lives easier, help them save time, and allow them to leave work feeling “well” are valued because they keep tenants happy and coming back.
Wellness is one of our 8 pillars of tenant experience; we believe an office building should promote a tenant’s overall health and fitness, when possible. For instance, Mindbody, Fitspot, and Exos partner with landlords to offer a mix of fitness and wellness services. With our native integrations with third-party vendors and our in-app content, booking and analytics around these services become available in the HqO app.
The amenity war is real, and commercial real estate landlords are working to provide the best amenities for their tenants. However, we know from various studies that not all amenities are good amenities. Gensler’s research on the topic found that office spaces with an element of choice and mobility — in other words, spaces both indoors and outdoors where employees can work away from their desks — allow tenants to perform best in the workplace. Focusing on wellness amenities that are mobile and provide various options for tenants will be key to enhancing their experience.
These days, most offices have an in-house gym or fitness classes, or at least some nearby. However, healthcare services are also coming to office spaces. In his recent interview with Cheddar, our CEO and co-founder Chase Garbarino predicted: “The next office space amenity that we’re seeing a lot of is mobile healthcare. So, bringing everything from Invisalign, to dentists, to eye care, all of these things to the office space.”
Through the HqO app, tenants can schedule things like eye or dental exams during their lunch break at select offices. By providing access to these types of mobile healthcare services, landlords help their tenants save time and effort on an appointment that would normally occur on the weekends, or after work. Not only do mobile healthcare services make tenants’ lives easier, they also allow health to be a priority in their work week.
The Bottom Line: Wellness Is Essential to the Tenant Experience
In their wellness trend predictions for 2020, Well+Good co-founder Melisse Gelula explains the effects of workplaces that provide wellness services: “If you can bring these things directly to the office and your time-crunched team, it’s not just appreciated, it helps balance what their inbox and work demands are throwing at them.”
Coming from a wellness expert, these benefits will certainly hold true in the new year. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is much easier when wellness services come to the workplace.
As the Global Wellness Institute notes, “Work does not need to be an unending drain on vitality.” A tenant’s experience at work can be greatly enhanced by amenities that focus on improving their wellness, not only by fostering an overall happier and healthier office space, but also by showing them that their landlords care about their well-being.
