flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Balancing the work-life balance

Office Buildings

Balancing the work-life balance

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.


By Leslie Suhr, Architect, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador, LEO A Daly | February 3, 2020

AJ Brown Photography

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

Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2014

9 mega redevelopments poised to transform the urban landscape

Slowed by the recession—and often by protracted negotiations—some big redevelopment plans are now moving ahead. Here’s a sampling of nine major mixed-use projects throughout the country. 

| Jan 2, 2014

Sacramento utility maintenance facility earns LEED Platinum, targets net zero

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s new maintenance facility, which is targeting net zero, has received LEED Platinum certification.

| Dec 31, 2013

BD+C's top 10 stories of 2013

The world's tallest twisting tower and the rise of augmented reality technology in construction were among the 10 most popular articles posted on Building Design+Construction's website, BDCnetwork.com.

| Dec 23, 2013

First Look: KPF's dual-tower design for Ziraat Bank in Istanbul

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is designing a new headquarters for Turkey’s largest and oldest financial institution, Ziraat Bank, in a modern, suburban district of Istanbul. 

| Dec 20, 2013

Can energy hogs still be considered efficient buildings? Yes, say engineers at Buro Happold

A new tool from the engineering firm Buro Happold takes into account both energy and economic performance of buildings for a true measure of efficiency. 

| Dec 16, 2013

Major renovation for historic Northwestern Building in Minneapolis

Minneapolis’s Northwestern Building, originally built in 1914 as a glass factory, is undergoing a major renovation. The 85,000-sf, four-story building is now serves as office space for multiple tenants in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood.

| Dec 13, 2013

Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety

From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies. 

| Dec 10, 2013

16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.

| Dec 4, 2013

First look: Dubai's winning bid for World Expo 2020 [slideshow]

Dubai has been chosen as the site of the 2020 World Expo. HOK led the design team that developed the master plan for the Expo, which is expected to draw more than 25 million visitors from October 2020 through April 2021.

| Dec 4, 2013

Meet the 'world's greenest building': One Angel Square

The 500,000 sf, 14-story One Angel Square in Manchester, England, is being promoted as "the most environmentally-friendly building in the world."

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021