Create a Thriving Workspace

7 Essential Design Principles for Positive High-Performance Physical Work Environments

Anetta Pizag

• Publisher: Pizag
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9780994301321
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Interior Design

What is a thriving workplace? Different people give different answers: Business leaders say it enhances productivity and communication. Marketing experts say it reflects the organisation's values and brand. Health professionals say it's healthy and ergonomic. Designers say it boosts creativity and innovative thinking. Psychologists say it inspires people and makes them feel valued. And many of us say it's fun to work in and makes us proud! ---In fact, a thriving workspace is all of these and much more! Research shows that the space around us shapes how we think, feel and act, and can help us realise our full potential. Countless examples testify that companies with well-designed workspaces achieve significant returns through enhanced individual, team and business results. Unfortunately, many workplaces are dysfunctional, unpleasant and unhealthy, wasting people's talents. Businesses pay a high price for this, losing money, clients and credibility. Creating excellent working conditions is often seen as a luxury, while those who are ready to give it a go often struggle to find the right advice. Create a Thriving Workspace speaks to business owners and decision makers who would like to make work a more fulfilling, rewarding and profitable experience in a positive, high-performance environment. This book is also a resource for anyone who wants to create a better work environment for themselves, their teams or their clients - whether they are looking into improving a current workspace or planning a relocation. In this book, Anetta Pizag will guide you through a simple framework and a comprehensive range of practical and powerful design solutions. Create a thriving workspace, and watch people around you dive into work with a smile on their face while your business grows its competitive edge.

CREATE SPACE FOR A VISIONARY BUSINESS

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Creating a workspace that embodies the DNA of your organisation

Who are we? Why are we here? What is important to us? What difference are we making? ... Creating a ‘Visionary’ workspace is about asking these big questions and then translating the answers into timber and steel, furniture and paint – the physical environment. A space that embodies the essence and purpose of your business not only unifies people and makes them a stronger team, but keeps everyone on track on the company’s journey towards creating a better future for its clients, members and stakeholders.

The big picture

The ‘visionary’ workplace

By looking at the place where a person lives, we can find out a lot about them: Are they shy or outgoing? Rebellious or conforming? Adventurous or creatures of habit? Loners or team players? What are their interests and hobbies? Do they make their own path or follow others? Are they pursuing clear goals or just drifting around? ... And we get a sense of how well we would probably get along.

Similarly, when looking around a workplace, we tend to draw conclusions about the organisation: who their members are, what is important to them, how they aim to improve people’s lives, and what sort of experience they create for their own teams as well as their clients through their products, services, and the way they do business.

In a ‘visionary’ workplace these messages reflect the truth and highlight the best of the business. The space embodies the organisation’s purpose, values and brand. Everything people see and feel in the space aligns with, and even enhances, what they already know about the business.

Why is this important?

Both as workers and as customers, we don’t just want to make transactions; we want to engage with organisations that stand for something bigger than themselves – a worthwhile cause. We want to feel that through our work or purchase we contribute to a happier, fairer, more inspiring world. We want to be on a journey with those who are on our side, who share our standards, beliefs and passions.

To attract committed people, your businesses needs to present itself clearly and consistently across all communication platforms, including the work environment; it needs to demonstrate the values, beliefs and personalities you seek to attract. This will make it easier for your clients to get to know and trust you, and for your team members to commit to your vision. Imagine dealing with people who just know they are in the right place as soon as they come through the door, whether for the first time or for the thousandth time.

Miscommunication happens

Relatively few organisations operate in workspaces that speak the same ‘language’ as they do. The question I often ask of leaders, ‘What messages do you aim to communicate through the space to your teams, clients and the market?’ usually remains unanswered.

It’s a common misconception that people don’t need constant reinforcement of what the business aims to achieve; it’s assumed that those who are in touch with the business should already be clear about that.

Many leaders believe that in order to articulate who they are as a business, all they need to do is market their business well, engage in conversations with their stakeholders, and offer products or services that speak for themselves. These are of course important. However, those leaders fail to recognise that the workplace also has its role in this process – that it essentially acts as a ‘message board’, speaking either for or against them.

Some organisations don’t have clearly defined goals, values and brands, so they simply don’t have much of an identity to portray. In contrast, others have solid ideas about who they are, but are confused about how to capture certain elements of their identity through building and interior design. (For example, some people seem to be convinced that the only way to present a clean-cut image1 is to create a sterile-looking environment, or that the only way to incorporate the brand is to use the company’s corporate colours throughout the space, regardless how those colours influence people’s psychology.)

Misleading workspaces

As a result, most workplaces express messages which are incongruent with the organisation’s purpose, values and brand. Even if leaders communicate the most powerful messages through words, this lack of congruence can weaken their meaning!

For example, I know organisations that care about the resolution of environmental issues, but their workspaces waste resources such as energy and water, and send mixed messages about sustainable living and working practices. (I worked for a company in the environmental sector that encouraged its employees to cycle to work, but we were not allowed to store our bikes in the office, because that would look unprofessional.)

I have seen the workplaces of promising start-ups where confidence and belief in the company’s success were among the most appreciated personal attributes of the team. However, their office suggested that the organisation didn’t believe in itself. (The interior showed no sign of planning; every element was thrown together as a quick reaction to urgent needs of accommodating extra staff or equipment. The space communicated scarcity; it was only fitted with the bare essentials, as if spending even a little time and money on making the office nice was something the company couldn’t afford.)

And when you see all those workplaces that look alike, with no character, you just can’t get a sense of the people who work there. These spaces leave us with a feeling of void – a bit like talking to a machine instead of a real person when making a phone call.

These workplaces can erode relationships with anyone coming in. Workers may get inconsistent messages about the vision of the business, and about what sort of behaviour and attitude is expected from them. This can lead to a lack of direction, conflict and indifference – all enemies of high performance. And clients or prospects may get mixed messages about what the business really stands for and struggle to build a connection with the brand.

In such environments, businesses often struggle to attract the right people (staff, clients and business partners) and opportunities, or keep attracting the wrong ones. Clients are more likely to see the business as a commodity, so it is forced to compete on price. The space can even undermine the reputation of the business, and raise questions about its integrity.

Saying ‘no’ to my heroes

I’ve never in the past applied for a job without researching the employer and checking out if their vision and values aligned with mine. It was always important for me that the company I worked for was committed to creating healthy, aesthetic, green environments. I was competitive; I got an offer after most of my interviews. However, I stopped counting how many times I needed to say ‘no’ to employers that I had previously seen as heroes, because their workplaces didn’t at all reflect the values they claimed to have. While they took pride in creating high quality architecture, they worked in dark, stuffy, uninspiring offices.

Some may perceive this attitude as superficial judgement, or maybe even arrogance. But would you trust working with building professionals whose own workspace was clearly a low priority for them? And how enthusiastic would you be about joining their teams?

Following our calling, finding our fellows

We all strive to make a difference in our lives, to make this world a better place somehow. But the extent to which are we able to fulfil our purpose through work varies. We view our work either as a ‘job’, a ‘career’, or a ‘mission’ / ‘calling’. Those with a ‘job’ only work to make a living, and they look forward to being somewhere else after work where real life happens. Those who pursue a ‘career’ are motivated to learn, and they want to improve their skills and succeed. But only those who see their work as a ‘mission’ or ‘calling’ find their work tru...

Table of contents

• Let’s Begin
• Principle 1: Create Space for a VISIONARY Business
• Principle 2: Create Space for a SMART Business
• Principle 3: Create Space for a PRODUCTIVE Business
• Principle 4: Create Space for a DIVERSIFIED Business
• Principle 5: Create Space for a CARING Business
• Principle 6: Create Space for an ENGAGING Business
• Principle 7: Create Space for an EVOLVING Business
• Putting the Pieces Together
• Related Readings
• Acknowledgements
• About Anetta Pizag
• Keep in touch