Building Better Worlds
Interior:Architekturbüro bkp helps make companies fit for the future
Building Better Worlds
Interior:Architekturbüro bkp helps make companies fit for the future
New Work
Autor(ren)
Eva Boss
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Partner Düsseldorf
Eva Boss
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Partner Düsseldorf
Lesezeit
min.
The right strategy for working environments after corona as a guarantee of success for a better future: Heiner Kolde and Eva Boss, shareholders of bkp Düsseldorf, spoke about this in DAL Construction manager. Many companies are currently facing the challenge of implementing new workplace models in their homes. Digitalization has been a major driver here for years. The new “detachment” created by corona in personal encounters and thus also the occupancy of rooms, but also the expectation of employees for more flexible work organization, has now created a new dynamic.
Übersicht
EB: At our online event in June together with you, we asked the question at the beginning: “Where would you rather work?” The majority of participants responded with: “Switching between home office and office.” That already shows: Hybrid working is becoming the “next normal”, which combines the benefits of offices and the Home office While certain topics, such as focus work, can also be ideally completed from home, the company works together locally to promote innovation. Die Working environments of the future They become tools to promote interaction and teamwork, but also to strengthen and motivate identification with the company. The last few months in particular have clearly shown us that the office is a place for a sense of togetherness and tangible corporate culture more important than ever! In order to always stay connected, we must connectivity be a natural part of working environments — to include employees working from home: For example, small ThinkTanks are used as video call situations for 1:1 exchange with colleagues at home, and integrated technology allows participants to participate in workshops not only locally but also from anywhere else.
HK: On the one hand, suitable room situations with easy-to-use technology offer the opportunity to get in touch with each other quickly. A tool for interactive, digital project organization — e.g. using the Kanban method — also helps to connect teams and their tasks in real time. However, real contact with colleagues on site will remain an essential part of everyday working life, because even the best digital teamwork tool cannot replace “corridor radio” and spontaneous cooperation. Sociability in working environments is a key success factor for a strong sense of togetherness and creates long-term commitment. That is why we should meet more frequently at those meeting places in the future and also invest in the right concepts for these spaces.
HK: The technical hurdles should have already been resolved in recent months, so that it is now particularly important to focus on employee motivation and performance. According to the results of the annual Gallup study on employee satisfaction, we know that in 2020 70% of employees did “service according to regulations” and 15% had already resigned internally. Compared to the previous year, it was no longer just 26% who felt “burnt out internally”, but as many as 35% (and the trend is rising). It is therefore important to seek contact with individuals and to promote exchange and team spirit.
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EB: Ideally, you move through the working world and the available spaces during a working day in the office. A changed sitting, standing and movement situation not only promotes physical health; rooms with functionally adapted equipment and design also allow us to work more efficiently. This means that video calls also take place in rooms that are tailored to the respective needs and therefore meet the corresponding requirements. These can be small telephone or video boxes, for example, or larger meeting rooms, which each have an appropriate acoustic function and are ideally designed as a video call environment. In order to plan efficiently and cost-effectively, these areas can of course also be used beyond pure video call situations, which is why lighting, acoustics and color design are accordingly part of the overall concept.
EB: Functioning room acoustics are certainly one of the main success factors for good new working environments. Here, we always look at the big picture together with our specialist planners as experts in this area. Because acoustic measures are an integral part of the design concept in our concepts. Discretion elements on desks are a component of several important factors in the room. At the desk, they are particularly suitable for supporting undisturbed work and concentration work. If office spaces are made more open and more colleagues are in a room, this can be useful. However, these elements are not necessarily intended for employees to carry out their video calls at their own desks. For longer calls, phone calls and, above all, video calls, we recommend leaving your desk and moving into a room situation provided for this purpose. Not only to take colleagues into account, but also to ensure a suitable environment (acoustic + visual) for the call.
EB: The question of where and how concentrated work is best possible is primarily a question of the culture of cooperation or the prevailing “work etiquette.” It is therefore not possible to give a general answer to this question. From a room acoustics point of view, however, 2-person offices are usually difficult to “get a grip on” because one person is always there for the other person to contact and the noises of telephone calls and the like remain “locked in the room.” With constellations of 3, this situation does not necessarily improve. This means that a lot of discipline is required overall in smaller cell units with 2-3 desks. However, if one person wants to concentrate and the other person in the place has a video call, for example, a malfunction is inevitable. Multispaces offer better noise distribution with sound-absorbing surfaces and also zones that are precisely designed for exchange and meetings. Depending on the concept and distribution of tasks, cell structures can of course make sense for 2-3 people. However, we recommend open working environments in terms of room acoustics, but also in terms of workflow and team spirit, at least in some areas.
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EB: Sustainability has many dimensions. Flexible and modular floor plan concepts are sustainable because they can react to changes in the company without restructuring measures. A meaningful technical building equipment is sustainable because innovative ventilation and lighting concepts can contribute to greater well-being. But of course, it is also materials that visually play the topic of sustainability. For example, we like to use natural wood wool panels for room acoustics on the ceiling or work with carpets made from recycled fishing nets, for example. There are now many curtain and upholstery materials as well as entire furniture concepts that are sustainable and are used depending on the concept and company. The topic of plants is playing an increasingly important role and is also important for the mental health proven beneficial. But the small details, such as the range of drinks and snacks, crockery and waste separation in companies, are also contributions to a better world! We are happy to advise companies and work together to find the right path for an authentic sustainability concept.
HK: 1. OM-Line is the new online: Relaxed connectivity and smart use of digital technologies, but also not always having to be online are the future! 2. Openess makes us (even) better: The pandemic has shown us that, for example, working from home has worked on a large scale, which is why we must remain open to new things in the future! 3. Curiosity is key: Curiosity is like a bridge from challenge to solution. As Dr. Carl Naughton also knows: “Hardly anything moves us forward more than curiosity.” That is why it should be and become part of everyone's mindset!
Wissen
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New Work
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