Workplace of the Future - Q4 - Dec 2018

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Workplace of the Future Low-skilled workers will struggle to find employment in a digital workplace if they do not up-skill Stefano Scarpetta Director,

Directorate for Employment Labour and Social Affairs, OECD

FIGURE 1. SHARE OF EMPLOYMENT IN OCCUPATIONS IN SHORTAGE BY SKILL LEVEL

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Economic growth suffers when education does not meet employment needs Skill shortages have been increasing in several countries. Employers’ needs are evolving rapidly, and the education and training systems are trailing behind. This is worrying for concerned employers and job seekers and for the economy as a whole because skill shortages slow down innovation, adoption of new technologies and productivity growth.

To address these challenges, education systems need to become more responsive to labour market needs with closer cooperation between the world of education and the world of work.

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50%

Mexico

Chile

Greece

United Kingdom

Canada

Australia

United States

Spain

OECD

Ireland

Italy

France

Germany

Sweden

Netherlands

But the average hides big crosscountry differences. In Finland, for example, high-skilled jobs account for 90% of employment in all jobs in hard-to-fill occupations. In Mexico and Chile, by contrast, this is true for only 20% of the jobs. In these two countries, and in other emerging economies, shortages are concentrated in medium and some low-skilled occupations.

The most wanted workers have expertise in computer hardware and software, programming and application. Next come judgment and decision-making skills as well as communication and verbal abilities that help workers acquire and use information needed to solve problems.

Finland

L

ibrarians today need to support research in a digital world, to know about open access and data sharing, and about ownership, rights management and dissemination of digital information.

Similar changes apply to most jobs as new technologies, digitalisation and deepening globalisation are changing the type and quality of jobs and the skills these jobs require.

To help governments, companies and workers navigate this changing world of work, the OECD has developed a new tool to better understand which skills employers want most and which are in less demand.

The OECD Skills for Jobs database1 measures skill shortages and surpluses in over 40 countries, 17 industries and about 35 occupations.

There is no question: high skills are the most demanded.

Across the 40 countries, highskilled occupations account for more than half of total employment in all occupations where there are shortages. These jobs include managerial positions and highlyskilled professionals like doctors, teachers and IT specialists. Lowskilled workers, by contrast, are less courted by employers; their jobs account for only around one in ten of all jobs in occupations in shortage.

In emerging economies, lower skill-sets are in high demand

Low-skilled

0%

The world of work is changing. Most, if not all, jobs are concerned.

Take a librarian. Gone (or almost) are the days when the job involved manually classifying and locating books on dusty shelves.

Medium-skilled

100%

High-skilled

Note: High-, medium- and low-skilled occupations are ISCO occupational groups 1 to 3, 4 to 8 and 9, respectively. Shares of employment in each skill tier are computed as the corresponding employment in each group over the total number of workers in occupations in shortage in each country. Data refer to 2017 or closest year available. Source: Elaborations based on the OECD Skills for Jobs database (2018).

On-the-job training is the best way to keep skills up-to-date Students need better guidance – starting from lower-secondary education – on the potentials of different fields of studies in order to make informed choices. But, skills needs change quickly and the formal education system cannot provide the full response. Learning has to continue throughout the life-course in order for workers to stay employed and/or find new jobs.

Low-skilled workers will struggle to find employment in a digital workplace if they do not up-skill This is easier said than done. Only about four out of ten adults in OECD @MediaplanetUK

countries participate in formal or non-formal job-related training in a given year. A further 11% say they would like to participate but do not do so, and almost half neither participate nor want to participate.

Among the low-skilled, only 20% receive formal or non-formal training. They are the ones most likely to be left behind by the digital transformation.

Governments must invest in their people Governments and stakeholders in adult learning have several policy levers to address this challenge by enabling adults to make informed choices about education and training, removing barriers to participation in training, providing targeted @MediaplanetUK

support, and encouraging employers’ engagement in adult education.

More than ever, having the right skills is key to success in the labour market. Policy-makers, together with employers and stakeholders, have a daunting responsibility to give everyone the opportunity to develop and adapt their skills. Failing to do so risks further polarising our labour markets and economies between those who can see the bright light of the new globalised and digital era, and the others left behind in the shadow.

1: OECDSKILLSFORJOBSDATABASE.ORG/#FR/_

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The future workplace - where fitness comes first Richard Kauntze Chief Executive, British Council for Offices

While a focus on health and wellbeing in the workplace may once have been the reserve of start-up businesses in the trendier parts of town, the benefits of truly effective wellness strategies, both for the business and the individual, are now undeniable.

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he BCO’s most recent research report, “Wellness Matters: Health and Wellbeing in offices and what to do about it”, highlights that businesses of all sizes and sectors need to be placing wellness firmly at the heart of their workplace. They must do so to help drive productivity, retain talent and grow the bottom line.

Retention outweighs the costs of wellbeing schemes Our research revealed that staff and equipment costs, inclusive of salaries and benefit schemes, typically account for around 85% of an office’s operating costs. When we consider that people are an office business’ primary expense, it makes sense to prioritise keeping them happy and healthy, and in turn, productive. A modest improvement, or indeed deterioration, in staff productivity can have a significant impact on profitability.

Despite the financial benefits of ‘well’ workplaces, we identified a widespread perception that a health and wellbeing strategy is expensive to implement. This is preventing the industry from progressing, with 74% of those surveyed citing cost as a barrier.

It’s a misconception that a health and wellbeing strategy has to be expensive Add to this misconception a distinct lack of understanding as to whose responsibility health and wellbeing is, or where change fits appropriately into a building’s lifecycle, and we see an industry at odds with itself.

The ever-increasing wealth of research available means that imagining exactly what best practice in wellness looks like has become gradually more difficult. By working with leading academics across medicine, building and environmental psychology fields, our research distils existing evidence presented across sustainability and health standards to create a roadmap that businesses can readily apply to reimagine their offices.

The research makes a powerful business case for wellness, as an impactful programme can reduce costs associated with absenteeism and presenteeism, as well as helping

a business attract and retain the best talent. The BCO has shown that the potential value of the productivity gains available to occupiers ranges from 30% of annual rent costs inside London and up to 75% outside the capital.

There can, however, never be a ‘one size fits all’ model when it comes to personal wellbeing. While certification has done much to drive best practise in our industry, it is important to remember that it is not essential – and the absence of certification does not insinuate that a workplace is ‘unwell’.

Our report includes 12 best practise case studies, of which only a handful have been certified by WELL or Fitwel standards. Indeed, committing to a single standard can sometimes lead us to follow a specific programme of change, relating to either sustainability or wellbeing, when the two are very separate though equally important goals for any business to have.

Spaces for employee collaboration are imperative While, a generation ago, building a rooftop running track or a room dedicated to meditation may have been laughed at, creating spaces for employees to collaborate and develop a sense of community is now an imperative.

Are soft skills the future of work?

In just a decade, technology has taken the world by storm, forever changing the world of work. Soft skills have taken a back seat in the rush to embrace change at a time when they have never been more needed.

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hange and transformation won’t happen unless there is an effective and clear deployment of empathetic communication. Soft skills are key to workplace change.

The digital technology revolution has created seemingly limitless opportunities and benefits for society, organisations and individuals.

Today, we find it hard to choose from

the plethora of applications and technologies that offer improvements in efficiency, consumer relations and employee performance.

How we use application software and our devices is mostly a matter of choice. Learning to manage our usage of the technology at our finger tips however is not as easy as it seems. For organisations implementing new ways of working with digital technology this can be a huge challenge. Innovation and agility have become watchwords for organisational transformation, but achieving that transformation fast and effectively before the next wave of technology development happens can create stresses.

Transformation needs soft skills People, not technology, are the real catalyst required for change to happen in an organisation. We need individuals in our organisations adept at written communication, whose skills include a high degree of humanity and compassion, and who really understand the art of conversation to go beyond the text or chat messages used in today’s workplaces.

For the new generation of leaders and managers in business, these are going to be critical skills, and they will be skills in high demand from employers of their employees. In the fast-moving, always-on world of

Yet, there is no single solution at which point wellness can be ticked off a board’s check list.

Instead, we must commit to continuing the conversation between occupants, facility managers and architects so that workplace wellness strategies are constantly responding to the needs of occupants. Only when we put occupants in the driving seat will we build workplaces that are truly ‘well’.

Future workplaces must be built around wellness As an understanding of the value of health and wellbeing evolves, the future workplace will come to be built around it. Our research highlighted that, more and more, business leaders are seeing the benefits that an effective wellness strategy can have on teams and performance.

At the same time, our industry’s understanding of how best we can deliver this for clients is getting clearer.

I have no doubt that wellness will become an important hygiene factor in the workplace of tomorrow.

Read more at bco.org.uk/HealthWellbeing/WellnessMatters.aspx

Peter Russell Director of Research and Development, UNLEASH

work, soft skills are becoming harder to find and cultivate, and they are vital at a time when communication with colleagues at the next physical or remote desk is often by short - form message.

Communication with tomorrow’s workforce People entering today’s workforce are seeking self actualisation and personal development in their work.

Security of belonging is also a growing demand from younger employees at a time when, paradoxically, people feel the need to change jobs every two years to demonstrate ambition and breadth of experience. Change and transformation won’t work

unless there is an effective and clear deployment of empathetic communication; ask any seasoned change manager. Now more than ever, organisations need employee buy-in to stay agile and respond rapidly to change and disruption.

At UNLEASH, we know from the many conversations we have on a daily basis with influencers, CHROs and CEOs, that soft skills are essential.

The third decade of the 21st century is almost here, and technology will change work, society and how it is governed. There has never been a greater need for knowledgeable workers who have the required soft skills to communicate.

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Looking for maximum return on investment? Start with your employees’ happiness Jennie Doyle Head of Marketing, Health Shield

Your employees’ long-term health, wellbeing, and overall happiness should be your company’s number one priority.

It’s as much your responsibility, as it is theirs, to ensure the pendulum swings equally between your staff’s work and personal life. If not for their own sanity, then for the financial stability and profitability of your business. At least, that’s what recent figures are telling us.

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ental health problems cost the UK workforce nearly £35 billion a year, according to the Centre for Mental Health. That’s £3.1 billion in replacing staff who leave their jobs because of their mental health, £10.6 billion in sickness absence, and £21.2 billion in reduced productivity at work (also referred to as ‘presenteeism’). These figures alone don’t take into account physical health problems that cause hundreds of thousands of workers across the country to miss days at work. According to the Office for National Statistics, it’s estimated that around 137 million working days

were lost last year from injuries and illnesses ranging from coughs and colds to depression and anxiety.

If you haven’t already switched your school of thought (like many businesses already have) to believing employees’ mental and physical health should be treated with the utmost importance, then you’re not only at risk of falling behind your competitors and failing to retain staff – but in danger of losing a substantial amount of money.

Have we made a strong enough business case yet? Make sure you start with these four pillars to ensure your employees are supported by a strong foundation of genuine care, trust, and support:

1 Help your employees achieve a clean bill of health Healthcare providers pave the way in assisting organisations to get the best out of their employees, by helping employers offer tailored care pathways to look after long-term physical and mental health.

Services from this type of

healthcare provider, such as full health screenings, can paint a picture of your employees’ current health and ways they can improve it, enabling your staff to be the best possible version of themselves.

And that’s not the only benefit; investing in a quality care system can ultimately reduce absenteeism, boost company morale, and lead to better productivity.

2 Encourage an open culture at work This goes beyond an open-door policy. If your staff need to take a sick day because they’re suffering from a bout of depression or anxiety, they should be able to tell you that without facing any level of worry or judgement.

Make sure that no one suffers in silence by implementing an open and honest culture, where discussing mental health at work is actively encouraged and stigmas on the subject are an archaic thing of the past. Your office culture, after all, largely defines the image and feel of your business.

3 Not all illnesses are visible Although some mental health conditions can carry obvious symptoms, spotting someone who may be experiencing them isn’t as easy as you may think; you never know what battle the person next to you may be fighting. So never assume anything and always treat sensitive issues that people may come to you about with respect. It could be that your employee doesn’t want to discuss any details of the issue they’re having, and that’s okay too. If you ensure there is no stigma in your business surrounding sick days for mental health issues, then you’re sending out the right message to your staff – that you genuinely care about their wellbeing.

make sure your senior management are on board with your philosophy and that they’re correctly trained in how to handle sensitive topics.

We understand that, in some organisations, it’s difficult to avoid a vertical hierarchy, however, by encouraging openness among senior management you’re allowing employees to feel a sense of belonging and trust in the company they work for.

Instilling these core values into your business will help to promote your employees’ wellbeing and happiness, ensuring you get the most out of your workforce, retain quality staff, and give them the best chances to thrive at work.

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“The future of work should be reimagined to see how technology AI could be worth £232 bn to the can free us up” UK economy by 2030 Peter Cheese Chief Executive, CIPD

The future of work has probably never been so hotly debated, from how AI and machine learning could displace skilled roles to robots taking on more manual tasks. For people, technology in all its forms can be both an enabler of better jobs and roles, or a disabler, reducing the human skills needed, and the autonomy that people have.

F

inding the right balance that drives positive economic outcomes while also ensuring that people have meaningful roles has brought attention to the idea of ‘good’ work.

National and local government manifestos increasingly feature the need to build an economy around ‘good’ or ‘fair’ work, encouraging us all to focus on people and not just technology.

Today, there are many challenges in the workplace. These include high levels of stress, low levels of engagement, jobs not utilising or developing people’s skills, slow progress on diversity and inclusion, and questions about leadership and management to name a few.

These issues affect individual well-being and also their ability to be productive. We must address these issues proactively, and certainly we cannot assume that technology by itself will somehow make this all better.

Technology can take us out of the 9–5 One of the great opportunities we have is in creating more flexibility in where, when and how we work. Our notion of a standard, full-time job has been with us for decades – the Monday to Friday routine of 9 to 5. Yet, so many jobs don’t have to work in this way, particularly with technology that can connect us wherever we are.

Survey after survey shows that many people would like to be able to flex their work commitments and are looking for better work-life integration. More flexible working is also one of the most impactful ways we can create opportunity for everyone, helping to sustain more diverse workforces and access to skills.

Future talent will expect the flexibility that tech enables The future of work should be reimagined to see how technology can free us up. To take away some of the more routine – and frankly duller – aspects of work, to enable good jobs and roles, and to allow us more flexibility in how we work. Mindsets and cultures will have to shift from the hierarchical, rules and process driven models of the past. We will have to train managers to empower and manage more flexible, remote and diverse workforces, and to ensure that people are still properly protected, rewarded, and developed. That surely will help us all create better outcomes from work, for people, for organisations and for the wider economy.

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The new, technological revolution is reshaping our economy and society, as well as an area that intersects both – the workplace.

Julian David CEO, techUK

Estimates suggest Artificial Intelligence (AI) alone could be worth £232 billion to the UK economy by 20301 and provide significant benefits for businesses, employees and customers if it is developed, adopted and deployed responsibly and ethically.

W

ith that in mind, it’s time to for us all to explore the future of the workplace and prepare for the changes ahead.

Humans and AI will coexist in the workplace According to a recent global survey, 61% of business leaders expect the share of roles requiring collaboration with Al to increase in the next three years. Fifty-four per cent placed human-machine collaboration as important to achieving their strategic priorities2. Gartner has also predicted that, by 2022, one in five workers will have AI as their co-worker3.

In a world augmented by AI, our human qualities, such as creativity, empathy and problem solving will be more important than ever. We need to ensure that the current and future workforce is equipped with a blend of digital skills and capabilities to support that, such as creative problem-solving and analytical thinking.

The growth of chatbots AI is already working alongside humans in the creation of chatbots.

This trend is still in the early stages, with only 4% of enterprises having

deployed conversational interfaces but 38% are planning to or actively experimenting in this market4, which is set for significant growth.

Chatbots are increasingly being adopted for customer service operations. Aylesbury Vale District Council implemented DigitalGenius’ AI chatbot solution and dramatically reduced response time to constituents’ queries.

Instead of displacing jobs, chatbot technology is freeing up employees’ time, reducing dull and repetitive tasks and allowing employees to maximise the use of innately human skills and qualities. This refocus on how people spend their time can increase the skillsets of workers, leading to greater fulfilment and better performance.

AI improving workplace conditions Automated AI systems in HR also have the potential to reduce repetitive, manual tasks, freeing up time for HR professionals to support employees and provide pastoral care. They also have the potential to change the way workplaces operate.

A well-trained AI system can ensure recruitment and workplace promotions are decided based on ability, results and merit, without biases. AI can also give employees access to personalised, real-time advice about benefits such as healthcare, pensions and childcare.

AI on jobs, what is clear is that the nature of many jobs will change.

Just as we have seen in other areas, the adoption of advanced digitallydriven technologies, such as AI, means jobs will change but not every sector is expected to be impacted equally. Some have predicted manufacturing jobs could fall by 25%, transport and storage by 22% and public administration by 18%.

PwC, however, recently suggested AI will create as many jobs in the UK as it displaces over the next 20 years5.

We are going to see new types of jobs emerge, such as AI trainers, chief trust officers and ethical sourcing managers.

Businesses must move away from being consumers of talent to being producers of talent. Supporting the workers most likely to be displaced, through reskilling and retraining schemes, will be vital to ensuring people are able to adapt to change.

Only then will the great benefits from AI and related technologies be recognised across the whole workforce.

There is huge opportunity for AI to positively impact the way we all work. But if we are to reap the full economic and social rewards being offered, it is important that we act now. Every organisation must look at their existing ways of working and put the necessary provisions in place to ensure their workplace, and workforce, is future-proofed.

Shift in the nature of work While there are numerous reports being published about the impact of

1: WWW.PWC.CO.UK/ECONOMIC-SERVICES/ASSETS/AI-UK-REPORT-V2.PDF 2: WWW.ACCENTURE.COM/US-EN/COMPANY-REWORKING-THE-REVOLUTION-FUTURE-WORKFORCE 3: BLOGS.GARTNER.COM/CRAIG-ROTH/2017/12/05/489/ 4: WWW.GARTNER.COM/DOC/3879492/MARKET-GUIDE-CONVERSATIONAL-PLATFORMS 5: WWW.PWC.CO.UK/ECONOMICSERVICES/UKEO/UKEO-JULY18-FULL-REPORT.PDF

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Struggling with productivity? It’s time to find an enlightened way of working We often read and hear about the workplace of the future – with visions of powerful technology enabling incredible productivity. But is that the reality of today and is it the direction we’re currently heading in?

Leading consultancy, McKinsey, found that we actually spend around 60% of time doing ‘workaboutwork’, which means we only spend 40% of our time getting things done. That’s like writing off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to nonproductive work.

H

ead of Dropbox Business for EMEA, Geraldine MacCarthy, explains, trying to squeeze an extra 15% or 20% out of people won’t give businesses the results they’re after.

Rethinking the way we work The truth is that, today, we are all consumed by a never-ending cycle of managing our technology – such as email and messaging apps, meetings about meetings, and out-of-date processes and hierarchies – turning

productivity into a fragmented and distracting mess.

“The answer doesn’t lie in simply keeping people working longer,” MacCarthy says, “it’s about finding out how each person can work “in the zone” for more of the working day.”

To achieve this, MacCarthy believes we must completely rethink the way we work to let people unleash their creative energy. We must address physical, psychological and virtual working environments in combination.

Creating an inclusive physical space The modern working environment is changing, not only the digital needs of organisations – high speed connectivity, for example – but the actual physical space too.

“You’ll always have your desk, but offices often have quiet spaces now for people to break away from the chatter of the office,” MacCarthy

explains. “It’s a more enlightened way of working for teams.” This is a critical part of creating the right psychological environment for employees to produce their best work.

Safe spaces strengthen a team’s commitment to the work they produce and can bolster performance, giving teams and individuals the freedom to push boundaries.

always be ways to help workers get into the zone and do their best and most productive work.”

Getting the psychological space right

Designing a collaborative virtual environment

Organisations must start considering their employees’ psychological space, creating an environment where individuals can truly speak their mind and challenge the status quo. Too often, workers can feel they are playing at office politics or that they don’t have the space to contribute in the best possible way.

To MacCarthy, this is vital and suggests companies must “create an environment where people can actually disagree with each other respectfully, regardless of their paygrade.” After all, “it’s extremely rare that one person alone has the right idea.”

It’s no longer the case that workers feel the need to be chained to their desks to get their jobs done. For MacCarthy and her team, which is spread across five offices through Europe, it’s here she sees the positive power of technology come to life.

The platform for this comes from giving workers the freedom and flexibility to work from the places that help them be as productive as possible – giving workers the very best tools that people genuinely want to use.

“You’ve got to be mindful about how to use technology – everyone has different preferences. And while there are no hard rules, there will

Dropbox sees the business value of creating spaces where people can be themselves, because working environments – no matter where – engage every team member, encourage new ideas, and surface different viewpoints.

It’s time to tackle ‘workaboutwork’ and make the future of work a reality today.

How fast is your office?

A ‘slow’ building is one that reacts to the physical shifts in its environment over time and gradually responds to heat changes within. For instance, a building that has an internal fabric of concrete will absorb and store heat, slowing the pace of temperature changes.

A

‘fast’ building responds more instantly, adapting immediately to the demands of its occupants.

Earlier this year, the British Council for Offices (BCO) published research that looked in detail at how this

new generation of ‘fast’, responsive buildings work.

The impact of technology is not reserved for the built environment.

Every day we see new ways in which technology is revolutionising the way we work and the way we live.

At the BCO, we set out to identify exactly how ‘fast buildings’ will impact the way we populate offices.

Every day we see new ways in which technology is revolutionising the way we work and the way we live

Temperature and lighting controls that respond to an office’s occupants

including lighting and heating are more responsive. The pace at which technology is developing means that, in the near future, we may automatically shut down building systems when not required, thereby reducing energy consumption and cutting maintenance costs.

Already, smarter sensors are being introduced to the workplace. These allow levels of occupancy to be monitored with granular precision.

This means environmental control,

Geraldine MacCarthy Head of Dropbox Business, Dropbox EMEA

The future of work must come quickly

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Elaine Rossall Chair, BCO Research Committee

More personally, we know providing employees with a greater level of control over their environment can have a big impact on perceived comfort and productivity. Fastresponse buildings allow users to feed internal hardware systems realtime feedback through apps. Longer term, machine-learning will be able to anticipate changes and deliver personalised settings – meaning offices will eventually be able to use data to intuitively adapt to the needs of occupants.

The GDPR consequences of intelligent buildings But one consequence is that our work environments will hold an

increasing amount of data on the people working inside them. As the effects of GDPR settle, it will be the responsibility of facilities managers to ensure the privacy of tenants is appropriately protected while understanding how the building is being utilised.

While there are obvious benefits, ‘fast’ technologies are in their infancy. We are simply scratching the surface of understanding what can really be achieved to positively impact the way we work.

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Why we need workspaces that deliver ‘out of the box’ thinking The world of work is changing — which is why we need different measures of productivity and more adaptable, creative workspaces to engage with employees’ individual needs and talents.

When it comes to measuring productivity of knowledge workers in the workplace, it’s quality, not quantity, that should be the focus for employers, says Carissa Kilgour, Workplace Innovation Director at commercial property development and investment company, Landsec.

“We need to move away from quantitatively measuring productivity,” she says. “The benefit of most knowledge work is not measured in quantum. In headquarters buildings today our work is centred on the value we create for the business, not the number of items we have produced. We have to stop asking ourselves, ‘How many emails have I answered today?’ or ‘How many proposals have I created today?’ and think instead about the quality and value of the work we are delivering.”

Technology and outsourcing are driving change One reason for this is that the workplace is currently undergoing radical change, thanks in part to the constant advance of technological innovation and the trend for outsourcing location independent activities .

“Many businesses are continually restructuring and trying to optimise efficiency,” says Kilgour. “A lot of operational and transactional tasks for all workers are either being automated

or, for some specific operational roles, outsourced into shared service centres.

That leaves people in the head office workplace — for example, those in product development and sales and marketing — to spend their time applying a deeper level of thinking to their work.” This type of work is more difficult to measure quantitatively; it’s the value and impact of these ideas and the execution that matters.

The property sector can play a big role in shaping a workplace environment which encourages and facilitates creativity by providing more spaces for imaginative thinking. For example, ‘activity-based working’ is being adopted by numerous highperforming organisations. “This is a strategy that gives employees different spaces for different kinds of activities,” says Kilgour. “There could be desks with screens for detailed analysis, breakout areas with soft sofas for informal relationship-building conversations, more structured meeting rooms for formal presentations, workshop areas to solve problems, private spaces where people can take phone calls, and library spaces where they can find peace away from the open-plan environment.”

Taking individual needs into consideration Kilgour believes that this is a big step in the right direction for future working but argues that employers need to go even further. It’s not just about making sure that offices are multi-faceted and well-structured with good natural

light sources and fresh air — important though this is. For better employee engagement there’s now a growing clamour to consider an individual’s personal needs and circumstances, too, both in the culture of the business and the physical spaces it provides.

Traditionally, the thinking has been that employees should be in the office from 9am–5pm, but that doesn’t work for everyone these days Take flexible working, for instance.

“Traditionally, the thinking has been that employees should be in the office from 9am–5pm (or beyond), but that doesn’t work for everyone,” says Kilgour. “Employers have to think about giving their people greater autonomy, because then they’ll feel more empowered, more creative and take a greater interest in the outcome of their work. For example, I’ve had team members say to me: ‘I don’t want to come in at 9am because, if I do, I have to spend an hour on the bus. But if I come in at 9.30am, I only have to spend half an hour on the bus.’ And that’s a very pragmatic, productive, and refreshing approach, actually.

With that level of personal autonomy in choosing when to work, the built environment needs to respond with

Carissa Kilgour Workplace Innovation Director, Landsec

options to allow people to choose how they work.”

Property industry should anticipate the needs of the future Organisations are becoming more comfortable with the notion that employees don’t necessarily have to be sitting at their desks to add value. “There’s much to be said for the connections, conversations and serendipitous interactions that workers can have with their colleagues away from their desks,” says Kilgour.

“With that in mind, the property industry could benefit from thinking about how an office environment can drive that quality of thinking, and how it can encourage people to have those quality interactions. Because that’s where the value for organisations is going to be in the future.”

To do this effectively, the industry needs to think ‘out of the box’, argues Kilgour. “We have to anticipate the kind of jobs we’ll be seeing in future,” she says. “The offices that the property sector is building now won’t be delivered for a few years still — and we will need to be working in a different environment to the one we have today.

Just think back; who would have thought, 10 years ago, that digital marketing companies would be the major employers they are now? But that’s where technology has taken us.” The workplaces of the future have to be designed with foresight and anticipation.

Designing spaces for downtime They also need to include more conducive environments for both introverted and extroverted workers.

“We all have elements of introversion and extroversion within our personalities and many of our work outputs require us to work in both ways,” says Kilgour. “Currently, modern office spaces are generally more openplan, so aren’t really built for introverts — although there is a backlash emerging against this at present. People need more spaces for contemplative, private, quiet thinking. At the same time, they need a communal environment where they can then workshop their ideas with others.”

The property industry also needs to design spaces that give staff the chance to make the most of their downtime.

“People need breaks,” says Kilgour.

“Studies show it’s healthy to step away from work to free up your mind. So, as a landlord, we have a focus on providing more spaces to allow people moments of respite – opportunities to relax or engage in something creative that is not directly related to their work. It’s better for staff and better for businesses.”

Tony Greenway

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