As health-conscious Gen Z’s become the bulk of the global workforce, and the great return to work creates a natural opportunity to do things differently, workplace well-being is a trend that’s here to stay.

Born in the mid-1990s, Gen Z is now the largest generation in America and is fast becoming the majority of the world’s workforce. Amongst the many things Gen Z is passionate about, are health and wellness. Perhaps not a huge surprise for a generation for whom coming of age coincided with a global pandemic. It’s not only Gen Z who want work to be healthier though. While some Gen Z trends are decidedly not for everyone (a-hem, cybercore), creating environments that help us feel our best is a no-brainer for productivity, morale, and quality of life. Let’s take a look at some of the ways Neat devices boost well-being at work.

Freedom of movement

Stand, stretch and walk for at least a minute or two every half hour.

J.Triano, Spine Health

Everyone knows it’s bad for your back to be sitting all day at a desk. Sitting for too long, even for short periods, reduces blood flow to the brain and affects our ability to concentrate. Experts advise standing, stretching and walking for at least a minute for every hour spent at your desk. With Neat devices, you can do this without having to break from your video meetings. Neat Symmetry technology continues to perfectly frame your face even as you stand and walk around the room, while our powerful microphones ensure your voice is also still captured clearly. When you’re engaged in conversation, it’s easy to forget to take a movement break, which is why Neat devices allow you to roam freely while you chat and do your thing.

Monitor harmful VOCs

The future belongs to those who can smell it coming.

David Bowie (almost)

What are VOCs? I’m glad you asked. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds: gases and odors from cleaning products, paint, perfumes, cooking and even human breath – all of which can impact your health. Undesirable effects include irritation of the nose, eyes and throat; headaches; nausea; loss of concentration and coordination; and even damage to the liver and central nervous system. Clearly, these airborne nasties are not to be messed with, which is why all of our devices have Neat Sense technology built in to monitor them closely. In fact, our devices have had this capability from day one, even before the pandemic (talk about having a crystal ball!), which leads us to believe “the future belongs to those who can smell it coming.”

Fewer shared touchpoints

You can’t touch this.

MC Hammer

When it comes to infection control, reducing the number of touchpoints that people have to use to turn on and operate devices helps to limit the spread of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa that can cause disease. Neat devices respond to your presence, automatically waking up the moment you enter the room. Then, with just one tap, you can wirelessly share your screen or start a meeting while the camera instinctively auto-frames and tracks you. What’s more, if you’re using Neat Board or Neat Bar you can ‘bring your own device’ – aka BYOD – further reducing your use of communal touchpoints.

The end of overcrowding

Back to Neat Sense technology. Well, in addition to monitoring VOCs, it monitors the number of people in the room. This real-time data is super useful for building managers and decision-makers, helping them to plan how to use office space more efficiently, preventing room over-occupancy, and improving overall hygiene and comfort. 

Did you know? When it comes to personal space, anthropologist Edward Hall identified four distinct ‘bubbles’ around each of us. The first bubble is our ‘intimate space’, extending outwards just 18 inches. Next is our ‘personal space’, which has a radius of around 0.45m. Then comes ‘social space’ with a radius of 1.2m, and finally ‘public space’ with a radius of 3.6 to 7.6m.

Fine-tune your air quality

A study by Harvard and Syracuse Universities showed that employees in an office environment with excellent ventilation performed 61% better on cognitive tasks and had 30% fewer headaches and respiratory complaints. So it’s well worth getting a handle on the air quality of your workspace. With Neat Sense, you get insights into humidity, CO2 and temperature. A common challenge in office spaces is air conditioning, which can make a room too dry and increase the spread of viruses. The sweet spot for humidity is 30 to 60%. As for CO2, this natural gas that we exhale with every breath can build up in spaces used by multiple people, leading to poorer problem-solving, lower productivity, and increased sick leave.

CO2 levels consistently higher than 1500ppm in an occupied room indicate poor ventilation and you should take action to improve it.

Health and Safety Executive, UK Government.

To discover more about Neat devices reach out to one of our friendly product specialists at hello@neat.no or book a demo.