My former employer had a relaxation room that looked like this.
It was sound-proof and had a massage chair in it.
The door to the room was within direct line of sight of the boss's desk.
I tried going in there once, but the boss called me over and gave me more work.
The first thing I did the moment I saw this was imagine seeing this in Portal, and hearing GLaDOS say something like "Welcome to the Aperture Science wellness room, where test subjects can de-stress after a long day of testing"
im almost certain this is a breastfeeding/pumping room, but given a neutral name
Either way, it seems like a nice place to take 10 and scroll on my phone for a minute so i support it
the real question would be what sort of limitations does your employer have around it?
Ive worked at places that had ping pong tables and videogame stations in the break room but if you only get a 30min break for a 8 hour shift when are you meant to use these "happiness and welness" facilities
Place I used to work at had a room labeled "Safe Space" that I can only assume was mandated by corporate because the store manager hung a framed photo of a snowflake on the wall in it. He wasn't there for very much longer, wonder why?
The chair gives +15 comfort and the painting gives +20 inspiration and if there's at least one empty tile next to it the effect covers a 50m radius so I don't see the problem???
You pepper a few of these on every floor and as long as you don't overuse Crunch Time, this will carry you through the midgame with basically zero upkeep.
I am an engineer that does power design for commercial spaces. These "wellness" rooms show up a lot. They are there simply so your corporate overlords can tick a little box under "workplace atmosphere" and add it to the list of bullshit features on their website no employee ever actually uses. It's very similar to "mother's rooms", only those can be considered code compliant based on your location. Sometimes they are also called "phone rooms."
I think architects upsell them into designs to boost their self esteem.
It's a lot like when old apartment buildings gut a storage room, put a few pieces of shitty gym equipment in it, and then add "on site fitness center" to the website, and also tack a small monthly fee on your rent.
If I had a dollar for every existing office space I've surveyed that ended up just piling office supplies in them, or found them covered in 3 inches of dust... I'd probably have like $100. Not a ton, but enough to definitely make them seem ridiculous.
It's a literal requirement in many commercial buildings. They're for breastfeeding in the code of many municipalities, but you can't call them booby rooms so they're "wellness rooms". A commercial space I was looking at required 2 nursing/wellness rooms because of the size. For a team of 10 dudes. Ridiculous
When what you really need to relax is the comfort of white noise from the air ducts in the walls, florescent lighting and a sense that not only does time not pass, but it doesn't even exist. Enjoy your mental health liminal space, employees.
Why do these rooms that are supposed to be good for your mental health always look so vapid and empty? Pure white walls and black sofas are depressing to me.
When I worked for the NHS the building had one of these. We called it a respite room to calm down, I think many folks used it to have a cry and get on with work.
Replace the overhead light with a desk lamp, get a rug and some wall hangings in there, maybe some fairy lights, a little bookshelf. Could be super cozy.
I must be a robot then because that looks pretty nice. Having a room with a comfortable chair I can sit in by myself for like 20 minutes and not be disturbed would be great. I used to do desktop support at a big hospital and I had a key to an empty suite on one floor that had several sparsely furnished rooms like this that we stored equipment in. When I needed to concentrate on something I would go sit in there with my laptop and work in the quiet. It was wonderful.