By Caroline Serpico
From the June 2025 Issue of Facility Executive
Creating modern, buzzing workplaces is a process that hinges on more than the increasingly common return-to-office mandates. While many of the latest trends in office design seemingly aim to make office life more appealing than, or on par with, a home office — with free-desking and hybrid rooms to offer employees a greater sense of flexibility — maintaining a clean and accessible environment for all building occupants remains paramount to these simple task-focused benefits.
Factors like general cleanliness, hygienic shared spaces, and spatial planning with minimal barriers all contribute to building a welcoming atmosphere in offices, along with commercial, retail, and hospitality facilities, and more. Prioritizing these interior elements not only reinforces a workplace’s commitment to employee wellness beyond simple desk enhancements, but it also ensures an ease of accessibility that accommodates people of all abilities who engage with the space.
Insights from Raquel Carbonari, Brand Activation Director for Tork, an Essity brand, and Elizabeth Ruggles, Senior ADA and Accessibility Consultant at Charles Taylor, detail the importance of maintaining a clean and accessible work environment and how this can create an atmosphere that all occupants can trust and look forward to spending time in.
Creating Hygienic Shared Spaces
Maintaining clean public spaces in facilities, especially restrooms and lounge areas, can be vital for a business’s reputation among both employees and clients. According to a 2024 Tork Insight Survey, 44% of people feel anxiety using a public restroom due to uncleanliness; further, nearly 50% of those surveyed remember a poor restroom experience in businesses or public facilities to avoid returning in the future. Identifying existing problems within a facility and different barriers to hygiene can allow spaces to develop solutions to improve the overall guest experience.
“Ultimately, people face barriers to hygiene in public restrooms all the time and for all kinds of reasons,” says Carbonari. “A parent with a young child may struggle to wash their child’s hands at the sink, or someone who is neurodivergent may be sensitive to loud noises coming from an air dryer and thus opts out of drying their hands, or someone with limited hand dexterity might have a hard time grabbing a paper towel or pushing the button of some soap dispensers.”
Equipping shared spaces with elements of inclusive hygiene allows the facility to meet the needs of a broader set of people’s abilities and circumstances. Overcoming barriers to hygiene, as Carbonari listed, starts with simple changes that can be carried out by cleaning staff or even occupants themselves.
“One step that facility managers can take is by providing certified, easy-to-use, easy-to-refill dispensers in restrooms,” Carbonari added. “Additionally, consider offering soap and sanitizer products that are certified to be gentle on skin.
“With 60% of people having a lesser opinion of business or venues whose hand hygiene facilities are hard to use, equipping users with a range of skin sensitivities to wash their hands comfortably can help boost satisfaction and well being.”
Meeting the hygienic needs of as many people as possible can create a welcoming work environment, fostering a greater chance of return and trust within a commercial space.
Accessible Interior Design
Creating a physically accessible work environment ensures that it is accessible to everyone. This is a main tenet of the increasingly popular interior design philosophy, Universal Design (UD).
“UD is the design and composition of an environment, so that it can be accessed, understood, and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability,” according to the Center for Excellence in Universal Design. “This is not a special requirement, for the benefit of only a minority of the population. It is a fundamental condition of good design.”
Fundamental elements of spatial planning, like hallway width and split-level areas, can be easily overlooked, resulting in accommodating only a marginal portion of those who pass through the physical space. Bearing UD in mind, making changes like adding wider hallways or omitting unnecessary barriers not only allows employees and the public to occupy a space more freely but can also improve the value of a space. As spaces age, inclusive design will never lose its relevance.
Small changes to elements of interior design by facility managers can have a big impact on accessibility. “Thick rugs or plush carpeting in lounge areas may look inviting, but they’re a major tripping hazard and can make movement difficult for wheelchair users or those with canes,” said Ruggles. “Replacing these with firm, low-pile options or warm-toned wood flooring can improve both mobility and aesthetics.”
Additional factors to consider aside from gross mobility include personal comfort and style. Catering to these factors will allow occupants to feel more at home in a space and enhance their stay, regardless of the facility type. “Choosing ergonomic seating with firm support and appropriate height can dramatically enhance comfort and accessibility,” said Ruggles. “Lighting and contrast are also key. Natural light and warm lighting tones are easier on the eyes, while thoughtful color contrast between floors, walls, and furniture supports navigation for those with low vision.”
Implementing small alterations in a shared space to enhance and expand usability can have a large impact on anyone who interacts with a given space. Aiming to maintain a clean and accessible work environment lays the groundwork for forging positive connections between a facility and its occupants, establishing a sense of trust and comfort. Consulting facility experts, whether ahead of a building or during renovations, can add great value to the project and encourage occupants to return.
Ruggles summarizes the importance of prioritizing occupant wellness for facility managers by emphasizing the longevity of inclusive, accessible design: “Elements like strategically placed railings, wider doors, and inclusive restroom design don’t necessarily add cost, but they do add value and usability for everyone.”
Serpico, a graduate of Rutgers University, is currently working as the assistant editor for Facility Executive and Turf Magazine.
Do you have a comment? Share your thoughts in an e-mail to the Editor at jen@groupc.com.