Insights from the forefront of future of work thought leadership

If you want your business to perform at its peak, then you need to ensure your employees can perform at their best, and this means looking after their health and wellbeing.

It’s important to bear in mind that employee health and wellness is not just about physical health, but also emotional and social wellbeing.

Prioritising employees’ health and wellbeing can have myriad benefits for your business, including:

• greater productivity
• reductions in work-related sickness and injuries
• lower workers’ compensation costs
• a decrease in absenteeism and staff turnover
• improved employee satisfaction
• enhanced corporate image

If improving employee health and wellbeing is an important goal for your business, one of the first things to look at is the environment in which your employees spend up to 40 hours (or more) a week.

Here are 5 ways you can improve employee health and wellbeing through your workplace design.

Encourage activity

You might have heard that “sitting is the new smoking”. Doctors have found that sedentary behaviour can be highly detrimental to health, leading to an increased risk of chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

That’s why forward-thinking organisations are implementing ways to encourage movement and activity throughout the day. This could be by installing sit-stand desks, to encourage employees to stand more throughout the day; having standing meeting rooms; or even removing small personal printers and installing large shared printers, so workers have an excuse to get up on a regular basis.

Integrate nature, sunlight and fresh air

There’s ample evidence that integrating nature, sunlight and fresh air into the workplace can have positive effects on health and wellbeing, thereby boosting productivity. Indoor plants, for example, have been shown to lift people’s moods and even remove harmful chemical compounds in the air.

There’s also data that suggests air quality may have a much bigger impact than once thought. Harvard University professor Joseph Allen performed a study that showed that workers in ‘green’ buildings with enhanced ventilation scored 101% higher than those in conventional buildings.

Sunlight can also have a positive effect on workers’ productivity, with one study finding that workers who were exposed to more daylight during the working week slept longer, did more physical activity and had better quality of life than workers who had little exposure to daylight.

Consider how these elements could be integrated into your next workplace design. Could you, for example, install a ‘living wall’ to help decrease stress levels? Could you seat workers closer to windows so they get more exposure to daylight? Could you install an air ventilation system to ensure workers get plenty of fresh air throughout the day?

Promote rest and relaxation

Often at work, our days are so jam-packed that there’s barely time for a bathroom break, let alone a decent lunch. But having employees working as hard as they possibly can does not actually lead to more productivity. On the contrary, in fact – it can lead to chronic stress and employee burnout, resulting in lower levels of productivity.

That’s why it’s important that employees take regular breaks in order to recharge, clear their head and strengthen their focus.

If employees don’t have an appealing space where they can take a load off, it sends a message that taking breaks is frowned upon by upper management. Environmental cues, therefore, are a powerful way to encourage this healthy behaviour. Revamp your break area(s) by providing a variety of comfortable seating options, and using home- or café-inspired touches to make the space feel more inviting.

Factor in noise and acoustics

When considering a workplace redesign, it can be easy to get heavily focused on the visual aspects. But what about the acoustics?

Excessive noise levels at work can have a dramatic effect on employee health and wellbeing, causing disruptions and poor performance. One study has even shown it can lead to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, resulting in more staff absenteeism. Workplace design that factors in noise management, therefore, can do much to contribute to workers’ comfort.

For example, if you are planning on an open-plan layout, you may want to help mitigate any potential interferences by installing closed rooms where people can conduct phone calls. If the space is large and potentially echo-ey, you could consider ways to absorb and block any excessive noise, whether it’s by utilising high-performance acoustic tiles or being mindful about how you use partitions, walls and windows.

Consider materials

We’ve already talked about the importance of air quality in a work environment – but did you know that just about everything around you could potentially be contributing to poor air quality?

Your carpet, paint, furnishings and office equipment (such as photocopiers) could all be emitting volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. VOCs have been shown to impair cognitive ability, including the ability to make complicated decisions, to focus and to problem solve. They can even potentially lead to health effects such as headaches, nausea and fatigue.

A workplace design should take into account workers’ exposure to VOCs by, for example, using low-VOC-emitting materials or being mindful about where office equipment like printers and photocopiers are located.

By putting employee health and wellbeing at the core of your next workplace design, you can not only have a more inviting and comfortable place to work, but you can also reap maximum ROI through boosted productivity levels. It’s a win-win!

A workplace design partner can help you develop a workplace design strategy that delivers maximum ROI. To help you find the perfect one for your business, check out our free ebook How to Choose the Right Workplace Design Partner. Download it now!

Workplace design has a marked effect on a business – if it didn’t, every office would simply be four white walls with rows and rows of identical desks.

Organisations are beginning to understand that, in order to get the best performance out of their employees, they need to provide more than simply a place to work – they need to provide spaces to collaborate, innovate and take a break.

If you want to take your business to the next level, a workplace redesign might just be the place to start. Here are 5 ways a workplace design can make your business more competitive.

Improving productivity

Our environments have an undeniable effect on how well we work, so supporting employees through workplace design can have a very positive effect on productivity. This can be through myriad ways. A workplace design can, for example, incorporate ergonomic furniture and flexible desks to support employee comfort and wellness, helping them do better work throughout the day; or it can make certain workflows more efficient, leaving employees more time to work on things that provide greater value to the company.

Increasing collaboration

Many organisations are realising the benefits of fostering a strong culture of collaboration, with a report by Deloitte finding that Australian companies that prioritise collaboration are twice as likely to be profitable and twice as likely to outgrow competitors.

Studies have also shown that the most innovative employees spend almost half their time collaborating with others, whether that’s in person or via technology.

A workplace design can be a key means of encouraging collaboration. Whether it’s informal lounges, stand-up meeting spaces, or brainstorming rooms, the simple act of providing a space whose purpose is collaboration sends a strong signal to employees that it is an essential aspect of your culture, and encourages employees to find ways to utilise the space.

Encouraging innovation

The most innovative businesses often have the most innovative workplace designs – think Microsoft’s treehouses, Apple’s spaceship or Amazon’s mini rainforest domes. While these sorts of things might be a bit outside your budget, there are still many ways your workplace design can help your employees be more innovative too.

Because innovation means thinking outside the box, it makes sense that innovators can become more creative when they have more choice in when and where they work. Providing a variety of spaces and more flexibility can help employees be more engaged in their jobs and spark ideas on improvements – a win for the business.

Organisations that consider employee happiness as a fundamental performance objective consistently unlock greater innovation and long-term financial success, according to a Robert Half study. While innovation is defined differently by each business, providing a workspace with places to unplug and unwind can aid the creative process, while also giving employees more organic opportunities for interpersonal interaction.

Attracting top talent

If you want your business to be more competitive, then you need to be able to attract the best of the best. But these days – when many employees have the option to not just work at other organisations, but also become freelance consultants – it’s arguable that companies have to work harder than ever to entice employees to stay in one place.

Your workplace design is one of the best tools at your disposal. With a single glance, potential employees can read a lot into your organisation. For example, a variety of different spaces – cosy reading nooks, formal conference rooms, collaborative open-plan areas – says your organisation is flexible and willing to cater for different work practices.

A biophilic design that integrates nature, or a design that encourages activity throughout the day, shows you care about your employees’ health and wellbeing.

Supporting digital transformation

Successful digital transformation requires an organisation to rethink its entire way of working. A workplace redesign can facilitate this, whether it’s by incorporating new technologies, supporting new workflows or encouraging new ways of working.

REA Group’s headquarters in Melbourne, for example, have ‘wormholes’ – embedded screen portals within walls to allow 24/7 communication with global teammates, allowing them to partake in events like meetings, demonstrations and celebrations as if they were in the same room.

If claiming a bigger market share and outstripping your competitors is one of your organisation’s goals this year, take a look around the office. Could your workplace design be working harder for you?

When the time rolls around for a brand spanking new office fitout, it can be easy to get distracted by what’s on the surface. What colour scheme will be the most appealing? What finishes will be the most chic? What furnishings best suit the available space?

In actual fact, while your office fitout can look fantastic, it can also deliver tangible benefits and measurable ROI – if it’s a strategically driven workplace design

Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved in a workplace design strategy, and why developing one is integral to your next office fitout.

What is a strategy for a workplace design?

Your business is driven by three things:

• Your culture
• Your employees
• Your goals

These three things characterise your business, making it as unique as a fingerprint. It makes perfect sense, therefore, that your workplace design should be driven by these factors too.

A workplace design strategy places these all-important aspects at the core of a design concept, so that all other decisions are motivated by these factors. It relies heavily on extensive evidence about these elements, so you get a design that fits your organisation like a glove, rather than one that employees are forced to “get used to” over time. It also takes into account where the company is headed, ensuring the design remains highly functional years after the installation.

Here are the ways in which these three drivers can influence the strategy of your workplace design.

Workplace culture

Workplace culture encapsulates many aspects of an organisation: its values and beliefs; its personality; its traditions; its behaviours and its attitudes. A strong and positive workplace culture is a key business driver because it helps attract and retain top talent, increase employee engagement and satisfaction, and improve performance. According to a survey by Deloitte, 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success.

In formulating a workplace design strategy, a workplace design partner will collect extensive evidence about an organisation’s workplace culture in order to determine how the best aspects can be enhanced through the design, and how the not-so-good aspects can be minimised.

If, for example, creativity is a key characteristic of your business, you could nurture this by installing brainstorming rooms or flexible collaborative spaces where employees can feel free to unleash their imaginations.

Employees’ needs, habits and preferences

Any CEO will tell you that employees are a business’s most important asset. Therefore, any workplace design that is going to deliver maximum ROI needs to be highly people-centric (indeed, this is reflected in many of the office design trends we see sweeping Australia).

The beauty of a workplace design strategy is that is doesn’t make assumptions about what might work for employees; rather, it goes straight to the source in order to collect evidence to determine what will work for them. A survey might reveal, for example, that employees want more flexibility in the ways they work, and this could be factored into the design by providing a variety of workspaces.

Business goals

In the end, your organisation’s success boils down to one question: what is your business’s very purpose, and how do you plan to fulfil this purpose? Believe it or not, your workplace design can help you answer this question too.

Whether your goal is to foster better collaboration, increase innovation or improve employee health and wellness, these goals can be factored into the strategy of your workplace design, ensuring you maximise your ROI in every way possible.

What goes into the development of a workplace design strategy?

The development of a fully realised workplace design strategy entails several steps to ensure the final strategy successfully bridges both the ideological and practical aspects of the project. Here’s a glimpse into Axiom’s workplace design development process.

Strategy session

During the strategy session, we work closely with senior leaders to gather information about the business, establish a vision for the project, and set key business objectives that will then guide the strategy development. Setting a strong foundation at this point allows us to develop a unique solution that’s customised to your business, rather than just simply following current trends.

Workplace audit

Here’s where we take our information gathering to the next level, conducting a careful workplace audit that factors in employee accommodation, storage needs, current workflows and key areas for improvement. We then use this information and our expertise to help inform potential solutions.

Future workplace analysis

This stage is all about the employees. We get to know them through surveys, reports and one-on-one interviews in order to develop a deep understanding of their needs, habits and preferences. We then analyse this data, along with the data collected in earlier steps, to inform how to optimise the solution.

Location feasibility study

A deep understanding of your business is of course important – but practical considerations must also be factored in. During this stage, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the current building’s infrastructure, amenities and services, as well as the infrastructure, amenities and services of the proposed sites. We also audit your current technology infrastructure and devices in order to assess suitable compatibility and connectivity in the new workspace.

Programming and projected budget

Once we’ve gathered and analysed all the necessary data, we can then develop an accurate master plan, with a detailed timeline and projected budget. This allows you to assess the financial impact of the project early on in the process.

Investing time and careful consideration into your workplace design strategy can ensure your next office fitout not only looks stunning but also enhances your business’s workplace culture, helps employees perform at their peak and helps your business reach its goals.

A workplace design partner can show you how to develop a workplace strategy that delivers maximum ROI. To help you find the perfect one for your business, check out our free ebook How to Choose the Right Workplace Design Partner. Download it now!

Once you’ve decided you’re due for an office revamp, it’s time to engage the services of a professional to ensure the entire process goes as smoothly as possible.

While it is perfectly sensible to search for ‘interior design firms’ or ‘commercial fitout companies’ or ‘office refurbishment businesses’ in your area, you may in fact be wasting an opportunity to reap maximum benefit – and ROI – from your workplace redesign.

Consider, instead, enlisting the services of a workplace design partner.

What is a workplace design partner?

Most office refurbishment companies tend to approach a workplace design project from a purely aesthetic point of view, quickly producing design concepts without taking the time to truly understand your business, its culture, and your future goals. This means that, while these concepts are impressive and visually appealing, they won’t necessarily deliver much in terms of tangible benefits or ROI.

A workplace design partner, on the other hand, won’t even put pencil to paper without gathering extensive insights about your business, learning about your strengths and weaknesses, and factoring ways in which to accentuate the former and minimise the latter into their design.

For example, is your culture one that thrives on collaboration, or solitary contemplation, or perhaps both? Is your company using certain technologies, or moving to new ones? How can the redesign further facilitate communication, or promote health and wellness, or cater to a multigenerational workforce?

Advantages of a workplace design partner

Here are just some of the benefits of working with a workplace design partner:

They’ll develop a workplace design strategy

The best workplace design partners will take an evidence-based approach to the design, creating a strategy that is carefully tailored to your employees’ preferred ways of working, your company’s culture and aspirations. (Not to toot our own horn, but this is a particular strength of Axiom’s.)

They’ll point out things you may not even have considered

The best workplace design partners are extremely detail-oriented, and will not only consider how a design looks, but also how practical and functional that design is. They may even assist you in cutting costs by helping you to determine things like how much office space you really need with greater accuracy.

They’ll think outside the box

Your business is unique – your office should be too. A great workplace design partner will be up to date with the latest trends, changing regulations, and new materials and technology, and they’ll be able to apply this knowledge to ensure each design is fresh, modern and will last long into the future.

What to look for in a workplace design partner

In order to help you find the right workplace design partner for your next fitout, here are some questions you should ask during the vetting process.

1 . What is their process like?

You want to ensure your workplace design partner is really going to take the time to get to know your business inside and out, so you get an outcome that everyone loves, but that also helps them perform at their peak. It’s important, therefore, to look carefully at the process your shortlisted design firm takes, and ensure information gathering and analysis is a key part of that process.

2 . Do they have a wide range of experience?

A workplace design partner that’s produced great results for clients in diverse industries shows that they can create a design that’s highly customised to your business. Be sure to look at case studies to get an idea of their previous projects.

3 . Do they deliver on time and under budget?

A workplace design project that is delayed or over budget can have negative repercussions on the business, so you want to be sure your workplace design partner has a proven track record of delivering projects on time and under budget. It can also be useful to talk to previous clients to find out more about what it will be like to work with them.

At Axiom, we have extensive experience using an evidence-based approach to design office interiors for a range of clients. Could we be the right workplace design partner for you? Contact us today for a free consultation.

With the so-called Silent Generation and Baby Boomers delaying retirement, Gen Z workers just starting to enter the workforce, and Gen X-ers and Millennials also in the mix, today’s workplaces are more diverse than ever before. But a diverse workforce also means that there are often conflicting preferences.

Millennials, for example, prefer to blur the lines behind home and work, favouring residential looks for their office spaces that evoke the comforts of their living spaces. Baby Boomers, however, have reported feeling uncomfortable about this trend, preferring more delineated lines between home and work.

This difference in preferences of course has important implications for your next office fitout. After all, the last thing you want is to have invested all that time, money and energy into an office relocation, only to find productivity and employee satisfaction plummeting as a result.

But how exactly do you keep everyone happy and achieve maximum ROI from the new office fitout?

Here are our top 5 tips for designing for a multigenerational workforce.

Focus on functionality

Forget the ping-pong table and beanbag chairs for a second, and ask yourself, ‘What is it that employees actually need to be able to do over the course of the working day?’

Is it a creative agency that needs a space dedicated to brainstorming? Is it a finance organisation where people need quiet, private booths for deep concentration?

The tasks your employees need to perform, as well as your company culture, will have a marked effect on the types of zones and features your new office needs.

A large formal conference room with water views, for example, may look terribly impressive – but if most of your employees prefer to collaborate informally and in small groups, this space is going to be underutilised. And an underutilised space is simply a waste of money.

That’s why, at Axiom, we are big proponents of evidence-based design, which configures the design around actual evidence regarding the culture of the organisation and the ways in which your employees prefer to work (as opposed to assumption-based design, where you impose a design that you think will work, and expect your employees to adapt to it).

Find common ground

It can be easy to get hung up on the seemingly irreconcilable differences between generations – for example, younger generations might want more spaces to socialise, while older workers might want private offices that reflect organisational hierarchy.

But there are also many similarities, and these similarities can be the key to designing a workplace that makes everyone comfortable and productive.

Both Baby Boomers and Millennials, for example, want to feel they are doing meaningful work, so finding ways to reflect the company’s mission and its positive initiatives through a workplace redesign can help boost employee satisfaction.

This is precisely what we did when we overhauled our own head office. Our new design showcases our vision and innovation, with our mission statement, ‘Creating thriving workplaces’, visibly emblazoned on the wall as you enter the space.

Most generations also value mentorship and personal connections with their employees, which could be fostered by including more informal socialising spaces or introducing collaborative technologies, to help bring disparate generations together and encourage knowledge sharing and mentorship.

Provide flexibility

You can bridge the gap between generations even further by being clever with how you utilise spaces and what types of furnishings you use in order to make the space as flexible as possible. Indeed, flexibility is a key consideration when it comes to attracting A-grade talent.

Having a variety of spaces, for example, such as quiet spaces; small, informal meeting rooms; collaborative areas; and large gathering areas for town-hall meetings, will ensure that workers of all generations can find the conditions they need to operate at their peak.

You could also use flexible desks that can be configured to standing desks, or movable desks that can be easily wheeled into a variety of configurations to easily transform spaces as needed.

It doesn’t have to be fancy – at Blue Chilli, for example, we used simple stools and stackable crates that could be easily moved around, allowing people to gather informally, socialise or take a coffee break wherever and whenever they saw fit.

Prioritise employee buy-in

A successful multigenerational workplace depends largely on employee buy-in, which is why it’s important to communicate regularly with employees not just before an office fitout, but also after, to help make the integration into a new space as smooth as possible.

Having clarity around how new spaces should be used, for example, can help ensure that employees understand their purpose and use them appropriately, and that there is no anxiety or conflict arising from misunderstandings or different expectations.

Training is also important – after all, there’s no point investing money in the latest cutting-edge technologies if employees don’t know how to use it.

All these measures can help staff adapt quickly to their new environment, to ensure you start reaping the goals of the fitout as soon as possible.

Get an outside perspective!

When contemplating an office fitout, it can be difficult to wade through all the data, as well as people’s many opinions, all on your own. It can be helpful, therefore, to have an outside perspective from an expert to provide a neutral, evidence-based view.

At Axiom, we have extensive experience designing for multigenerational workforces, so if you want an office fitout that has everyone – no matter what age they are – looking forward to going to work, we can help! Contact us today for a free consultation.

Whether you’re moving to a new office space, or refurbishing an existing one, a workplace redesign requires getting buy-in from senior leaders in your business before you can start putting a plan in place.

Sure, you could tell them a workplace redesign delivers a whole host of benefits – improved employee wellbeing and performance, better ability to attract top talent and increased productivity, to name just a few – but this isn’t enough. You have to be able to prove the return on investment (ROI) that a workplace redesign will deliver.

The best way to do this is by building a solid business case, laying out the cold, hard facts, and demonstrating beyond a doubt that a workplace redesign is the best thing for the company.

Here’s how to go about building a business case for a workplace redesign.

Step 1: Crunch the numbers

One of the biggest things the C-suite really want to know is, how will this workplace redesign affect the bottom line?

A sensible place to start, therefore, is space and operations costs.

In a traditional office, only about 45–50% of the space is occupied at any one time – and you can expect this number to drop even further as people adopt more flexible ways of working, such as having four-day weeks or work-from-home days. With a workplace redesign, you can effectively reclaim all this lost space.

So do the math:

• What are you typically paying for each workstation/square metre?
• How many workstations/square metres could you potentially eliminate in the workplace redesign?
• What do you stand to save in operational costs, like energy, cleaning, facilities maintenance and security?

It also helps to be proactive about exiting your lease – while it can be tempting to simply hand over a cheque to avoid ‘back to base’ obligations, in reality, cash settlements are often inflated by landlords. Taking steps like getting a second opinion and negotiating can save a lot of money – meaning an even healthier ROI.

2. Focus on the value-add

Saving costs is of course important, but a successful workplace redesign will deliver tangible benefits long after the big move too. After all, your employees are the company’s biggest expense, so even incremental improvements on their comfort and productivity can have a marked effect on the redesign’s ROI.

Here are just some of the ways a workplace redesign can have a positive effect on revenue:

• Lower attrition: Replacing employees can be a substantial cost – according to the Society for Human Resource Management, it costs a company on average 6–9 months of an employee’s salary to replace him or her. Workplace redesigns can help lower attrition by creating a desirable environment to work in.
• Less absenteeism: According to the World Green Building Council, one company in the UK saved £28,000 in absenteeism costs by moving their office to a ‘green’ building.
• Better productivity: A study by KPMG showed that Dutch company Heerema Marine Contractors’ move to new sustainable headquarters was expected to reap productivity benefits worth €42 million over 20 years.
• Better ability to attract top talent: Consider how much time and money you spend trying to find the right hires for your business. A redesign can help make your workplace more desirable to potential employees.

3. Rely on evidence to get the best results

In order to reap all those benefits, and provide employees with a workplace redesign that will work best for them, it is important to use evidence-based design.

What is evidence-based design?

This means that, rather than creating a design based on assumptions, and forcing employees to adapt to their new surroundings, you instead configure the design based on the culture of your organisation and the ways in which your employees prefer to work.

For example, an open-plan layout might save space and increase collaboration – but it may not necessarily be the best arrangement for your sales team (or the department that sits adjacent to your sales team) if they spend all day on the phone.

Evidence-based design can help ensure you get maximum ROI from your workplace redesign, ensuring it is tailor-made to deliver happier employees and greater profits.

It is prudent to enlist the help of professionals for this step, who will approach your business from a multidimensional perspective and make sure to ask the right questions, before creating a design based on data and a thorough understanding of your organisation.

At Axiom, we like to think of ourselves, not as an “office fitout company”, but rather a “workplace change partner”.

Need a hand?

If you’re planning a workplace redesign and need some help backing up your business case with cold, hard data, Axiom can help. We’ll work with you to carefully audit and analyse your needs, so you get a design that’s a perfect fit for your business. Contact us today!