What Pride month means to small business owners
June is Pride month and we are so proud to be a diverse supplier: certified WBE and LGBT Business Enterprise. There is real value in life experience and listening to the perspective(s) of those who are not like you.
The research is clear that diverse teams consistently outperform their less diverse peers. Collaborative work and multi-disciplinary perspectives are the future of business. As an example, our friends over at Rushing recently highlighted our collaboration on their social media page. Let's listen, learn and lead together! Want to work with us? Click below to chat about collaboration opportunities.
The return to work - what questions should you ask?
Over the past few weeks, many of our clients and colleagues have asked for our thoughts on returning to the office. If you follow our work, you know that one of our core values is teaching our communities how to advocate for healthier spaces.
The first step in advocating for a healthier office is knowing what questions to ask. A recent article from the Atlantic heavily cites the work of Dr. Joseph Allen (Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health), and provides a good summary of the questions employees should be asking. Here are our top three:
What have you done to review and improve airflow in the office space?
Do I still have to wear a mask?
What happens if something goes wrong?
Read the full article here, and another useful article from the New York Times, here. A key point made by Dr. Allen directly relates to one of our key risk management themes: we can and should expect far more from our buildings. We should leverage them as the public health tools that they really are, “We know that better ventilation is associated with many positive benefits: better cognitive function, better performance on reading-comprehension tests in schools, better performance on math tests, fewer worker absences….”
So what we should really be asking is: why isn’t every building a “healthy” building?
Moving beyond the technical aspects of air quality and cleaning protocols, we encourage our communities to remember and honor the fact that 2020 was really hard and really scary. It is completely normal for people to adjust to returning to work at different times. Let’s make sure we honor each person’s journey.
If you need more support, or a structured framework, certification programs have been developed to specifically address the return to work and support safer and healthier work environments. As WELL AP and Faculty, we are prepared to help support clients certify their spaces under, for example, the WELL Health-Safety Rating and the Fitwel Viral Response module.
Summer wildfire season
We should advocate for healthier buildings, but we also need to recognize the fact that our climate is changing. This summer’s wildfire season has the potential to be “catastrophic.” A dry spring in the Western states means a high potential for more fires that appear earlier in the season and are more severe in their impact.
Our advice: consider purchasing an air filter, now; before we experience a repeat of last summer, when every major retailer sold out. We encourage our clients to plan ahead to protect their health.
While air filters can be expensive (though they don’t necessarily have to be), we need to start looking at them like the healthcare tools they really are.
If you need resources, reach out or check out our healthy home office course. Last summer, many individuals contacted us in the middle of the fires and asked what they could do to improve their indoor air quality, but it was already too late.
And finally, we are thrilled that Nicole has been nominated to the Board of Directors for AIA Seattle. Nicole has been an active member of AIA Seattle’s Professional Practice Steering Committee, and currently serves as co-chair. She is honored to be nominated and looks forward to the opportunity to take on a larger leadership role. Click the button below to learn more about the nomination process and her interest in joining the Board of this leading organization.