Budget-friendly ideas to start your workplace transformation

First published on COMUNiTI, April 2024

Struggling to figure out how to improve your workspace with limited funds?

I understand the challenge of upgrading existing spaces on a tight budget. In my line of work, I’m often met with this remark: “...but I don’t have a million dollars to redesign the space!” 

Fear not! 

Here are some creative and budget-friendly ideas to kickstart your workplace transformation. 

 OPTIMISE THE BASICS

• Never underestimate the power of a good de-clutter and clean! Clear unnecessary items from filing cabinets, shelves and corridors, organise storage spaces and streamline work areas. You’ll be amazed at how much extra space you’ll feel like you’ve gained. Engage employees by turning the cleanup into a team activity or competition.
• Feel like a Meerkat every time you poke your head over a high partition? Consider removing bulky...

What’s the right solution for you?

First published on COMUNiTI, March 2024

As a workplace strategist I often get asked: "What's the best flexible work option: hot-desking, activity-based work or hybrid work?"

The answer isn't straightforward, and what I have learned is that people tend to use the terms interchangeably when they are all very different things.

Hot-desking:

Hot-desking became popular in the early 2000s when laptops and wireless connectivity meant employees didn’t have to work from a fixed desk.

My verdict:

I am not a fan of hot-desking. No matter how it might be ‘sold’ to employees, hot-desking is really about cramming more people into less space without any added amenities.

Activity-based work (ABW):

ABW and hot-desking often get confused, but they are not the same thing. ABW has surged in popularity in recent years as hand-held devices and cloud-based apps enabled even more work flexibility. Technology aside, ABW is also being...

As I step into the new year, I’ve been reflecting on this question:

“If we are still talking about whether or not people need to return to the office in 2024,
are we having the right conversation?”

I’m looking forward to a different type of conversation this year — one that looks beyond where we work and focuses equally on what we need to be our best and do our best work.

The latest Thriving Workplace report, released by SuperFriend, helps shine a light on the path forward.

SuperFriend facilitates Australia’s largest annual corporate mental health survey, with 10,000 employees taking part, and the results provide an impressive Thriving Workplace Index. The Index highlights the industries that are making inroads to provide environments where employees can thrive, and over the past year, those that made the largest improvements were Mining and Real Estate.

So, what can we learn from them?

According to the report, focusing on five key domains helps...

Has the workplace pendulum swung back towards the office?

*Cue the drumroll please*… another workplace trend has been coined: the new remote.

My disdain for catchphrases aside , I too am observing the ‘new remote’ phenomenon.

Essentially, it means that working from home (or a third place) 100% of the time is becoming a lot less common, with hybrid work patterns finding a more permanent place in our days, weeks, and months. In most of the organisations that I’m working with, employees are finding their way back into the office 2 to 3 days a week [a stat that has been supported in the latest Thriving Workplace Survey from Super Friend].

In my opinion, a few things are contributing to the ‘new remote’:

• Human nature: we are ultimately social creatures and we crave connection. So while working at home is great for deep, concentrative work, and some solitude, many employees come to realise that doing it 100% of the time leads to feelings of...

Can we rehumanise the workplace and still work remotely?

First published on COMUNiTI, October 2023

Many organisations continue to question their position on hybrid work. And it’s understandable, given that it’s such a multifaceted challenge.

On one hand, leaders are thinking about what’s best for the business:

  Are people productive when they work at home?

  What does hybrid work mean for our investment in office space?

  If people don’t work from the office full-time, should they still ‘own’ a desk?

And on the other hand, they’re considering what’s best for employees:

  If we introduce a ‘number of in-office days’ policy, does it erode trust and trigger turnover?

  How do we balance the need for individual flexibility and team connection?

  What impact is hybrid work having on culture?

As they ponder these questions and more, they often ask COMUNiTI for our insights. And while...

Down the East Coast of Australia and in the West, I’ve had some really interesting conversations with business leaders lately, as we navigate the workplace dynamics that are emerging in our post-pandemic world. 

Here are two trends that I’m observing, and they are consuming many workplace strategy conversations right now, particularly as organisations are acutely focused on managing psychosocial risks.

Workplace Dynamic #1:  Digital collaboration continues, but IRL

What’s happening?

Meetings are continuing to happen on Teams or Zoom, despite the fact that all the people who need to be at the meeting are in the same office. That’s right! People are logging onto digital platforms with their noise-canceling headphones to collaborate when they might be sitting just a couple of seats or rows away from each other.

Why it’s happening

When I dig into this dynamic, teams tell me that it’s driven by two key things:

• Firstly, office noise....

Every year I set an intention — one word that sums up how I plan to experience the year ahead. That word becomes my north star and helps guide decisions about where I invest my time and energy.

In 2022, my word was ‘spaciousness’.

And with good reason! I was a pregnant Mum of two, getting ready to welcome child number four into our blended family, and I was also at the helm of a growing business with a fully booked schedule and a small team.

I couldn’t have been happier and more grateful. But I also felt like I couldn’t breathe from the pressure (and probably from a growing baby pressing against my ribs!).

I needed to create space — space to take maternity leave and be present in my baby bubble in those very precious early weeks, and space for my team to step up and continue delivering client projects and growing the business… or so I thought.

Here are my lessons and top tips for planning to take maternity leave or an extended break from...

Picture this: you’re meandering down a winding path. The air is heavy with an earthy fragrance. You can feel the temperature cooling your skin as you move through the rainforest. There’s a mosaic of dappled shadows on the mossy forest floor, created by the light as it peeks through the green canopy above. The background noise dampens. Your heart rate slows. You take a deep breath. 

Where did you picture yourself? In the Daintree Rainforest? 

What if I told you this experience is a reality for more than 300 employees who work at New Zealand’s biggest litigation firm, in the middle of Auckland’s CBD?

It’s an impressive example of how biophilic design is becoming a mainstream strategy to support employee wellbeing in the workplace. 

Nestled among the Meredith Connell high-rise offices, is a temperature-controlled 2-storey glass terrarium, designed to emulate the native New Zealand rainforest experience. There are meeting rooms and sitting...

Just a few weeks ago I was putting yellow smarties on a lime-green dinosaur cake to celebrate my little guy's 1st birthday! Today I'm cake decorating again (minus the lime-green ) because COMUNiTI turns 10! 

To celebrate our 10 year milestone we created a series to showcase the awesome people who have shared in our journey. It’s been so rewarding — not only reflecting on everything we’ve achieved — but also thinking deeply about the next 10 years and what lies ahead for COMUNiTI and how we will continue to influence our human experience of work. 

It may have taken 100 years and a global pandemic to redefine the notion of ‘work’ and ‘workplace’, but I believe there are so many more fascinating changes just around the corner.

For example, research has shown a significant causal relationship between open-plan office noise and physiological stress. In parallel, other studies are putting forward a strong and measurable...

I don't want to use the word 'pivot'. It's so overused. But I will, because you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

The global pandemic forced many in the commercial design industry to pivot. 
 

• What happens if people no longer ‘go’ to work?
• What if corporate property portfolios are no longer needed?
• What value do we bring if we’re not building anything?

At COMUNiTI we’d been exploring these outer edges of the industry for a while — we were delivering workplace strategies that pushed beyond office design, and that saw us collaborating with HR and Finance departments to address a mix of interconnected challenges — performance, people, property, profitability.

But the pandemic gave one almighty push in redefining mainstream definitions of ‘work’ and ‘workplace’, and if I’m honest, it has really elevated the discourse between the corporate world and commercial designers.

Clients we work with are often...