WorkplaceFundi chief fundi Andrew Mason tells CHRO South Africa community why they need to be more aware of the impact of their employees’ physical workspaces.
The workplace structure is usually assigned to the office maintenance guys or regarded as “someone else’s” problem. However, in the aftermath of Covid-19, an increasing number of CEOs have delegated this responsibility to human resources to bring more people back into the office.
Sungula Nkabinde, community manager at CHRO South Africa, believes that HR directors should be more aware of the impact of their employees’ physical workspaces, as he discussed with Andrew Mason, a workplace and facilities management consultant from WorkplaceFundi in a recent Community Conversation.
“The workplace structure is increasingly falling on the shoulders of CHROs,” Andrew confirmed, and as a result, he wanted to raise awareness of the physical workplace and its role in the bouquet of initiatives aimed at improving employee experience and engagement.
In the discussion, Andrew also wanted to hear from his HR executive audience about how they had approached the workplace subject in their work environments.
Why does my workplace matter?
In a slide presentation, Andrew presented findings from a 2023 global survey on why it matters whether people like their workplaces.
The survey found that employees who like their office are 33 percent more engaged, 30 percent more connected to their company’s culture, 20 percent more productive and nine percent less likely to leave.
“The evidence is damning, as it is clear that if your office is not performing, or it’s on average or worse, you are going to struggle to have your employees willing to return. Or if they are in the office, whether that’s by a mandate or otherwise, they are very likely to be disengaged, or, even worse, actively disengaged,” shared Andrew.
Post-Covid workplace dilemmas
The pandemic has caused significant disruption to the concept of the workplace as well as how, when, and where people work. As a result, the office we left behind to work from home during Covid-19 is just not going to cut it.
According to Andrew, the solution to this growing crisis is to create a work environment that people enjoy, to gain a competitive advantage.
Various participants weighed in on this issue: some have chefs and upgraded their canteen offerings, others have nail bars in their offices, and others have tried to include social activities to keep things exciting.
Keeping up with the trends
One important observation made during the discussion was that most modern workplace designs are created with the eyes rather than the ears in mind. This is when we place too much emphasis on the aesthetics of a workplace rather than asking what is functional for the workers?
Sungula also pointed out how many firms are doing away with the old hierarchical structure and moving to an open-plan set-up. He questioned Andrew on this booming workplace trend.
Andrew expands: “Has anyone has heard of ‘activity-based working’?” It is the concept of having different nodes around an office where you can go to do different activities rather than sitting in an open plan.”
Andrew also mentioned that the biggest disadvantage of these open-plan designs is that they can be too noisy for some employees, which can reduce productivity.
Dana Gopal, people & culture business partner at BASF Coatings Services SA, discussed how their smaller staff post-Covid has led to more creative workspace design.
“Pre-Covid, we had a problem where the building was overutilised and we were looking for space, and now we’ve got exactly the opposite, where we have less than 50 percent utilised. People prefer to work from home and on a hybrid model, but slowly, what we’re looking at now is they want more concierge-type offices, so a little bit of Google but with a little bit more functionality.”
Is your workplace delivering on work culture?
Whether you agree with it or not, workplaces shape culture, so you need to make sure that your workplace is shaping the culture you want your clients and staff to see.
“Your workplace is the biggest 3D billboard for your brand, says Andrew, and if your workplace does not reflect your organisational culture, then there’s a disconnect.
Clicks Group HR executive Germinah Nyikana described how, during Covid, she joined a new company and worked remotely but never felt like she belonged.
“In the first 18 months, I never met any of my team members face to face as a result I did not feel like I belonged. While I got the work done, I realized that without regular in-person interactions, it’s easy to feel disconnected. So, there is something to be said around when you are not seeing or engaging with or having a lived experience with the people, as well as the impact that has on belonging and ultimately culture.”
Compromising between remote and office workplace
Even though 79 percent of leaders recognise the value of getting people back together in the workplace to address issues like trust, collaboration, culture, and, most importantly, productivity, Andrew’s surveys reveal that 86 percent of people do not want to go back, at least not just yet.
“Corralling them back into the same office that they left before Covid is a step back, but mandating employees to return to the office, as our friend Elon Musk has done, will break trust, therefore, we really need to entice employees back to the office,” Andrew advises.
He added that HR should consult with employees about their work responsibilities, determining what can be done at home and what may require them to come to the office, and then developing a hybrid schedule from there.
How can HR and other teams get involved?
While human resources has been tasked with managing their post-pandemic workplace, Andrew believes that other departments ought to be involved as well.
“HR alone lacks the skills and experience to understand how to bridge the gap between where you are now and where you need to go, as well as the workplace that will enable your team to get there.”
“Real estate and FM, they’re probably the points of the compass, the main players that need to come together,” he mentions. “But don’t forget, equally, finance, procurement, operations, and legal – they all have fingerprints on the workplace. It's part of their domain and they’re partially responsible.
“So, what is required is a super-connector between all of these disparate functions that ensures that the evolution of the workplace aligns with the business strategy and that that strategy aligns with the needs of your people,” Andrew said in conclusion.
