Capturing and retaining talent is a universal problem in today’s employment market. The future stars of any sector know their value and are not afraid to be vocal about it. More and more companies in the US have cottoned on to this and now include practices and services that promote the wellbeing of their staff.
Google has an on-site gym and allows employees to spend up to 20% of their work time pursuing special projects not associated with their usual workload, Amazon lets workers bring their dogs into the office, ASOS tells staff to go home at 3pm on Fridays throughout the summer and the Huffington Post has nap pods for staff to catch a few afternoon Zs.
But according to a new study from the British Council for Offices, Morgan Lovell and Hatch, UK corporates are failing to support the wellbeing of half of all workers. The study of more than 2,400 workers found that while three-quarters believed that the design of their workplace supported their physical wellbeing, some 54% complained that their corporate culture did not.
BCO chief executive Richard Kauntze said: “It is widely accepted that wellbeing in the workplace drives productivity, but the findings of this research means we can go one step further. It pinpoints the cultural factors that companies must address in order to translate this theory into reality.
“The research points to the office as the centre of working life still and while we have seen real physical improvements, companies and those who help them design and manage their workspaces must be more progressive still and seize every opportunity to make the physical office the embodiment of a positive workplace culture.”
The BCO recommends corporates consider three key points to create a culture of wellbeing and therefore high productivity:
? Care – 97% of employees said they felt a greater sense of wellbeing if they believed their job had meaning. Firms should feed back to employees the impact their work has on customers and colleagues. Recognising the work individuals do has a major effect on wellbeing.
? Control – 87% of workers feel their wellbeing is diminished if they do not have control over their day-to-day activities. Offering employees choice and flexibility in how and where they work is a great enhancer of wellbeing. Quiet and private zones in open-plan offices can help too.
? Collaboration – nine out of 10 employees believe that support from colleagues enhances wellbeing and productivity. Providing virtual ?connectivity between workmates ?and physical collaboration areas will ?all help boost wellbeing and productivity.
Health conscious – how the big firms are doing their bit
Surveyors are among some of the hardest-working professionals. Long hours, long lunches, interrupted holidays to seal that deal that has kept slipping are all part of the life of an agent. But several of the industry’s biggest firms are now providing services to reduce the stresses of professional life and improve the wellness of their employees.
JLL, Colliers International and Savills are all working hard to create employment atmospheres that boost mental and physical health, as well as their own bottom lines.
All three provide the Cycle2Work scheme and have storage and shower facilities at their offices for those that commute by body-powered methods and encourage participation in physical activities via running clubs, discounted gym memberships and athletic competition – JLL’s Property Triathlon is one of the largest in UK, with a sell-out 3,000 competitors this year. JLL and Colliers also provide prayer rooms for spiritual wellbeing and encourage staff to take part in charity days.
Savills plans to take a more structured approach to wellbeing next year, says head of human resources Noel McGonigle, by signing up to the Global Corporate Challenge.
The GCC is a worldwide programme open to all businesses that encourages employees to take 10,000 steps a day – a number recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Staff members form teams of seven and then are each given pedometers and set the task of completing their daily steps over a 16-week period.
The GCC, which costs £50 per head for businesses, runs in its entirety over 12 months and claims to optimise employers’ most valuable asset – their staff – by ensuring “they arrive each day in the right physical and mental shape, so they’re fully engaged and ready to take on the world”.
“These sorts of things are what all responsible employers should be doing,” says McGonigle.
“It makes sense commercially but also from a talent attraction and retention point of view. This is a very competitive industry and it is important that we do everything we can to make Savills a place people want to work.”
Head of marketing & communications at Colliers, Charlotte Freeman, agrees: “Employee wellbeing is a necessary consideration in the modern workplace and at Colliers we work hard to ensure we create the right environment; build effective management structures and processes; as well as to focusing on training and developing our people to help them to fulfil their potential.”
Mark Stupples, UK chief operating officer at JLL, said: “JLL takes the wellbeing of our employees very seriously and places a great deal of importance on initiatives that support and encourage this. We continually strive to ensure that we provide a supportive environment for our workforce and are always looking to exceed staff expectations in this area.
“The latest initiatives around our workplace including a variety of work styles and an external high quality coffee provider based at Warwick St have proven to be extremely popular in encouraging a more flexible approach that suits the individuals, as well as allowing for greater social interaction.”
JLL may have the most important of all wellbeing facilities. The agent has an in-residence specialist barista, providing staff with the lifeblood of any productive office: coffee.
Focus on: the Zig Zag building
People are 27% less likely to make a mistake at work if they are fit and healthy, a fact that Land Securities considered while developing its 188,000 sq ft in Victoria, SW1. Leasing director Oliver Knight says the building has been designed with occupiers’ needs in mind. “Productivity and creativity are important to occupiers. People need space to breathe,” he says. As such Zig Zag has seven external spaces including a communal terrace, the size of two volley ball courts, on level 10.
The “thoughtful building” also features 187 bike storage spaces, 16 showers, ?190 lockers and a towel and concierge service. Zig Zag’s island site also provides natural light on all sides. The development also benefits from 60% more clean air than is typically provided in an office building.
The REIT is also offering its Victoria tenants free fitness classes.
Plans are afoot to create similar spaces at its Nova, New Street Square and New Ludgate offices.
Read it: Thrive
Time-crunched real estate professionals should juggle their diaries to find time to read Arianna Huffington’s Thrive. The book, written by the Huffington Post founder, is a guide to help us realise there is more to success than money and status.
Huffington proposes a third metric to measure success – wellbeing. She says too often lack of sleep is seen as a symbol of success when really promoting the appropriate level of sleep for staff will lead to greater productivity and therefore more success.
Switching off from the all-consuming world of technology, getting up from your desk, taking deep breaths, and even petting an office dog are among the tips she give to un-starve ourselves
of time.
samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com
