Companies must be more than just bread and butter providers

Under certain circumstances, they may look for a new job. What needs to be considered in order to reconcile both areas and why, in addition to a good corporate culture, the quality of the office workplace is important.

Many employees want to continue working from home on a regular basis and only come into the office occasionally. This is also confirmed by studies: A survey conducted by the personnel services provider Randstad Germany in October 2021 found that 54% of employees value a good work-life balance when choosing an employer, and 46% missed their colleagues during the home office phases of the coronavirus lockdowns. sixty-three percent are staying with their employer because they appreciate the working atmosphere, and 56 percent because they can easily combine work and leisure time. When it comes to flexibility in the workplace, 63 percent of respondents would like a job with flexible hours, and 32 percent prefer a combination of working in the office and working from home; only 9 percent want to work exclusively from home (source: Randstad New Work Trend Report).

Companies must ensure that employees who frequently work from home at their own request are not disadvantaged compared to colleagues who regularly come to the office. This applies to training opportunities and career prospects as well as participation in important decisions and the important informal communication that takes place in the workplace. It is important to prevent employees who work predominantly remotely from being overlooked or feeling like freelancers.

Studies show that employees who work from home a lot have low company loyalty and are at risk of quitting and changing jobs. This fact is a headache for all HR managers. In addition to low loyalty and a high willingness to change jobs, many companies suffer from a shortage of skilled workers, which often extends across all departments and levels.

The corporate culture must therefore respond to these changing circumstances and work on employee retention, among other things. To achieve this, the company must be more than just a "bread and butter" employer. In the future, the office must be even more of a place for social interaction, where employees feel comfortable because they have a modern workplace with good air conditioning and lighting and a flawless technical infrastructure. Employees appreciate being able to enjoy a varied range of restaurants with their colleagues in the neighborhood during their lunch break and having special areas for their respective activities: individual offices for concentrated work, soundproof booths for longer phone calls, and meeting rooms for customer appointments and team meetings. In addition, the office grapevine is an important bonding tool and promotes exchange among and with employees.

Placing desks next to each other in a functional room creates rigid working structures in terms of time and space: that's a thing of the past. A new generation of employees with higher expectations of self-fulfillment and the relevance of their work is forcing companies to rethink their approach. If they fail to do so, they will lose the "war for talent."

Managers need to develop and live a mindset that embraces new work ideas. This includes, among other things, being more responsive to employees' needs, such as flexible working hours, lifelong learning, and continuing education. Personal exchanges between employees in the office give rise to new ideas and solutions that would not come to mind when brooding alone in a home office. Joint sports activities on the company premises or events help to foster a sense of identity. The office should be a place where you can reaffirm your commitment to the company's values and loyalty and recharge your batteries with new impressions and ideas that can be implemented in your home office.

"More and more companies are realizing this after two years of the pandemic. They are now more willing to invest in the quality and furnishings of their office space in order to offer their employees added value in the workplace," explains Uwe Mortag, managing director of Larbig & Mortag Immobilien in Cologne. "Against this backdrop, we are seeing HR managers from companies more frequently attending meetings and viewings to look for space. This is because many concepts that are necessary for a modern corporate culture go hand in hand with specific space requirements," adds the real estate expert. As an example, he cites extra space where employees can work out, either indoors or outdoors, such as on the building's roof terrace. Such areas must be available and their use must be permitted. In his experience, changing rooms and showers must also be considered. Job bikes, e-bike charging stations, a bistro in the office building with outdoor seating, and a creative room are also increasingly in demand. The offering is rounded off by an in-house parcel station, a room for food delivery services, and a neighborhood app for employee communication.

In short, the space requirement remains roughly the same, but is being reweighted. In more and more companies, employees who do not come in every day no longer have a fixed desk. Instead, they book a free workspace in advance. The space saved is used to create more space for meetings and discussions. Such concepts are particularly interesting when several office tenants share common areas in an office campus or quarter and organize events together, such as a regular food market.