The role of the office environment is not to be under estimated study reveals.
The real estate market is continually adapting. More is expected from the finished product from the level of finish to the services made available. Increasing number of residential homes use modern technology to enhance the resident’s life. At the workplace there is more importance than ever before on the environment to satisfy employees.
JLL have identified the importance of this as illustrated through their recent report ‘Workplace powered by Human Experience’. The real estate firm looked at how the workplace experience enhances employees lives for the benefit of the success of the business. Employees actually need to feel good to achieve the best possible work-life balance.
Neil Murray, EMEA CEO of corporate solutions at JLL, said, “In a world increasingly driven by data and digital innovation, the future of work is actually more about people than you might think. Organisations can no longer focus only on providing space to work; they need to create places that enable people to achieve their ambitions. Appealing to what people want can have transformational benefits to businesses.”Report findings
Findings from the report
Looking at companies with in excess of 100 employees, JLL surveyed companies from 12 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Americas. They drew the following points:
- ‘Happiness at work’ is important for nearly 70 percent of those who participated in the study.
- Having someone dedicated entirely to employee well-being was a good idea according to nearly 90 percent of respondents.
- Despite the numbers working in the start-up environment being low, this type of working has proved to be appealing due to the entrepreneurial culture they adopt.
- Less than 50 percent felt engaged at work. Trust and kindness were common factors in trying to achieve the feeling of engagement.
- Just over half of employees felt entirely satisfied with their current work environment.
- 42 percent stated that they would prefer open-plan offices as opposed to the traditional set up of personal desks.
- Employees strive for flexibility. Nearly half of employees want companies to give them a choice on how, when and where they work to in order to help concentration at work.
In an increasingly competitive business environment companies need to take note of these findings. Staff turnover can be costly. Therefore it is vital that firms keep their employees happy with job satisfaction that is more than just salary and progression. Likewise to keep recruiting talent, the workplace needs to entice employees and to aid in productivity.