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How Covered Parking Structures Enhance Community and Employee Wellness

August.29.2024

How Covered Parking Structures Enhance Community and Employee Wellness

August.29.2024

Covered parking structures can add benefits for workers, clients, partners, and customers. The apparent benefit of parking structures is protecting vehicles and equipment from weather elements and other forms of potential harm from passersby or accidents. However, they also offer benefits for community and employee wellness, empowering businesses to create a more welcoming and positive environment for everyone.

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The Link Between Work Conditions and Wellness

The workplace environment can significantly impact an employee’s wellness and health. A positive culture welcomes new ideas and encourages and accepts different opinions. However, the physical environment can be just as impactful for well-being. The physical characteristics and conditions of a job site or building, including noise, air quality, lighting, and parking, can create a positive or negative work environment.

Well-being has a close relationship with productivity and health. Those in good mental, emotional, and physical health are more likely to deliver optimal workplace performance compared to workers in poor health. Workplace conditions can promote this productivity by fostering a positive, more comfortable environment. Redesigning workplace components is important for fostering positive emotions, and investing in employee resources can directly impact a team’s well-being. Developing new practices and incorporating amenities and features like a covered parking structure can go a long way to show a team how much a company appreciates and cares about them.

The Role of Covered Parking in Employee Wellness

Many people may be quick to under appreciate the value of covered parking as an employee benefit. Although traditional benefits or competitive pay are important, other employee amenities and perks can help boost candidate pools and spark more interest in a business.

Company parking is an excellent perk to offer for employees. A covered parking structure provides shelter and safety for workers and vehicles and can enhance daily experiences by offering outside break access. The convenience of company parking also allows team members to save time and stress by reducing the need to find metered parking spots or travel further distances to park in a garage or at another safe site.

Covered parking structures can also provide peace of mind for workers who navigate the job during early or late hours when it may be dark outside. Protecting and monitoring the parking lot can reduce vehicle-related theft or damage concerns and help workers feel safer when walking to and from their cars.

The Role of Covered Parking in Employee Wellness

The parking lot can also serve as an excellent way to encourage outdoor activities. Adding tables or benches to the parking area can prompt employees to eat lunch or perform tasks outside, effectively boosting their well-being.

Benefits for Outdoor Workers

A covered parking structure can have additional benefits for outdoor workers. Those in the manufacturing and distribution sectors often face outdoor temperatures and conditions when loading or unloading goods. Being on the loading dock or in a specific area for truck or trailer parking often means stepping outside.

While these team members navigate their duties, they must also combat natural obstacles. For instance, intense sunlight or heat can damage products while harming workers, and rain and other wet conditions can increase the chances of injuries from slipping. These situations can be uncomfortable, impacting productivity, and have negative impacts on employee physical and mental health. For example, heat stress can lead to heat rashes, cramps, exhaustion, or stroke in extreme circumstances.

Shade structures can be an excellent solution for protecting workers and products from these conditions. Covered parking lots can create a cooler and more comfortable environment. They can prevent overheating with heat reduction capabilities and act as a light barrier from the sun. These structures can also boost a company’s reputation by highlighting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives.

How Do ESG Standards Impact Well-Being?

ESG standards refer to business behaviors that safeguard the environment and manage relationships with suppliers, customers, and employees while addressing critical issues. These standards encourage businesses to operate responsibly by implementing policies and regulations.

The environmental standard relates to concerns such as energy management, carbon footprints, and greenhouse gases. The societal standard provides a framework for fair work practices, safety, health, and information security. Governance standards form ethical and fair business practices.

Along with benefitting the environment, ESG standards can improve company reputations as more consumers look for more environmentally-conscious companies to do business with. Furthermore, obtaining ESG certification can lay the groundwork for improving employee satisfaction and well-being.

The governance and social standards directly relate to things like risk assessments, training, compliance, child labor laws, health and safety management systems, and additional information that aid in creating a positive, healthy, and supportive working environment. With a strong focus on fair business practices, ethical processes, and essential information regarding health and safety, employees can feel more comfortable in the workplace, improving their well-being.

What Influences a Good ESG Score?

Becoming ESG-certified involves obtaining third-party confirmation that verifies an organization’s ability to meet the highest standards in the ESG program. This certification shows customers, employees, and shareholders a company’s commitment to the planet, society, and ethics. Various providers may approach ESG scores differently but will consider each ESG category to some degree. Generally, organizations must meet several standards to obtain certification:

  • Environmental: Depending on the provider and business operations, a certification provider may consider various environmental factors. For instance, a provider might evaluate greenhouse gas emissions, animal treatment, climate change initiatives, renewable energy sources, water and soil contamination, and more to determine whether and organization meets environmental standards.
  • Social: Meeting social standards will involve factors like paying employees a living wage, providing sick or personal leave for employees when necessary, ethical worker treatment, safe working environments and inspections, and more.
  • Governance: Governance has one associated standard, addressing anti-bribery management systems to ensure trust and transparency. Meeting this standard proves a company abides by all federal, state, and local laws and provides or meets requirements regarding risk assessments, due diligence, training, and reporting and investigation procedures.

Although there are several ways a business can boost its ESG score with internal processes, there are also some exterior additions or structures that can aid as well. For instance, an eco-friendly and safe parking solution can boost ESG scores. From utilizing a solar-covered structure to promoting green behavior, businesses can showcase their commitment to ESG standards and boost overall scores.

A-good-ESG-score

Addressing Workplace Conditions and Employee Physical Health

A covered parking structure can provide peace of mind and feelings of security for employees. These benefits alone can make the investment worthwhile, but there are several other ways to maximize on potential opportunities. These structures can also encourage physical activity in multiple ways by allowing businesses to pursue various activity opportunities. Some ideas for promoting health in the workplace include:

  • Installing bicycle racks: Employees may be more likely to switch up their commute when they know they have a safe and comfortable place to leave their equipment during the work day.
  • Encouraging break activities: Many workers find themselves working during their lunch hour while eating at their desks or taking small bites whenever they can between tasks. A nice outdoor parking area can encourage people to get outside and offer more opportunities to be active during work hours.
  • Hosting walk meetings: There are several opportunities for company-wide activity. From moving office visits from the desk to the parking lot to inviting employees to take meetings and answer calls outside, there are many changes for workers to get outside for even just a few minutes at a time.
  • Getting creative with competitions: Friendly competition in the workplace can be a great way to spark bonding opportunities and encourage physical activity. Businesses can initiate activity challenges to motivate employees to take advantage of the parking lot before work, after closing, or during break times.
how-to-improve-community-wellbeing

How to Improve Community Well-Being

Covered parking structure benefits can span beyond the workplace and into the community. Shared parking in busy cities and small towns can make a place more inviting to live. Opening the parking lot to the community can lead to:

  • Less traffic: Busy cities often experience traffic jams or back-ups as a result of limited parking options. Sudden stops, slow movement, and annoyed drivers can create a sometimes unsafe situation. Sharing a company parking lot with the community can reduce these pile-ups and prevent drivers from needing to wander around for long stretches of time.
  • More business accessibility: Some companies lose opportunities for business by not having a private lot for guests. If potential customers have trouble finding a parking space, they may decide the effort is not worth their business. Sharing the parking area reduces this issue and offers the additional benefit of encouraging guests to shop at other local businesses nearby, effectively boosting communities even more.
  • Happy customers: With fewer traffic pile-ups, more parking options, and enhanced shopping availability, community members may be more likely to positively contribute to the people and places around them. Customers may feel more satisfaction and fulfillment, driving them to speak highly of local businesses or offering a helping hand for community or company activities and programs.

These benefits are not guesswork. Organizations across several industries have witnessed the positive impact of covered parking structures. For instance, airports can reduce passenger stress with the proper parking structures, and commercial spaces utilizing solar structures can boost customer appreciation and comfort.

Maximizing Benefits and Assessing Financial Factors

Naturally, business owners and decision-makers often want to invest in structures that can bring financial benefits and long-term advantages. Covered parking structures are a cost-effective strategy for benefiting organizations, employees, and communities.

Modern parking structures feature weather protection, adding value to the property and providing additional revenue opportunities for companies that charge for parking. These structures also provide a layer of protection for vehicles, assets, equipment, and inventory, reducing unnecessary costs associated with damages. Organizations and industries that can benefit from these structures include:

  • Automotive: Auto dealerships and assembly plants often need to protect their fleets from weather elements and potential damages. Hailstorms alone can cause significant damage to assets, and some insurance carriers no longer underwrite insurance for dealerships without coverage.
  • Travel and destination: Train stations, airports, grocery stores, cruise terminals, and similar locations can offer vehicle protection to enhance revenue potential. Covered structures make guests feel more comfortable about leaving their vehicles for prolonged periods, enhancing the chances that they provide an organization with their business rather than attempting to find somewhere else with better coverage.
  • Industrial, manufacturing, and warehousing: These industries often require workers to come and go from buildings, move equipment, and transport goods. The proper structure can protect goods and equipment to maximize lifespans and reduce unnecessary spending on repairs or replacements.

This list is not exhaustive, and many businesses can see long-term benefits by investing in covered parking structures. A parking structure is a worthwhile investment that can serve a property for decades. With the right ROI strategies and protection features, organizations can save and make money by using these structures. Advantages of covered parking structures across industries include:

  • Protecting vehicles, assets, and structures from weather.
  • Opportunities for up-selling parking opportunities for premium guest parking to offset initial investments.
  • Increase property value by adding a valuable amenity.
  • Optimizing commercial lease rates by providing parking convenience.
  • Storing goods safely while optimizing the parking area when necessary.
  • Meeting local regulations regarding parking lot shade ordinances to battle the urban heat island effect.

Enhancing Wellness With VPS Solutions

To find the most cost-effective parking solution that benefits employees and communities, it’s essential to consider the structural design. Businesses need a tailored solution that meets unique needs and goals. At VPS, businesses can find the custom support they’d expect from a trusted provider.

VPS is committed to bringing innovative parking solutions to organizations looking to protect assets and inventory, boost community engagement, and improve employee outcomes. We’re a leader in our industry — no other provider will bring the same capabilities, relationships, expertise, experience, or legitimacy as the VPS team.

Our mission is to understand each client’s business, needs, and goals to create long-standing partnerships. We have the resources to produce successful projects while offering assistance every step of the way. From the initial survey to the construction of a custom project, we are the one-stop shop for innovative parking solutions.

Reach out to our team for a custom site assessment and evaluation.

Enhancing Wellness With VPS Solutions

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