Supporting role

REMOTE WORKING
Moving on to the next talk with Andrew Curtis, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager at Vodafone, the conversation turned to the pros and cons of the remote workforce. With the likes of the internet of things, smart buildings and 5G on the horizon, remote and agile working is set to drastically alter working life as we know it. “Companies must recognise that employees are at the heart of any business,” he stated. “Wellbeing must be made accessible to all employees, by getting support from the main boards and developing flexible schemes and solutions.”

But how do we develop these flexible working solutions?

FMJ spoke to Andrew Mawson, founder of Advanced Workplace Associates, to find out. He suggested that FMs keen to embrace a mobile work style need to consider a multitude of things when it comes to enabling people to work effectively and productively.

“Homeworkers need the right tools if they’re to work together with others,” he explained. “This doesn’t mean that you can simply chuck a mobile phone and a laptop their way and expect them to get on with it. If people aren’t used to videoconferencing or screen-sharing, for instance, then this will be a tricky transition. We all need encouragement and support when it comes to working in different ways.” Managers also need to facilitate the ways that team members can build relationships and maintain trust. “Despite the distance, you need to ensure you somehow tune into people’s lives.”

With the right tech and support infrastructure in place, remote working can offer flexible and often highly practical solutions to ensure you are securing the best workforce possible for your company. In the battle to hire top talent, flexible working is often top of a prospective employee’s priority list. Equally, however, working in an office comprised of creative and flexible spaces does counterbalance some disadvantages that remote workers face.

No matter how good your videoconferencing software, collaborative working really does require face-to-face communication and being in open creative spaces. It’s also important to create a sense of community, as remote working can lead to employees feeling isolated from the team – which can, in turn, impact wellbeing.

Following this was another panel debate on how to actually go about creating a great place to work. What does ‘great’ actually mean? Melanie Huke, Wellbeing Programme Manager at Google, stressed that “wellbeing means something different to each person,” so perhaps offering variety is the key: diverse initiatives, management approaches and workplace settings to support people in their roles. Leesman data certainly supports the latter; its research suggests employees are highly dissatisfied with the amount of variety on offer.

BACK TO BASICS
The discussions resulting from the Workplace Wellbeing and Stress Forum agenda suggested it’s about getting the basics right, rather than going mad with sleep pods, swings, games rooms, ping pong tables, beer taps and padded rooms. Neil Shah revealed the seven Es that should underpin a wellbeing strategy, helping FMs to get the basics right.

• Engage. You can fuel engagement by creating a work environment that is an inspiring place to be.
• Exemplify. You can exemplify this positive behaviour by leading from the top and practising what you preach.
• Empathy. If a workplace is designed and managed with people in mind, you’ll be able to empathise with your employees on a personal and professional level.
• Empower. Offering a variety of work settings and allowing people to choose a place that supports their needs will empower them to be the best that they can be.
• Encourage. People will then be encouraged to put the effort in if they enjoy working where they work.
• Embed. You need to embed the wellbeing agenda…
• Evaluate… and the only way to do this is to constantly review and evaluate the initiatives.

To prove the workplace is a factor in improving engagement, morale and productivity, FM and RE teams must engage with the people using the space. This involves being willing and able to work with multiple areas of the business to help each other achieve the same common goal – a positive and supportive workplace.

In the concluding talk of the day, Peter Kelly, a Senior Psychologist and Health and Safety Executive, expressed the idea that “control is a human emotion”, and argued that it’s natural to “want the ability to control pressure”. With that, ideally, comes control of our surroundings and environments.

Here is where the FM steps into the spotlight. An effective facilities manager can provide this desired sense of control and security, and, ultimately, support company-wide wellbeing. A business and the team within it can be seen like a bridge – it can only take so much weight before it collapses. So, if you have the right resources and support systems in place, your bridge will only get stronger and not buckle under pressure.