by Linda Trim | Aug 29, 2019 | Jobs
A THIRD of employees around the world do not like their workplaces. However, the good news is that the workplace of the future will be a lot different.
This is according to Linda Trim, a director at workplace design specialist company Giant Leap. She said that many of today’s office environments failed by not supporting peoples’ jobs, their physical and mental well-being or their lifestyles.
So what lies ahead for work?
- Flexibility
To meet the growing demand for flexible working environments, landlords will need to become more agile and proactive in their approach. Commercial office leases are getting shorter and because co-working providers offer workers exactly what they need, commercial landlords will provide better amenities and services within the workplace. By borrowing heavily from the hospitality industry, co-working is delivering a high-quality of architecture, aesthetics and experience while giving people the opportunity to pay for a membership or lease space for short periods of time.
It has been incredibly responsive to both the needs and growth of its many freelance, start-up and big business customers attracted by the ease of a plug-and-play offering. According to research by global workplace experience research company Leesman, 92% of employees believe that the co-working trend will continue to grow and about 80% believe it is a positive deployment in the office market.
- Digital
New technologies, mostly in the form of connected devices and increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence, are shifting our perception of buildings from bricks and mortar to dynamic living organisms. “Just as the smart-home market is booming and giving people an unprecedented level of choice, control and convenience, we expect the workplace to go the same way,” she said. Smart rooms will, for example, know what you need for certain meetings and remember the temperature you set the room at last time. “The room, the building and your devices will be like digital team members, Trim added. Leesman research showed that 95% of employees said that there was great value in smarter buildings.
- Healthier
With people taking up 85 percent of operating expenditure budgets on average, organisations have woken up to the value of human health in the workplace. Trim said: “Research suggests that the current absenteeism rates can be reduced by up to 35 percent, which has an undeniable impact on the bottom line. Working in buildings that focus on sustainability and well-being are proving to lower employee turnover and positively impact employee satisfaction in general.”
Importantly, company leaders are increasingly focusing on mental, not just physical, well-being. “People spend a third of their lives at work, so there is strong reason to believe that the spaces, services and cultures in the office will affect their health,” she said.
- Meaning
“The growing emphasis on human performance requires a new approach to how we measure the effectiveness of the workplace. Developments such as unassigned seating, flexible working, densification and relocations from central business districts to periphery territories or vice versa have a huge impact on people’s ability to work. “But too often these actions are driven by cost reduction rather than productivity or effectiveness. Organisations must therefore align employee experience with office efficiency,” Trim advised.
As we move further into the gig economy, this will also change how people view their roles at work, replacing an old-fashioned view of personal productivity and attachment to a sense of personal contribution to project work or short periods of employment. Given the increasing level of choice in working environments, it is much easier to make the argument that people who choose to go the office want to have an authentic connection with the purpose and values of their organisation.
Linda Trim is a director at workplace design specialist company Giant Leap.
by Linda Trim | Jul 11, 2019 | Jobs
WORKPLACE design has a big influence on the quality and speed of the work of people, even if they are not aware of it.
Linda Trim, a director at workplace design specialist company Giant Leap, said: “Studies examining productivity at work have shown that the physical space in which people work has the most impact on their ability to focus to get work done.
“In addition, improving workplace design can increase worker productivity by 20 to 30 percent,” she said.
Tips to make workspaces more conducive:
Be colour clever
Different colours have different effects on how people feel. “For example, yellow has a relaxing effect, while blue has been proven to result in increased productivity and to create the impression of professionalism,” Trim said.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that all of the walls in your office should be blue, but it won’t hurt to include blue in your overall colour scheme.
Notice lighting
“Unfortunately, when most offices are designed, light is one of the last things to be considered. This is why many office spaces are lit with harsh fluorescent lighting,” she said. The results of bad lighting can be headaches, difficulty with visibility and poor mood. It is best to try to get bulbs that mimic natural lighting and provide each work area with its own source of light that can be adjusted for both brightness and placement. If possible, encourage open blinds to let in natural light.
Mitigate noise
The recent trend towards open plan workplace design makes it tricky to block out other peoples’ noise. Trim said: “While this design may be budget friendly, it certainly isn’t conducive to productivity. If the budget won’t allow everyone enclosed workspace, consider adding a few private work areas for people with tasks that require a lot of focus.”
Air quality
Poor air quality can result in stale air that creates a stuffy work environment, but it can be particularly hard for people who are asthmatic or prone to upper respiratory infections. “Poor air is also directly attributed to increased sick leave and lower levels of productivity,’” she said. Fans, air filters and open windows can help. If windows cannot be opened, then an air filtration system could be considered. Live plants are a good a way to clean the air and produce oxygen.
Customise for individuals
One of the most important considerations when designing a company work environment is providing tables and chairs that are comfortable for everybody in the office. “Of course, the only way to accomplish this is to provide adjustable chairs to accommodate personal preferences and varying heights. If possible, also provide desks or tables that can be adjusted for height and allow employees to have a say in how their workstations are configured,” said Trim.
Minimise clutter
Too much clutter creates a kind of visual pollution that many people find distracting, making it near impossible for some people to work productively. In a workplace with many people clutter can also create resentment towards messy people from those who are tidy. “Problems with clutter can be mitigated with policy, but it is important to provide people with plenty of storage space,” she said.
Different work areas for productivity and morale
There is no one workspace that is appropriate for every task. “It is, therefore, a good idea to provide a variety of work areas. It will help for an office to have a couple of open areas with big tables for collaborations, a few smaller enclosed conference rooms and quiet work areas. Adding a few colourful couches is morale-boosting and great for less formal chats,” Trim said.
Linda Trim is a director at Giant Leap, a workplace design specialist company.
by Linda Trim | Jun 20, 2019 | General, Jobs
CO-WORKING spaces are increasingly popular in South Africa and around the world as more people and companies jump on the trend.
So popular that Linda Trim, a director at workplace design specialist firm Giant Leap, said: “From what we have seen in the past few years and the massive expected further adoption of shared work spaces as the norm, we think it is the future of work.” Here’s why:
The age of start-ups
“As start-ups flourish,” said Trim, “so will the co-working culture. Start-ups are typically synonymous with limited funds and using co-working offices can save a lot of expenses related to resources and infrastructure such as internet, furniture, office space and facilities. Start-ups won’t need to fork out large sums to get set up.”
Killing the killer commute
Basing individuals or groups of employees at shared offices closer to their homes allows them to commute short distances by car, on foot or by alternative greener means of transport in some cities such as bicycles. It allows workers to remain in touch with colleagues while linked in to central information systems and other office facilities.
Knowledge
She said: “With market competition only increasing, knowledge and intellectual property seem to be the major assets for companies to achieve product advantage and differentiation.” Some of the multinational giants have started co-working with start-ups to keep their current employees abreast of the latest innovations and trends. “Also, co-working provides a perfect platform for start-ups to get noticed by big companies,” Trim said.
Economies of scale
Companies, small and large, now recognise that using co-working spaces can provide big economies of scale with cost-saving and sustainability benefits. “The traditional high-rise office block is a huge duplication of resources – everything from multiple staplers right, dozens of printers and numerous, hugely expensive, IT infrastructures,” she said. Co-working allows equipment and office consumables to be shared and the financial outlay spread across users.
Work-life balance
As employees give more importance to work-life balance, flexible work schedules, part-time jobs, independent consulting and freelancing are on the rise. “In such a scenario, co-working facilitates the remote work culture with better infrastructure and peaceful, helpful environment that is taking the place of the coffee shop,” she added.
Sharing leanings of younger staff
While people of all ages are adopting the co-working trend, tech-savvy younger workers are particularly predisposed to co-working spaces as many live a sharing life anyway, such as sharing space with friends and linking to them all day via social media platforms. “This open and sharing mentality makes co-working, meeting new people and knowledge sharing inevitable for this group and it will become more entrenched as younger workers become more senior in organisations,” Trim said.
Eco-friendly
Co-working allows resources to be used by many more people thereby cutting down on things like electricity and water use, two resources in short supply in South Africa. It also reduces the number of commercial buildings and land needed.
Linda Trim is a director at Giant Leap, a workplace design specialist firm.
by Linda Trim | Jun 7, 2019 | General, Jobs
GOOD ergonomics is essential to a productive and healthy workforce – and they cost almost nothing to implement.
Linda Trim, a director at workplace design specialist Giant Leap, said: “All enterprises should strive to create an ergonomically sound workspace for all employees. Quality furniture and good design is of course a great help, but it is the responsibility of each person to make sure that they are using good ergonomics at their own workstations.”
Below are seven easy-to-implement tips that will help optimise ergonomics:
- Good working posture
The top ergonomic priority is to establish a good working posture. “People should be able to sit or stand in a neutral body position with a relaxed posture that requires no stressful angles or excessive reaching to complete tasks,” Trim said. Office workers should sit with hands, wrists and forearms that are straight, in line and parallel to the floor. The head should be level, facing forward with no turn to the left or right and generally be in line with the torso.
- Adjustable chairs and desks
To encourage good posture and the neutral body position, enterprises should install high-quality adjustable chairs, furniture and equipment. “The more positions a chair and desk can adjust to, the more they can be tailored to the individual using them. When it comes to ergonomics, one size most definitely does not fit all.”
- Proper display height and distance
Monitors and other display devices should be placed at eye level. Viewing a display should not require straining the neck nor squinting the eyes. Ergonomics dictates that individuals not be required to turn their neck to the left, right, up or down to view a display.
- Keyboard and mouse position
While they are often ergonomic afterthoughts, the proper keyboard and mouse configuration is just as important as posture when it comes to neutral body positioning. If people are reaching for the mouse at a bad angle or have to violate the inline parallel rule for elbows and wrists, they are going to lose neutral positioning. Reaching for input devices can lead to excessive fatigue and injury after lengthy exposure. Keyboards and mice should be accessed without breaking any of the neutral positioning rules.
- Reducing repetitive movement
Even if an individual applies perfect ergonomic principles, repeating the same motion will cause stress and eventually lead to injury. “The best way to combat this is by changing tasks. Doing something else even for a short time will reduce potential for injury,” Trim advised. If changing the task is not possible, individuals should periodically change the neutral positioning they are using – from the upright sitting position to standing, reclined sitting or declined sitting.
- Standing up and moving around
For office workers, this is a important tip. Once an hour, workers should stand up and take a few minutes to walk down the hall, get a drink, look out the window – anything that gets them out of their chair.
- Environmental setting
Often overlooked when discussing ergonomics is the overall working environment. “Proper lighting, temperature and humidity are ergonomic essentials,” said Trim. Lighting should not cause glare on computer screens, which means that many workplace settings should be equipped with softer light systems. Lighting that is good for reading printed material is not necessarily the best lighting for computer displays. Temperature settings are trickier because of individual preferences, but every attempt should be made to maintain a temperature that is comfortable for as many people as possible.
Linda Trim is a director at workplace design specialist Giant Leap.
by Linda Trim | May 30, 2019 | General, Jobs
IN THE quest to attract and retain the best talent, improving the workplace experience dramatically to make it a “super experience” is now on the radar of every organisation.
Linda Trim, a director at workplace design specialist company Giant Leap, said that as new technologies and design practices raised the bar in what could be achieved, South Africa, as in the rest of the world, was now entering the era of the “super experience” at work. A “super experience” is a heightened experience that creates excitement, is original and impactful, and goes beyond the typical and more mundane “user experience” that people experience at traditional workplaces.
She said: “Super experiences make you feel excited or that you’ve achieved something. They can stimulate curiosity, create a sense of purpose or instil a sense of belonging to a company. They can be unusual and unexpected or reassuring and morale-boosting. They can be small and intimate or executed on a grand scale.”
There are many examples of the “super experience” at some of the world’s best known companies. They include office buildings such as Amazon’s biophilic glass orbs at its Seattle headquarters, which brings people closer to nature creating a sense that they are working in a rainforest.
The Airbnb headquarters in San Francisco created 16 “neighbourhoods” in the office, each comprising desk spaces, large communal tables, standing desks, phone rooms and personal storage lockers. In South Africa, Giant Leap created state of the art training rooms for new employees at Flight Centre so people got to experience a “super experience” from the first day at the company. Bloomberg’s new base in London is in two buildings joined by bridges between the Bank of England and St Paul’s Cathedral in London’s Square Mile. It features a giant 210m ramp at its heart that aims to encourage collaboration between workers, offers and a pantry with free snacks and views over London. Nasa’s scientists have formed a “Space Orchestra”, which plays around the world.
“Employee experience wasn’t really on the workplace map a few years ago, but many businesses are now scrambling to create experiences inside and beyond office buildings that support innovation, well-being, productivity and learning. “And as part of a newly thriving ‘experience economy’, new job titles are emerging in organisations such as CEXO (chief experience officer).” Trim noted She added that to create a “super experience”, companies should take a people-first approach, offering a flexible portfolio of experiences and keeping an open mind on bringing in new technologies.
“The era of the super experience will depend on new lighting, AV, soundscaping and sensor technologies in the workplace along with digital apps. The property sector will also require new skills, knowledge and ideas from theatre, arts, hospitality, retail and behavioural science if it is to make super experience more of an occurrence in the workplace,” Trim concluded.
Linda Trim is a director at workplace design specialist company Giant Leap.
