The Office: Good For Your Step Count, Bad For Everything Else?

In July 2026, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty warned that working from home could harm people’s health by reducing everyday physical activity.

By that logic, the healthier option is to return to the office. But the reality is more nuanced.

How does the office impact worker wellbeing?

Indoor air quality in offices can have a significant impact on wellbeing. Elevated levels of CO₂, PM2.5, volatile organic compounds and allergens can contribute to headaches, fatigue and respiratory problems, while poor ventilation can increase the spread of infectious illnesses. The thermal comfort in workplaces matters too. Offices that are too hot or too cold can reduce concentration and exacerbate existing health conditions. Recognizing this, more organizations are seeking WELL or Fitwel certifications to showcase their workspaces’ air quality and thermal comfort standards.

Air quality and thermal comfort can be particularly challenging issues in the UK, where much of the office stock is older – around 33% of non-domestic office space was built before 1919. This makes buildings more susceptible to damp and mould and harder to retrofit with modern ventilation or cooling systems.

Offices can influence mental health – both for the positive and the negative. Face-to-face interactions reduce isolation and strengthen social connections, but noisy environments, overcrowding, difficult workplace relationships and a lack of privacy can all increase stress.

On the physical side, workplaces also present ergonomic risks. Poorly configured desks, screens and chairs can contribute to musculoskeletal problems, while similar issues arise when employees work from unsuitable home set-ups. These issues are less likely in places where workplace ergonomic assessments are mandatory, such as Hong Kong, as workstations are always set up with ergonomic comfort in mind.

Can technology improve worker wellbeing in the office?

While the office can present a range of health risks, organizations can mitigate these through deploying a range of real estate and facilities software tools and EHS solutions. For example, indoor air quality sensors can monitor CO₂, PM2.5, temperature and humidity, while building management systems can automatically adjust ventilation, heating and cooling. Alongside tech tools, firms should seek to understand concerns and requirements using sentiment surveys – such as the Leesman Index or AI-driven tools such as Audiem – to determine who needs to be in the office, what they need to be doing when they are there and what currently stands in the way of them doing so with regards to maintaining or improving their health.

Similarly, digital ergonomic assessments can help organizations configure workstations correctly and learning management systems offer training on how to use them. Occupational health platforms and mental health apps, meanwhile, can be implemented to support employee wellbeing. Decision-makers must remember that implementing these technologies is just one step of the solution; health monitoring is only useful if employers act on the problems it identifies.

What about the commute?

Professor Chris Whitty’s argument is strongest when it comes to the commute. Walking or cycling to work – and even walking between stations – introduces incidental exercise into the working day.

But not all commutes are healthy. Long journeys reduce time available for exercise, sleep, healthy eating habits and socializing, and overcrowded public transport can increase stress – not to mention potentially exposing commuters to uncomfortable temperatures and even contagious illnesses.

Finding a balance

The healthiest arrangement, therefore, depends on the individual. Employers must recognize this and cater to individual requirements as far as practicable.

A hybrid approach can combine the movement and social interaction of office work with the flexibility and reduced commuting burden of working from home. This was, in fact, the preferred approach to improving worker wellbeing among most attendees of the Verdantix Why Are We Still Talking About The Return To Office? webinar.

When considering workplace strategies, the objective should not simply be to get employees back into offices. Organizations should focus on designing working arrangements using a total worker health approach to make healthy behaviour easier, wherever employees are working.

For an in-depth conversation about worker health and workplaces, set up an analyst inquiry call.