Improving Employees’ Welfare at Office Buildings after the Pandemic
As the restrictions have been progressively returning back to normal, office buildings are alive with employees once more. With full work-from-office regulation being effective immediately, it triggers many topics around balancing the physical and emotional wellbeing of the employees after some have worked from home the past two years. This somehow brings the idea of hesitancy from the employees to return back to the workplace. Being remotely working has become the better option during the pandemic, and it sparks the demand for these employees to have the same comfort zones during office hours. Based on the PwC Pulse Survey for life at work after a pandemic, the future of working depends on three topics: reimagining how and where work will get done, attracting and retaining talent, and maintaining company culture and trust. The first topic is what gives the sense of a happy workplace a top priority in gaining people’s trust to work from the office again. As quoted from the article: one of the main reasons companies are rethinking how and where to work is because so many people want to keep the flexibility they gained during the pandemic. But what if they are greeted with great office facilities that, who knows, can cater to both their physical and emotional wellbeing?
The room with virtual connections
With everything can be done remotely, it is no secret that people can do work from across the globe within a call away. Well, you need to adjust the timezone, of course, but it is still accessible with stable internet connections (and probably some ice-breaking between meetings). But not every office is adaptable to this new era of working remotely. People used to travel to cities and countries to meet certain people in order to do their business. Now that it can be done via screens, it would be a great option to have a specific room to do these virtual meetings. Placing a large screen or an LCD display to show the participants, upgrading the IT infrastructure to adapt better with the connectivity, or even as simple as designing the meeting room itself. These virtual meetings can then relate to employees as something they do effortlessly. People who go to office buildings may be in the range of older people who are not quite adjusted with the virtual business concepts, so having a specific room where they know they can rely on to do virtual meetings can sound like a charming point for them. Even for the younger generations, this can give a taste of the new era of working at the office that they can brag about to friends and families. Another way is also to give a place to do personal virtual calls, to minimise polluting the workplace with unwanted sounds that can distract fellow office workers.
Interior upgrades
After adding specific virtual rooms, it is just sensible that upgrading the workplace interiors comes next. There should be no more bleak cubicles that scream mental health problems. Working 7-8 hours a day can get stressful when you only stare into one fixed point or worse, the wall paint colour sucks. Beautifully designed open space with plants and colour-themed furniture can make people work more cheerful as everyone can interact with each other with greens to ease their eyes and minds, enhancing the working vibes.
Another place that all workers go to is the restroom. What may seem to be an unusual area that needs to be upgraded, going to the restroom is, like eating food, a necessary element of everyone’s life and work dynamic. With this in mind, a thoughtful attention to the design and management of restrooms is hardly recognised. But it actually offers an opportunity for employers and office managers to “walk the talk” of a high performance work environment. More office spaces offer places at an affordable price now, so there is a need to have certain preferences for the amenities for these workers' rhythm of life. And as they spend most of their weekdays there, surely a traditional office place’s restroom will be the last thing they want to see. Workplace restrooms need to be influenced with designs that respond to the user preferences, and legitimately, a more homey experience. Also, which female office workers don't love a good bathroom selfie, right?
Communal spaces
Having a place that can be used as a safe space where workers can rest their eyes or to have snacks and drinks is a blessing during office hours. While a pantry can do the same thing, it turns out a communal space is much preferred. With vibrant furniture and open space concept, recess time can be filled with smelling freshly brewed coffee or listening to great tunes with this office facility. A WeWork and Reuters survey found that when U.S. employees were asked what would make them more satisfied with their jobs, the top ask was for better work areas/facilities, even above higher pay, better hours, and more vacation time. Communal space works as the centre of energy for these workers, keeping employees engaged, giving them a place to connect with teammates or work in a more comfortable, informal setting. It can set the tone of the company culture itself as it makes an impression whenever people (or who knows, a prospective talent) come to visit, and in turn can be the informal space where the workers can drive their productivity and keep the energy high.
The pieces placed in this communal space are also important to make this office facility work as it should. Placing vending machines can be an option as a way to merge the blur lines between a communal space and a pantry. It is an efficient step when the snacks and drinks are not free but you don’t want to put an actual store in the communal space. Almost like having a mini minimart, without having to go outside the building and cutting the recess time. Most smart vending machines also accept payments with QR codes so it really can speed up the transaction time. Bonus cookie point if the machine is aesthetic and blends with the space.
Final note
Office workers slowly returned to the office. This can be an opportunity for businesses to place vending machines in office buildings to help the employees’ welfare. If you are interested in doing business with a vending machine or have a product that you want to sell with a vending machine, you can contact the Smartven team for a consultation. You can also click the button below for a faster response. Also visit the Smartven website and Instagram for more information. See you next time!
