Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace

Sternberg’s (medicine, psychology, and architecture, landscape architecture & planning, Univ. of Arizona; The Balance Within) fellow integrative-medicine practitioner, Andrew Weil, lauds her expertise in demonstrating how environments can be used to optimize health. This book delves into her research of workspaces. By sharing her research, Sternberg leads readers to think about workspaces—to understand what is and isn’t working, and to take steps to address these issues to create a healthier environment. The COVID pandemic forced a rethinking and reshaping of the environment in which work takes place and has affected the mental and physical well-being of workers; Sternberg dedicates the last third of the book to these topics. At times the author’s enthusiasm and deep knowledge leads her to wandering. However, the research is often fascinating (e.g., people are less stressed when sound is between 40 and 50 decibels—not too quiet and not too loud), and the tips are useful (download a free sound-level app from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health).