WELLBEING
surgery and healthcare costs for family and even pets. Cambridge Consultants, meanwhile, provides free meals that get people together, as well as Thursday and Friday evening drinks on the company’s rooftop bar. “It’s all about fostering these relationships and friendships that are so important in a working environment,” says Alison. The way a building looks and feels and the facilities it offers can also make a major contribution to workers’ wellbeing, says Colin Brown, director of portfolio development at the Howard Group. The Works, the group’s ambitious development in south Cambridgeshire, is currently taking shape. Its 63,000 sq ft of flexible, modern business space incorporates worker-friendly features like a full- height, six-metre wide atrium, flooding the building with natural light. “Research from the World Green Building Council tells us workers who have a view of the outside are likely to be up to 25%more productive,”
he says. There will also be break-out areas, amenity spaces and individual office suites. “It will offer the best of both worlds,” he says. “Self-contained offices with their own front door, coupled with exceptional shared spaces for teamworking, networking and relaxation.” At Incubyte, where budding entrepreneurs and early stage planned to make it a thoroughly inviting space. In addition to sit-stand desks, balance stools and anti-fatigue mats, there’s a gym and spa, and a cafe and bistro, with a nursery on the way. For anyone doubting whether wellbeing initiatives work, companies have the research to prove it. Redgate and Cambridge Consultants both survey workers regularly to measure the impact their initiatives are having, while workers helped by Dyslexia Box companies work alongside like-minded businesses on a membership basis, the working environment has been carefully
say, according to informal feedback, that the support has made a huge difference to their productivity, morale and relationships with colleagues. Perhaps even more significant is the fact that, while many staff would once have kept problems to themselves, they’re increasingly open about raising them, not just when they have an issue, but later on, as a way of helping others who may be experiencing similar difficulties. At Cambridge Consultants, there’s a transparent culture that benefits everyone. “You’ve just got to give people every opportunity to be heard,” says Alison. “Many do come and talk to us and we openly encourage that.” Speak up and, in some workplaces, says Ben at Redgate, there’s the sense that it’s the end of your career. “Here,” he explains, “it’s seen differently – as an experience you’ve gained, which, if anything, will help you in the future, because you will recognise the signs in other people.”
LEFT The Works, in the south Cambridgeshire countryside, offers lots of worker- friendly features
23
ISSUE 03
cambridgecatalyst.co.uk
Powered by FlippingBook