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Home / Designing To Build Trust In The Workplace
How does trust fuel our best work? In a recent blog on the new workplace, our Global Director of Design John Hamilton discussed the importance of trust within today’s organizations. Connecting on a deeper level enables employees to solve the most difficult and demanding challenges in modern work more efficiently, quickly and creatively. In this month’s design news aggregate, we dive deeper into designing for trust.
Nurturing relationships in the office is essential for promoting a culture of trust. One way to do this is by creating warm, welcoming spaces that invite the exchange of ideas across teams, specialties and generations. Work Design Magazine proposes increasing opportunities for social engagement by designing an office that offers the chance for “casual collisions” and spontaneous get-togethers.
Companies are taking this concept seriously: the new HQ of Takeda Pharmaceuticals features a multipurpose lounge floor “to relax, work out or hold voluntary group activities.” Moreover, Gensler highlights how Adobe’s headquarters encourage interaction and establish a feeling of community.
Work Design Magazine explores research underscoring the importance and intensity of relationships in the modern work environment – noting that places where people can “get to know each other at both personal and task levels” are a key part of relationship development in the office. The impact is clear: sharing ideas and connecting with colleagues in meaningful ways helps create a supportive, trusting workplace.
We’ve explored the importance of having fun at work on our blog before. Encouraging fun in the office is closely associated with positivity and is especially important for Generation Z.
AllWork.Space outlines several key findings from new research on the younger workforce: “65% of Gen Z feel a fun environment is essential for a good company culture compared with 22% of Baby Boomers (those aged 55+). 81% think social and communal areas are important in workplace facilities, and 70% say it is important to them to work with colleagues of different ages and differing levels of experience.” Moreover, On Office Magazine suggests that younger workers are “blurring the lines between work and fun spaces at the office.”
Re-imagining the workplace to promote fun, conversation and connection helps build trust across age groups and backgrounds – which will be especially important in an increasingly multi-generational workforce. Explore the changing workplace demographics on our blog.
Organizations that support out of the box thinking demonstrate a certain level of trust in employees – a shared sense of support that encourages people to take risks and innovate. To cultivate creativity, On Office Magazine shares tips from Steelcase, including: “seek out stimulating inspirational environments” – such as spaces with high ceilings or vast views. On Office Magazine also highlights insights from Senior Workplace Consultant Zoe Humphries, noting the transition toward “workplaces that are more like creative studios – an ecosystem of spaces designed to inspire and support people and the technologies that can make their work easier.”
Creativity and innovation often involve risk-taking, and workplaces that welcome these endeavors through inspirational, stimulating and diverse settings help to establish a culture of trust.
“Social connection and trust are subtle elements to design for, but they are the future of how we can think about improving the experience of being at work,” says John Hamilton.
The latest industry news supports this perspective. Metropolis Magazine delves into research from McKinsey & Company, adding that “companies who invest in good design reap major fiscal rewards.”
Designing for the new workplace – which includes decisions that invest in people, promote trust and support social connection and creativity – not only creates a more impactful workplace experience, it also affects the bottom line for forward-thinking organizations.
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