The green office effect

While it might be true that currently everyone wants to have multi-functional Google-like offices – and for all the usual reasons (including convincing employees of the company’s progressive attitude to improving its image), this sort of green, up-to-date fit-out is certainly not the last word when it comes to addressing the needs of the modern worker. In its latest study, premiered at the Eurobuild CEE conference, Savills has found that the essential elements of the ideal workplace tend to be rather more mundane: almost half of the people surveyed said that the most important thing for them in the office is their own desk, while 31 pct of respondents insisted that they would have better working conditions at home. Only 4 pct felt that common areas were the best possible places to work. At the same time, a staggering 91 pct of people said that workplace comfort contributes the most to their wellbeing at work. This was followed by such traditional factors as lighting (87 pct), temperature (87 pct), noise (85 pct), smell (82 pct), space (78 pct) and office design/greenery (64 pct). Such responses reveal a clear schism between what today’s workers expect to get and what they are actually being offered at work.
According to CBRE, only12 pct of office buildings in Poland are currently either green-certified or in the process of obtaining such certification. However, as pointed out by the constructors, developers and facility managers speaking at the conference, constructing a green building, which now comes at relatively low cost and effort, is only halfway to a green paradise.
The real hard work starts when it comes to using the green building in the most effective way, as this is often hindered by tenants lacking a ‘green mind-set’. In the end, buildings are like any other products: their ultimate efficiency depends on user behaviour. Most building certifications can only confirm that the project is being developed along environmental guidelines and has the potential to provide a positive change.
For this reason, to be fully operational and profitable, green projects require long-term initiatives to educate users on how to profit from green innovations. But the task might not be as easy as arranging a few training sessions. The readiness to embrace green thinking broadly depends on the company’s organisational culture, its openness to dialogue with employees and the way this is being channelled. Importantly, the issue also poses a significant
challenge for architects and constructors, who need to bear in mind that although every certified building is green, not every green building will work for every single tenant.
Certainly, while some companies or departments are modernising their offices mainly to attract and retain the best talent on the market, others will do so to save money through the optimisation of the space leased or the reduced absenteeismit brings. But an increased number of tenants are now looking for green office space for its added social and corporate value, which means something more than just a few more bike stands and a bit more comfort at work. As some of the participants of the conference argued, moving into green premises provides a unique opportunity for an upgrade in the quality of a company’s offices, as well as the chance to transform it into a more transparent and democratic organisation. However, according to others at the event, the development of the green mind-set is not a matter of corporations changing their premises and habits, but on entire communities changing their ways of thinking. The one sure thing is that green office solutions are now less about cost-cutting and business output on their own, and more about social trust, cooperation with local communities and looking after your reputation. ν AK