For six years now, INDEAL Cares has been doing something this industry rarely does well: asking people how they’re actually doing. Not how many chairs they sold. Not which products won Best of NeoCon. Not who acquired whom. Instead, the organization’s annual I Care Employee Wellness Survey asks the people who make up the commercial interiors industry a much simpler question: How are you?

This year’s survey paints perhaps the most encouraging picture yet. People are happier at work. They report better mental health. More employees say work contributes positively to their well-being, and fewer say their jobs are actively hurting them. Overall job satisfaction climbed again, with more than eight in 10 respondents describing themselves as satisfied or highly satisfied. That is good news for an industry that has spent the better part of six years navigating a pandemic, supply chain disruptions, return-to-office debates, inflation and a spate of corporate consolidation.

Buried beneath those encouraging numbers is a more nuanced story. Stress has become the industry’s defining wellness challenge. More respondents identified stress management as their top personal wellness priority than physical activity or nutrition. Nearly one-third still say work negatively affects their mental and emotional health. That’s progress, but being less bad isn’t the same as being good.

Perhaps even more striking is the physical toll the work continues to take. Four in 10 respondents report ongoing back or neck pain. More than one-third describe their daily movement during work as only fair or poor, suggesting long hours at desks remain commonplace despite years of discussion around ergonomics, movement and healthier workplaces.

There is a certain irony there. The commercial interiors industry has spent decades helping other organizations build healthier workplaces. It designs environments intended to improve collaboration, support well-being and encourage movement. Yet many of the professionals specifying, selling, installing and supporting those products continue to struggle with the same challenges their clients are trying to solve. That’s not a failure. It’s reality.

The survey also highlights another important transition taking place. Generation Z participation more than tripled this year, while Baby Boomer participation continued to decline. Millennials remain the industry’s largest demographic, with Generation X close behind. Those changing demographics are important because different generations bring different expectations about work, flexibility, mental health and employer support. The survey suggests those differences are already influencing workplace priorities.

Flexibility remains highly valued, but employees are increasingly asking for something more. Interest in healthier physical workspaces has grown. So has the desire for stronger connections with coworkers. Where people work is important when it comes to wellness, but equally important is how work feels.

For years, workplace designers have argued that offices succeed when they foster community, support health and create meaningful experiences rather than simply housing desks. The industry’s own workforce now appears to be asking employers for exactly the same things. Maybe that’s the survey’s biggest lesson.

The workplace conversation has matured. During the pandemic, every discussion centered on remote work versus office work. Today, employees largely believe their current work arrangements allow them to be productive. That debate is settling. The harder questions remain. How do employers reduce stress? How do they encourage healthier movement? How do they create cultures where people genuinely feel connected rather than simply scheduled into the same building?

Those are much more difficult problems to solve than deciding how many days employees should be in the office.

That is precisely why INDEAL and INDEAL Cares deserve recognition for continuing this work. Collecting wellness data every year isn’t glamorous, and it won’t generate viral headlines or flashy product launches. But longitudinal research creates perspective. One survey provides a snapshot. Six years of surveys begin to reveal patterns. Those patterns help employers make better decisions. They help industry leaders identify emerging issues before they become crises. Most importantly, they remind everyone that behind every specification, installation, sales call, and showroom visit is a person.

Our industry has always talked about designing spaces that help people thrive. Thanks to the continued work of INDEAL Cares, we’re beginning to understand a little better what the people inside those spaces actually need.

Explore the full I Care Employee Wellness Survey Report to see this year’s findings and insights.