High-ROI facility upgrades for staff wellbeing, research quality, and retention

Vivarium upgrades aimed at improving employee engagement and wellbeing don’t have to break the bank; moderate investments in space, design, and infrastructure can yield big impacts. Sally Thompson-Iritani chronicles how UW and other organizations have worked to support “compassionate resiliency” in vivarium space interventions emphasizing the human wellbeing impacts on research quality and worker retention. She illustrates steps taken to ease mental fatigue, create spaces for collaboration and program development, and improve the physical environment’s ability to respond to the highs and lows of the human/animal bond. She scopes out what’s required in terms of time, effort, and budget.