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| Maybe we could try to be more empathetic to each other. Would that make us perform better? |
On the
latter part of Worktech 2015, Kelly gave an inspiring show on the vibe at the
workplace. She discussed the importance of hospitality, heart, soul and
healthiness in the workplace culture. Commencing with a dancing session and a
yoga show-off, she ensured everybody believed that yoga and mindfulness
exercises are coming to the workplace. Kylie Bishop continued with focus on the
health issues in her presentation of the user-engaging thrive journey they made
in designing and relocating their Medibank staff into a brand new building. A
more scientific approach to health was provided by David Dunstan who provided
reliable evidence on the striking affects sitting has in triggering sicknesses
and even death.
Is empathetic
community facilitation the future of facilities management? Community and
engagement were discussed by the last four presenters: Dermot Egan, Frank
Rexach, Caroline McLaren and David Firth. All had the similar kind of main
message: community is the core of any working environment and all we can do is
to empower that core through facilitation and support. Caroline McLaren asked
by the end of her Liberated work talk whether we would be willing to pay for
our work day arguing that we are moving from workplace services towards
workplace experiences. David Firth ended the conference in clichy but important
words: “Work is love made visible. And in case no one has yet said it to you
today, I love you.”
Are we really shifting from
hard real estate to soft community business? All the presenters emphasized the
empathetic and soft side of the traditionally hard engineering-based real
estate and building industry. The decision power in the demand side of the coin
seems to be extensively shifting to the individuals, who can find the services
that match the demands of the personal networks they work in. The Hollywood
model of working will enable individuals to shop between the jobs and fulfill
their own demands on the go, which is why companies need to be alert and
prepare themselves for fluid mobility, both in terms of real estate and staff.
If the
presenters are to be believed in order for a company to succeed, an increasing
emphasis should be put on community engagement and wellbeing of the workforce.
Combined with the low vacancy and utilization rates of the current premises,
does this mean a straight transformation of chunk of the facilities budget to
human resources?
