I’ve been covering the commercial interiors industry for a long time; long enough to remember when “wellness” was mentioned among dealers and designers in the context of vacation spa treatments. It wasn’t something we talked about when describing the office.

That has changed. And honestly, it’s about time.

Change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Real, lasting change in how an industry treats its people requires data and honesty. And it requires participation.

That’s why I’m asking you — personally, directly — to take five minutes today and complete the 2026 I Care Employee Wellness Survey from INDEAL Cares.

This is the sixth year the survey has run, and what began in 2020 as a tentative step toward understanding how people in our industry were actually doing has grown into something genuinely important. The I Care Survey has become one of the most meaningful efforts in commercial interiors to surface the real human experience behind the work.

Dave Bloch, president of INDEAL Cares, said the value of this survey comes directly from the people who take it. It helps unearth trends and challenges that might otherwise go unspoken. How many times have you sat at your desk, or your kitchen table, or in your car before a customer call, feeling overwhelmed, burnt out or struggling and assumed you were the only one? You’re not. But we can only prove that, and do something about it, when people speak up.

The survey is a structured, confidential way to speak up.

All responses are aggregated. Nobody is going to trace your answers back to you. What INDEAL Cares will do is compile the findings into a report that shapes real programming and real resources for this industry. Your five minutes of honesty becomes part of a foundation that helps someone else, maybe someone who’s really struggling, get access to support they didn’t even know existed. And it might help you run a business that is more responsive to its employees.

The one constant I’ve seen covering this industry for more than 25 years is that the people in commercial interiors genuinely care about each other. This is a relationship business at its core. The I Care Survey is an extension of that; a way to channel that caring into something actionable.

If you lead a team, I’d go a step further and encourage you to become an I Care Survey Distribution Partner. Organizations that participate at that level get a unique internal survey link, which means you can contribute to the broader industry dataset and get tailored insights into your own team’s well-being. In a year where talent retention and workplace culture are top-of-mind for every leader I talk to, direct feedback from your own people is invaluable. It’s the kind of information that used to take expensive consultants and months of effort to gather.

The survey is open through June 11th, 2026. There’s also a raffle — take the survey, opt in, and you could win a $250 Amazon e-gift card. The drawing is June 12th. A nice bonus, though frankly the real reward is being part of something that matters.

We spend enormous energy in this industry talking about designing spaces that support human wellbeing. We talk about biophilic design, ergonomics, circadian lighting, and restorative environments. All of that is important. But the people creating those environments deserve the same attention. The I Care Survey won’t solve everything. But it’s a start. And it only works if you’re in it.

Five minutes. That’s all it takes. Go take the survey. Share it with your colleagues. And if you lead an organization, sign up as a distribution partner. The industry you help build is the one you’ll work in. Make it a healthy one. The 2026 I Care Employee Wellness Survey is open through June 11, 2026.