Built to respond to trends and to evolve, the sustainable workplace has four central pillars: employee wellbeing, sustainability, agile working, and collaboration.
The changes of the last 12 months mean we are unlikely to ever return to offices in the same way as pre-pandemic. But the good news for organizations is that this is also a chance to build something better in 2021 and beyond: a sustainable workplace. A sustainable workplace is environmentally friendly, resilient, and follows a digitally-driven operating model to keep the business relevant to customers and employees.
Central Pillar one: Sustainability
If we learned anything from 2020 – it is that ‘digital by default’ is here to stay whatever happens in the short term. Digital by default means that organizations allow employees to work from anywhere – with minimal disruption to the business – and is key to enabling genuine flexibility. The knock-on effect on sustainability is hugely positive and helps organizations to reduce their environmental impact and think ‘green’.
It means fewer people commuting, decreasing the number of consumables used, and contributing to a smaller carbon footprint. Office spaces will still be needed, but they should be adapted, allowing for more space for employees to meet, and an increased number of hot desks for remote employees visiting the office for meetings. Offices are likely to become a hub for employees to meet and come up with new creative ideas rather than everyone simply doing the 9-5. As such, for those office spaces that remain, the principles of reusing and recycling should be a-given to help towards sustainability (as well as reducing business overheads).
Pillar two: Employee wellbeing
The second core pillar is employee wellbeing. After all, a happy workforce is more productive than an unhappy one. A significant element of reducing stress is ensuring that technology is niggle-free, and employees have access to flexible and engaging ways of work that suit their preferences. All the tools, technology, security protection, and networks needed for the workplace need to be accessible in a single, seamless interface. This intuitive approach has benefits for the business too, increasing collaboration, employee productivity, and efficiency.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that an environmentally friendly workplace (pillar one) will boost employees’ wellbeing, as well as making it easier to recruit and retain talented people. Research suggests that three-quarters of office workers want their employer to strengthen its sustainability policy. If organizations put in place the pillars of the sustainable workplace there are significant gains to be made. As much as thoughts might turn to break-out rooms with ping-pong tables and treadmills, for the remote worker, these are irrelevant. It is time to go beyond tactical changes and instead rethink everything from infrastructure, security, and risk, to organizational culture and management.
Pillar three: Agile working
Agile working practices embody the concept that work is not a place we go to but an activity we do. Hand-in-hand with flexible working, an agile approach creates new patterns where all employees can work at preferred times and in different places. This gives employees autonomy, helping them to achieve more for themselves and their organization. Where and how we work is no longer important, it’s what gets done that counts. To enable this agility, barriers to productivity must be removed; frictionless access to all applications and resources are needed, regardless of the device or connection used.
The nature of work is going to change regardless; the driver is coming from employees who want a better work/life balance and who are looking to employers to grant such flexibility.
New digital security measures are also vital, but they must have minimal impact on the employee experience. The basis of this approach is the ‘zero trust’ security model underpinned by identity access management (IAM). This requires IT teams to enable easy access to resources by implementing single sign-on through IAM, regardless of where the employee is working from or the device being used. This is critical to keeping employees productive and secure because IAM removes barriers to accessing services and applications, making it easier for staff to work together. The principle is the same as that of large consumer technology firms. Companies such as Apple allow users to access a variety of different applications and logins with a single Apple ID, there is no reason why enterprises can’t do the same to remove delays or onerous security hurdles for employees.
Pillar four: Collaboration
Distributed workforces need easy ways to collaborate using digital tools. True collaboration is about being in the same headspace if not physical space. Interactive online tools make this possible by holding people’s attention and helping them to be productive wherever they’re working from. Digital collaboration solutions also foster openness and trust and improve inclusivity by ensuring everyone has access to a variety of communication channels. Using these tools as part of a sustainable workplace means everyone knows what’s going on, with easy access to project resources and information. This means people can spend less time asking where files are and more time coming up with a great way of solving problems.
The key takeaway for organizations has to be that their focus must be on employees. Sustainable workplaces that cater to employees’ needs and boost their wellbeing are a business imperative. Organizations that can’t – or don’t – adapt will struggle to survive in an era when big shiny offices matter less and happy, productive employees are key to success.
