Make Place for a New Workplace

Our job usually steals about 9 hours a day from us. It is more than we sleep or spend with our family or friends. That’s why it is very important to make the workplace as comfortable as possible. Here are few ideas about how they could look in the future.

“Employees want design options that allow them to move into a different environment depending on the task they are doing at the time,” says Brían Suttonof Great Place to Work in Ireland. “If they are working on something that demands a collaborative approach, can they move into an open lounge space? If it’s work that demands quiet time, can they move into a relaxed, noise-free environment? The trend of using office design to support performance has now gone beyond the tech world and into industries such as pharmaceuticals, finance and manufacturing”.

“One decision-making criteria of the younger generation is, ‘Will there be an ability to work remotely or flexibly?’” says Elizabeth Dukes, co-author of Wide Open Workspace and co-founder of iOffice, a facility management software provider. “Companies have to offer that now but, at an organisational level, there’s still a fine balance in terms of supporting the enterprise. It’s important that the locations you do invest in are designed to encourage people to come there, connect with others and feel part of the team”.

“We give employees free access to remote working whenever and wherever they want. There are no rules or restrictions around that. We also introduced an email policy where employees are not allowed to send emails between 7.30pm and 7.30am. It’s to stop people sliding back into work mode when they’re meant to be at home enjoying their personal space. That’s been a game-changer for us and a lot of people ask about it, including clients. You’d be surprised at how effective that can be” – sais Catherine Fitzgibbon, HR director at Core Media.

“It’s one thing to say you’re flexible and to have breakout areas, but you actually have to live that,” she says. “You can’t let it just be an external perception. A lot of tech companies come to Dublin and want to create this image of a successful business that’s great to work for. But as soon as you come through the door, sometimes the reality is a little bit different. That’s why you have to communicate clearly around these decisions. Transparency is a great advantage” – explains Suzie Rogers, SurveyMonkey’s HR business partner for the UK and Ireland. With this advice, waking up to work in the morning, will be much easier.