One of the most frequently
asked questions I’ve had from ex colleague since leaving the corporate world is
‘Are you renting an office space’. It’s strange that many people consider the
need for some sort of defined space we call an office, for serious work to be
done!
It led me to think about
our working environments and gather some stimulus and inspiration for you to
either start a conversation at work or indeed a revolution!
Let me begin by telling you
a story close to home.
Since leaving my job to
start my own Innovation business I’m now working from a ‘home office’. I’d
certainly had the option of working from home previously but never seemed to be
able to actually do productive work there. Too many distractions seemed far
more important priorities at home ‘maybe I should put the washing on, fill the
dishwasher, clear those weeds’ etc. My mindset was stuck in ‘I’m at home I do
home stuff’.
However once faced with the
prospect of actually having to work from home I decided to focus on making an
environment that encouraged me to work.
My first mistake was to try
to create an ‘Office’ just like at work! The desk arrived along with a docking
station, monitor, office chair and the rest of the paraphernalia I needed to
re-create my corporate office here at home.
After a couple of weeks
surprise, surprise I was resisting using the space in preference for the kitchen
table, garden or even my bed!
My aha moment came when I
realized that I needed to change my office into a place I actually wanted to
spend time in and stopped thinking that I should only work in a place we call
an office. In fact my best ideas came to me in moments when I wasn’t actually doing
what people call work!
My work space is now much
more like a ‘hang out’ space yes its got a desk but it doesn’t dominate the room
and yell ‘You can only do productive work while sitting HERE’. My room now
includes my sewing machine, Art supplies, favourite books/pictures, my
collection of cameras and various other vintage nick naks Ive picked up over
the years. It’s now a place that ‘works’ FOR me. I’m sure others would find the
space a little ‘strange’ but that’s the thing is we all work differently.
5 Good reasons why rethinking
your office environment can boost creativity & culture.
1.
Bring your whole self to
work: When
individual personalities are subdued at work and everyone interacts on a safe, ‘inside-the-box
level’, you won’t see a lot of energy or passion and you won’t get ‘out-of-the-box
ideas’. People are generally more creative and innovative when they can be
themselves at work and a stuffy, stifling work environment also stands in the
way of collaboration. Ultimately everybody
including the business will benefit by being able to be more comfortable in
their own skin at work. Creating a strong culture of ‘personality’ that aims to
give explicit permission to be themselves is a great recruiting tool and you
will find people will actually want to work in a place like this.
Examples: Going beyond the family pictures and your favourite mug or pot plant brought in from home, why not as one company does, provide each employee with a voucher to buy something for their workspace they simply love and would want at home.
2.
It’s got to be fun. Our best ideas come when we are relaxed, laughing,
socialising and having fun. Connections with other people from diverse
functions, backgrounds etc is crucial to real creativity. An element of play
can help establish social bonds as get you know people on a different level. Making
it ‘acceptable’ to have fun is a must.
Examples: At Google different teams personalise their
spaces and competitions are run for the most creative team space. In addition
to cubicles, some staffers share white fabric
"yurts," tent like spaces that resemble igloos. The average time for moving desks is
every 6 months.
3.
Behaviours trump Culture: An
Innovation buddy of mine recently said “Culture is a by-product of behaviour”. Every
company has two cultures – the one they aspire to creating and the reality of
the one they have created. In truth it’s the sum of every employees’ behaviour
that make up the culture dynamic business backed by a passionate, energetic,
and engaged workforce is evident from your first interaction at the reception
desk.
Examples: Behaviours typically associated with young students are important to
Google – idealism, curiosity, creativity and fresh thinking. To encourage these behaviours and create a
focus on learning and problem solving, the Google offices are uncannily like a
university campus with a large cafeteria, chill-out games rooms, and lots of
informal meeting spaces.
4.
Mix it up. If people generally come to the office,
go to their spot, mix with the same people and go home, the organization is not
capturing the benefits that come from spontaneous interactions among its ‘thinkers’.
“When there are no water cooler chats or meetings popping up in the middle of
the space, it’s a sign of a poor culture.
Examples:
To prevent the establishment of silos
employees at Innocent Smoothie Company don’t sit with their teams but with a
random selection of people from across the business. Every six months the
company have what they call the ‘Big Shuffle’ at which people are encouraged to
move desks and sit next to different colleagues
There
is a very sensible business rationale behind even the foozball table at Google - getting
people together and talking. Free food in cafes follows the same idea – if you
are sitting with people from different parts of the business ideas will emerge.
5.
Design the space: There’s a key consideration that we should not overlook when
thinking about the design of our workspaces and that’s our overall health and
wellbeing. We generally
spend 8-12 hours in our workspace and that’s a chunk of time we could be improving
our overall health. We are not designed to sit for long periods of time so
keeping mobile is critical. We need to stop thinking of ‘our chair and my desk’
in preference from a variety of spaces that we can move between.
Examples:
·
?What If!
knows that its employees communicate and work in a variety of ways, and that
their needs change from day to day—or even hour to hour. The open plan supports
a variety of needs, including the need for quiet. The “Library” features wing
back chairs and a large work table, and wallpaper with photographic images of
books helps set the tone for this quiet space. There are also several phone
rooms for private conversations, as well as a variety of meeting rooms (all of
which are managed with iPad signs outside the doors to indicate if the room is
occupied and the meeting is not to be disturbed). Conversely, the Extrovert
room is furnished with a sectional sofa and custom wallcovering made with a
photo of a bustling East Village street scene. It is also equipped with DJ
equipment, so making noise here is encouraged.
And
Finally: Go to Business Insider for a selection of office tour pictures and videos
of some of the chicest, cololest and weirdest, even a sneak peak into Warren Buffett’s office!
