How The Active Workspace Embodies And Promotes Workplace Flexibility
The most productive workers of today are those that are encircled by an office that was designed for and is able to meet their ever-changing requirements. Despite this, a study conducted by Gensler found that 48 million workers do not have access to an adaptable work environment. This is despite the fact that employees who work in workspaces that empower them boosted their mental powers and productivity by at least 25 percent.
Statistics such as these speak to a real opportunity for businesses, particularly when it comes to recruiting and maintaining talent in their organizations. According to recent studies, Millennials are less concerned with earning large salaries than they are with working for companies that have a "conscience." These businesses should not only be culturally and environmentally conscious, but they should also be dedicated to the physical health and mental well-being of their employees. Millennials want to self-actualize through their jobs rather than earn large salaries. These younger people place a particularly high emphasis on teamwork and adaptability, and they bring to the table a perspective that prioritizes the group above the individual, which is a departure from the attitudes held by either Generation X or the Baby Boomers.
In addition to this, they acknowledge that no single worker operates in the same manner. In point of fact, two persons can have the same job title and responsibilities, but each will approach those responsibilities in a unique manner. Therein is the problem that you need to tackle, which is how to get rid of points of friction in the process by thinking and methodically putting in place an Active Workspace that has a variety of different possibilities.
How to Foster Adaptability in a Fast-Paced Working Environment
It is not as difficult as it may appear to provide your staff with a workspace that is focused on productivity, enables activity and adaptability, and provides you with a crucial competitive edge. Because the layout of an office should encourage productivity and creativity rather than stifle either of those qualities, the most important aspect of this pillar is making sure that the appropriate equipment are used for the appropriate tasks.
1. Encourage employee buy-in by placing an emphasis on progression. Even the individuals in your company who are the most resistant to change will show less resistance if they are informed that change is inherently dynamic. This is of the utmost significance in an Active Workspace, where adaptability is an essential component of not just the operational aspects of your workspace but also the culture. In addition, if you take the time to explain how a particular change will benefit your people and if you emphasize that no change can't be undone, you will be able to create a flexible environment that works with your employees rather than just for them. This will allow you to create an environment that is conducive to productivity.
Find out what your employees need and want in order to make their employment more productive and healthier before you start moving furniture about or destroying your current environment. In spite of the fact that you shouldn't promise to implement all of the concepts because you don't want to overcommit, you should guarantee that everyone's contributions will be acknowledged and taken into consideration because the Active Workspace is a structure that is always changing.
2. Create a strategy for a workstation that is adaptable. After gaining an awareness of the special workspace requirements of your company, the next step is to decide which ideas, both short-term and long-term, you will put into action. Keep in mind that functional changes can be done more swiftly than cultural ones if you keep this in mind.
Sit-stand workstations, moveable walls and lighting, or a multipurpose conference room that can be created or disassembled in less than an hour to configure and respond to employee requirements are some examples of dynamic furnishings that prioritize flexibility and allow your workers to adapt the workspace to their workflows. For instance, you can start by introducing these types of furnishings, which allow you to prioritize flexibility and allow your workers to adapt the workspace to their workflows. When you have these functional things in place, you will then be able to introduce larger-scale cultural changes, such as giving employees paid time off to volunteer or the option to work remotely as a bonus. According to the proverb, you should "feed an elephant one mouthful at a time," which translates to "take baby measures toward major advancement."
3. Never stop testing in order to avoid becoming paralyzed by analysis. When you pursued the most recent major project for your firm, there is a good chance that you had an outcome in mind for it that was not effectively realized by the path you thought it would be successfully realized by. You will need to proceed in the same iterative manner if you want to design a flexible Active Workspace. Because of shifts in both job positions and the workforce as a whole, the definition of flexibility that applies to your employees today may need to be revised tomorrow.
An experiment conducted by a pottery instructor nicely demonstrates this point: he instructed one half of the class to deliver to him a flawless pot by the end of the semester, while the other half of the class was given the same direction but was also obliged to produce one pot per day. The later group had produced better pots by the time the semester was over, and the reason for this is that they had been continuously improving on the model from the day before.
You are far closer to having an Active Workspace than you might believe, one that promotes employee wellness, enhances cognitive capacities, simplifies processes, and, probably most crucially for your stakeholders, strengthens creativity and innovation through flexibility.
As we wrap up this series, be sure to keep a look out for our next two pieces where we will discuss the Active Workspace's culture of producing simplicity and a culture of collaboration and balance.
