EDITORIAL COMMENT
APRIL 2019 3
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Editorial steering committee
Stephen Bursi, Facilities Lead, BAE Systems
Simon Francis, Principal Lead, Estates and Masterplanning, ZSL
Lucy Hind, Facilities Director, Covance Laboratories
Alan Hutchinson, Facilities Director, Howard Kennedy LLP
Tony King, Head of Facilities, Historic Royal Palaces
Darren Miller, Head of EMEA Facilities Operations, PayPal
Charles Siddons, Head of Operations, NHS Property Services
Vicky Thorp, Head of Facilities Management, CLSH Management
Stephen Vagg, Director of Global Real Estate & Facilities, Molson Coors
Ian Wade, Head of UK Estates, British Medical Association
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Providing a comfortable and safe environment for
occupants has always gone to the heart of successful
facilities management. However, in recent years,
the responsibility for wellbeing at work to help drive
performance has moved up the FM agenda.
That makes for a challenging balancing act, as the widespread
adoption of the open plan o ice and the growing popularity of
co-working spaces has led to growing concerns about its e ects
on workers’ health. Open plan o ices are frequently pilloried for
not enabling people to concentrate which say its critics, could be
detrimental to their performance and their health.
However, new research from the Gensler Research Institute
has shown that the open plan o ice isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
It found that people don’t want to revert back to the traditional
cellular o ice layout, but prefer mainly open environments
alongside a variety of spaces that include private spaces where they
can go work in quiet.
Not everyone can bag a quiet room however, which can cause
problems. According to Environmental Psychologist and Workplace
Strategist Dr Nigel Oseland, who recently presented the results of
the report, ‘Noise and Wellbeing at Work 2019’, (see news) noise in
the o ice consistently comes up in the top three factors that a ect
people’s wellbeing – along with temperature and air quality.
Dr Oseland’s suggestions on ways to counter these problems
echo that of the Gensler report. Try to provide a workplace which
addresses individual di erences. For instance, extroverts are more
tolerant or even seek out noisier environments, whereas introverts
who tend to do more concentrated work need calmer, subdued
environments.
The Gensler report also recommends the provision of quiet/tech
free zones. This is similar to a prediction made by Mike Gedye of
CBRE at this month’s London IWFM conference who suggested a
‘digital free zone’ could soon be a staple of the workplace. In other
words, in the not too distant future, work could be the place where
you come to disconnect and unwind.
As always, we’d welcome your feedback about any aspect of the
magazine, together with your insight into what’s happening in
the FM sector.
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