No one can ignore the fact that we are living in exciting, or at least astonishing, times in many respects. Whether in the political or economic spheres, or even in our private lives and relationships.
We have reached a stage where substance and content have (very often) been swept aside in favour of form and packaging. We don’t seem to have enough time to listen, discuss and argue: a 90-second video on social media goes viral, and the “like” and “dislike” are part of everyday life for most of the population. Whether you like it or not is not the point…
The more optimistic will readily point out that “as long as you’re drunk, it doesn’t matter what bottle you’re in”, while the more cautious see it as a form of headlong rush in the face of the world’s challenges, a crass distortion of discourse and a simplification of argument that reduces Men with a capital ‘M’ to a form of intellectual impoverishment.
Of course, it is essential to give form to speeches, comments, and exchanges, as this is part of our civility and savoir-vivre. But form should not be at the expense of content. There is so much to write about in this area, but we’re focusing on workspaces.
For some 15-20 years now, large companies and SMEs have been adapting their workspaces to meet specific needs. They often cite digitalisation, financial burdens, transformations of premises and spaces and the wishes of employees.
It’s worth highlighting the diversity of the solutions adopted in terms of workspaces, even if the same broad outlines can be found almost everywhere. That’s not the issue, it’s the fact of supporting and motivating the implementation and respecting certain rules in terms of relationships, behaviour, and management.
Put another way, design may be ‘trendy’ for a few weeks, but it’s the fundamental issues that matter beyond that:
• Has there been a positive change in the way the company and its relationships work?
• Has there been an improvement in the quality and pace of exchanges between employees and between the various levels of the company?
• Have we made progress in the areas of human and customer relations, time, and the location of exchanges?
• Have we become more efficient, more flexible not only financially but also in human terms, more resilient, more responsive?
• Do our processes and activities make sense for our employees and customers?
Many companies avoid questioning the fundamentals when changing their workspaces: our experience shows that this is a mistake that pays off in the long run. Taking a holistic approach to workspaces often makes it possible to examine underlying aspects that are important to the company, such as objectives, values, principles, strengths, and weaknesses.
In short, greenwashing workspaces is hardly advisable, because beyond the short-term “packaging” appeal, there are fundamental questions that staff are bound to ask themselves very quickly: change starts in the mind and, ultimately, it’s the whole business model that is impacted.
We hope you enjoy reading this and look forward to seeing you soon.