You’ve made the jump. You took the risk and have officially set out alone, swimming against the current in an overwhelming sea of large corporations. Your ideas get legs, even take flight, and your workload begins to demand an ever-growing crop of new talent. You beef up your compensation offerings and benefits packages. You move into a new space and add a slew of amenities to attract the best and brightest in the industry. What could possibly go wrong?
For companies experiencing rapid growth, work-life balance can be a challenge to maintain, yet it remains a vital aspect of a healthy work environment.
There is an opportunity to create social opportunities within the workplace, while offering simple gestures that allow employees to more efficiently accomplish day-to-day life, customized to each individual.
Our workplace team at LEO A DALY aims to shape physical environments to allow these features to thrive. However, at the end of the day, many amenities are truly operational in nature and rely heavily on an owner’s long-term commitment.
As you set out on your quest to provide every available amenity to your employees, it can be overwhelming. We recommend prioritizing your desired amenities and considering the following principles to help employees maintain a healthy balance.
Redefine the traditional view of work-life balance
We spend a lot of time in our jobs. The 40-hour work week no longer exists. In fact, in today’s workplace, there is no longer such a thing as “after work.” Employees’ lives can exist largely within the office, or they can work remotely from home with little-to-no direct interaction with their co-workers.
Definitions of work-life balance are numerous and vary widely. This balance has been traditionally perceived as having equal time committed to work, family, hobbies, outside social events, etc. – doing whatever it takes to accomplish all things for all people. However, this balance is truly individualized. It is driven by each person and will vary over time, sometimes every day. The right balance for one employee will seem absurd to someone else. The right balance today may be different tomorrow.
Most importantly, striking that perfect balance has undeniable health benefits. Overly stressed employees can become susceptible to workplace burnout, increasing the potential for disengagement, errors, accidents, sick leave and eventually high turnover rates. To combat stress, service-based amenities can help employees reduce demands on their time. Social amenities can brighten their days, providing interaction and engagement. When employees feel balanced (by their own definition), they will be happy, healthy, productive and a shining example to recruit new top talent.
Understand the difference between service-based and social amenities
Service-based amenities make life a little easier. They are conveniences that would otherwise take time away from our day. They allow life to happen outside the workplace.
- During site selection, plan for access to public transportation.
- Coordinate internal ridesharing programs.
- Offer powerful Wi-Fi for untethered collaborative working.
- Strategically arrange healthy food selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Provide reusable flatware, plates and water bottles with filling stations throughout.
- Provide a staff concierge service for mail service and package delivery/reception, dry cleaning, last-minute grocery needs, airport travel.
- Staff a full-time handyman to complete odds and ends at employees’ homes, reducing the stress of at-home coordination.
- Set aside space for dedicated lactation rooms for new mothers and quiet rooms for private matters, no questions asked.
- Investigate childcare options: internal daycares, subsidizing nearby daycare centers.
- Provide temporary pop-up specialties: barber, hair stylist, clinic/health assessment services.
Social amenities are engaging, bringing people together to create a vibrant work culture. They activate interaction between employees, and potentially invite the community to join the experience. Employees engaged in their community only strengthen your culture. They create life inside the workplace.
- Activate common break areas with nearby circulation and seating variety.
- Provide coffee and other beverage options in common spaces to start the morning.
- Boost Wi-Fi capacity, and allow connectivity to personal devices.
- Create large multi-purpose spaces and encourage use by community groups.
- Integrate spaces for activity: gym equipment, group fitness, multi-purpose space, outdoor walking trails.
- Offer access to an on-site staff trainer and instructed classes.
- Provide locker rooms with showers and changing facilities.
- Create recreation spaces with video games, simulators, pool tables, foosball, etc.
- Incorporate a theater room.
- Provide access to snacks and beverages, alcoholic and otherwise.
- Partner with local retailers for ground-level access to coffee shops, boutiques, eateries, etc.
Designing for balance
You know your people, and you are the subject matter expert as we begin our work. LEO A DALY’s workplace team has the privilege to listen and learn about a new process with each new client. Direct collaboration with you leads to design for the right variety of service-based and social amenities, customized to your specific workplace culture. We craft experiences and curated views of workplace features. We create spaces that are flexible to adapt to new trends.
As you grow, be smart and prioritize the conveniences you offer, find the right mix of service and social perks to fit your culture and encourage employees to break the mold as they find their perfectly customized work-life balance. Healthy employees make for healthy companies.
Related Stories
| Dec 27, 2014
'Core-first' construction technique cuts costs, saves time on NYC high-rise project
When Plaza Construction first introduced the concept of "core first" in managing the construction of a major office building, the procedure of pouring concrete prior to erecting a steel frame had never been done in New York City.
| Dec 19, 2014
Zaha Hadid unveils dune-shaped HQ for Emirati environmental management company
Zaha Hadid Architects released designs for the new headquarters of Emirati environmental management company Bee’ah, revealing a structure that references the shape and motion of a sand dune.
| Dec 18, 2014
In response to ultra-open and uber-collaborative office environments
Susan Cain’s bestselling 2012 book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking" has made an impact on how we understand our current workforce, recognizing that at least one-third of the people we work with are introverts, writes SRG Partnership's Susan Gust.
| Dec 12, 2014
COBE's striking 'concrete finned' scheme wins competition for Adidas' flagship building in Germany
Danish firm COBE has been announced the winner in a contest to design a new Adidas flagship building in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It beat out 29 other teams, including REX and Zaha Hadid.
| Dec 10, 2014
International Olympic Committee releases first images of new HQ in Switzerland
Designed by 3XN, the new headquarters is located within a park on the shores of Lake Geneva and adjacent to historic Château de Vidy, which has been the iconic home of the IOC.
| Dec 6, 2014
Future workplace designs shouldn’t need to favor one generation over another, says CBRE report
A new CBRE survey finds that what Millennials expect and need from offices doesn’t vary drastically from tenured employees.
| Dec 2, 2014
Nonresidential construction spending rebounds in October
This month's increase in nonresidential construction spending is far more consistent with the anecdotal information floating around the industry, says ABC's Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
| Nov 29, 2014
20 tallest towers that were never completed
Remember the Chicago Spire? What about Russia Tower? These are two of the tallest building projects that were started, but never completed, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The CTBUH Research team offers a roundup of the top 20 stalled skyscrapers across the globe.
| Nov 26, 2014
U.S. Steel decides to stay in Pittsburgh, plans new HQ near Penguins arena
The giant steelmaker has agreed to move into a new headquarters that is slated to be part of a major redevelopment.
| Nov 25, 2014
Behnisch Architekten unveils design for energy-positive building in Boston
The multi-use building for Artists For Humanity that is slated to be the largest energy positive commercial building in New England.