Getting to know your office space
Peter Townshend is the MD of workplace research and intelligence company Know More. He tells Margaret Harris that better-designed workspaces can lead to happier, healthier and more productive employees
What does your work involve?
We are dedicated to understanding how offices perform, and how we can better design workspaces to become places where employees are productive, as well as happy and healthy. Tell me about the Know More Workplace Indicator.
This is an online survey that we launched this month to gather information on how South Africans interact with their workspace. We want to know what South Africans like and dislike about their workspaces, how they work and how they want to work in the future. We want to provide companies with in-depth data on South African employees and workspaces, so that we can design better offices by putting the employee first. In terms of office design, what is activity-based work?
This is a new way of working that looks at designing offices based on the type of activity employees perform and matching that with the type of space that best enhances this activity. This translates to an ownerless environment where no one has a dedicated workspace, but rather chooses the accommodation type that best suits the work they need to perform.
This gives all employees access to quiet working spaces, collaboration zones, work lounges, telephone booths, war rooms, chill rooms and more — thus increasing mobility.
It has been shown to markedly improve productivity, wellbeing and engagement. What are some of the trends we are likely to see affecting the workplace in the next five to 10 years?
Ten years? That would take some Nostradamus-like powers of prediction, and I say that simply because of how quickly technology is moving. Having said that, however, there are some basic assumptions that we can make. I think the office is going to be completely redefined. An office is no longer going to be a place to go and work, but rather a place where you go to collaborate or to use specialised equipment.
Work will be done off-site, which is cheaper for the company and more satisfying for the employee. I see this as being the most significant change. This will be the decade of mobility.
I also see that as we get to this point, organisations are going to pay far more attention to their employees’ needs and desires. The old draconian management styles are dying and companies now realise that their most important asset is their employees — and the space their employees inhabit is hugely influential. How does South Africa compare with other countries in terms of how workplaces are organised?
There is no doubt that we are behind Europe and the US in our thinking around workspace. The one reason for this is that we have always had the luxury of available space at low cost. This is changing now, and the gap is narrowing.
We still encounter many companies that hang on to outdated management beliefs and lack the ability to see the benefits of new ways of working.
There is lots of work to be done here, which is one of the reasons that we are launching the workplace indicator survey. What is a sustainable workplace?
When we hear the word “sustainability”, we think of the environment, but it is so much more than this. A sustainable workplace is one that takes into consideration its effect on the environment, the community and the staff who work within it. This means a healthy understanding of the organisation’s growth and future, which is seen as part of an ecosystem that includes everything and everyone around it. And its connection with productivity?
There is a wealth of research that links sustainability to productivity. By definition, a sustainable workspace increases productivity, as well as improving wellbeing, satisfaction and attracting and retaining talent. What did you study, and how does it help you do what you do?
My undergraduate degree is in journalism and psychology, while my postgraduate degree is in romanticism — just what you need for the corporate world!
I like to think that both degrees taught me critical thinking and analysis. Romanticism helped me realise that the philosophies of literature are not that far removed from the philosophies of business, and the most successful companies are the ones that understand that there is more to success than profits. What did you want to be when you were a child?
The Brain — as in Pinky and the
Brain! What do you most enjoy about your job?
I enjoy the analysis — understanding how big data can translate into real changes for individuals in an organisation.
I love that moment when our solution is presented to CEOs and they understand it — they truly get the link between their space and their people and want to make sure that their space enhances the wellbeing of their staff.