Firms re-imagine offices to earn their staff’s commute to work.
Innovative furniture solutions and creative space planning may be one way of combating worker fatigue in Kiwi offices.
Roy Campion, national sales director for New Zealand furniture design and manufacturing company Aspect Furniture, believes the creation of “lifestyle” office designs can accommodate both flexible working and demands for staff wellbeing, social connection and collaboration.
He says the modern connected digital world is putting greater expectation on workers to communicate speedily.
“Our ability to process a certain level or amount of information has a limit,” he says. “Instead of an in-person meeting where we process one image in one room, with Zoom and Teams meetings we have more information to process.
“Companies are looking to bring more life-experiences to the office. Attracting and retaining skilled talent is at the top of their list and for many people things like wellbeing and flexibility can determine whether they accept a job or not.”
Campion says flexible working is here to stay and many Kiwi organisations are re-imagining and re-inventing workplaces through the creation of agile project zones, mobile furniture solutions, social spaces, tech-enabled meeting pods - and the provision of facilities like well-being spaces, end-of-trip amenities, social zones and gyms.
Lisa Tilley, Aspect’s Auckland Regional Sales Manager, says: “Being in an office is less about desk-based tasks and more about connecting with colleagues and the sharing of ideas. These are spaces that cannot be easily replicated at home and are all reasons a company can earn their staff’s commute to work.”
Campion says through client feedback and recent work, the company has seen a trend for offices to provide more collaborative, social and flexible furniture solutions to cater for all levels of ability. “We work closely with designers and clients to provide workplaces where people can perform at their best.
“Our core driving focus is people and the user experience. The creation of high-performing workplaces will enable high-performing people to thrive.”
The issue is shared by workers around the globe. In the US, Microsoft’s 2022 Worker Trend Index revealed that 53 per cent would prioritise health and wellbeing over work. The index, which surveyed 31,000 people in 31 countries, also found that pay was near the bottom of the list of reasons people cite for leaving a job.
A 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey carried out by US-based research and management consulting firm Gartner, showed that 43 per cent of workers say flexible working hours help them achieve more productivity and 30 per cent say less or no time commuting allows them to be more productive.
Campion says although many people will choose to work from home for some of the time, it is important that when they do go to the office, the experience is worth it.
“Humans are social creatures and during the extended lock downs (over the pandemic) a lot found being locked away for months on end was not a great experience. It affected their ability to collaborate and grow - and for younger people looking to advance careers they missed out on the mentorship senior or experienced staff can provide.”
Campion also believes there is greater emphasis on culture and talent retention in the current competitive market, due to New Zealand unemployment running at a low of 3.3 per cent. “Creating effective spaces which are user-centric, is a key factor in attracting and retaining talent.”
Aspect was founded 40 years ago by Richard Simmons and works with a broad range of customers across SME’s (small-to-medium enterprises), corporates, the tertiary sector, co-working, tech and software, health services and the public sector both here and in Australia.
Campion says designing and creating solutions that are sustainable is key to how they design, make and source furniture systems.
Campion says, creating user centric workplaces, also carries a responsibility to ensure they are sustainable and environmentally friendly.
“For example, we work with a range of recycled raw materials and incorporate circularity into our solutions, to reduce waste and environmental impact,” he says.
“One recent project for a client included a solution which included the repurposing of a staggering 21,840 recycled single-use plastic bottles to make 98 focus pods in the organisation’s Wellington office. It was the first project to feature Aspect’s most recent product design collaboration with Autex Acoustics for its Habitat innovation.”