November 24, 2021
Search Results for: morale
November 24, 2021
More than half of employers feel they don’t know their employees
by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working culture
More than half of the nation’s employers (53 percent) feel that they don’t know their employees even slightly well on a personal level, claims a new office worker survey. More →
November 12, 2021
Three in four IT departments face critical skills gaps
by Jayne Smith • News, Technology
Skillsoft (NYSE: SKIL), has released its annual Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report, exploring the current state of skills gaps, training and development, compensation, and job satisfaction in the IT industry. More →
November 11, 2021
Going with the flow in the way we work
by Mark Eltringham • Features, Workplace design
Throughout history we’ve been aware of the state we now refer to as flow. It describes the sensation of existing purely in the moment of some activity, effortlessly achieving what we have set out to achieve and unaware of distractions. Mystics have described it as ecstasy, artists as rapture and athletes as in the zone. This state was first described as flow by the Hungarian psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in 1975 and has been developed by him and a wide range of other researchers in a number of fields since that time.
The essential characteristic of flow is an individual’s total and enjoyable absorption in an activity to the point that they lose a sense of space and time. It is related to focus but it is not the same. Flow is a state of transcendence and it is just as important in office design as any other domain of human activity.
The idea has been widely talked about as a desirable state in which to complete work, especially creative tasks. Indeed, the idea of heightened states while engaged in tasks predates the work of Csíkszentmihályi. Perhaps the best-known organisational psychologist of all time Abraham Maslow coined the term peak experience to describe intensely joyous and exciting moments. In these moments, we feel more whole, integrated, aware of ourselves and deeply happy. Maslow described them as those “moments of highest happiness and fulfilment” in his 1964 work Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences. He linked them to the idea of self-actualisation from his famous Hierarchy of Needs.
Flow is more common at work
Such moments are more likely when we are at work than in other periods of our lives and are relatively common. According to an article by Csíkszentmihályi published in Psychology Today, in a survey of 6,469 Germans, when asked how often they entered a flow state: 23 percent said often; 40 percent said sometimes; 25 percent said rarely; and 12 percent said never or don’t know.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Organisations should seek to develop activities, cultures and environments that make it easier for people to enter flow states[/perfectpullquote]
His own research using more objective methods found that work was better suited to the creation of flow states than passive activities such as watching television, leading him to conclude that ‘work is much more like a game than most other things we do during the day. It usually has clear goals and rules of performance. It provides feedback either in the form of knowing that one has finished a job well done, in terms of measurable sales or through an evaluation by one’s supervisor. A job tends to encourage concentration and prevent distractions, and ideally, its difficulties match the worker’s skills.’
Csikszentmihályi argues that organisations should seek to develop activities, cultures and environments that make it easier for people to enter flow states in their work. This isn’t just about making them more productive and more likely to have good ideas, although those are two of the most important outcomes. In his 2003 book Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning, Csikszentmihályi argues that fostering flow states improves morale by creating a sense of greater happiness and accomplishment. He looks at how flow states are essential for the creation of ‘good work’ in which you enjoy the feelings of “doing your best while at the same time contributing to something beyond yourself.” He also highlights the importance of regular feedback as an essential ingredient for the fostering of flow states.
For this reason, flow is not just an important goal for the individual. Because it contributes to organisational goals such as higher productivity, better ideas and improved morale, it can improve the overall performance of the organisation and encourage greater collaboration.
Csikszentmihályi concludes that there are three conditions for the creation of flow states at work:
• One must be involved in an activity with a clear set of goals and progress. This adds direction and structure to the task.
• The task at hand must have clear and immediate feedback. This helps the person negotiate any changing demands and allows them to adjust their performance to maintain the flow state.
• One must have a good balance between the perceived challenges of the task at hand and their own perceived skills. One must have confidence in one’s ability to complete the task at hand.
Designing for flow
There are several characteristics of an office environment that can encourage flow states and meet these prerequisites. The ability to focus and work free from distraction is perhaps the most obvious, but so too are the creation of an enjoyable working culture, strong bonds with colleagues, immediate feedback on tasks, an affinity with each job and regular communication with colleagues.
This demands a sophisticated and intelligent approach that embraces a number of features of office design. The most progressive office design concepts seem ready-made to deliver a working environment that can encourage flow states. By empowering people to work in ways that suit them best with a choice of work styles and offering the sorts of spaces in which people can enter flow states undisturbed, such offices increase the likelihood of flow. This principle of office design aligns completely with the characteristics of flow states.
In addition, the democratic structure of the space makes feedback significantly more likely, while the social spaces, collaborative space and more playful aspects of the design encourage people to be aware of ‘something greater than themselves’.
November 3, 2021
Recruitment drive sees majority of firms embed flexible working policies
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives
New research by Totum Partners, claims that the majority of firms now have hybrid working policies in place, as worker preferences and economy-wide recruitment pressures drive increased demand for flexible working. This includes 50 percent of firms which have implemented a company-wide policy, while the remaining 50 percent have published guidelines that can be interpreted by location or individual team. More →
November 1, 2021
Office still valued by UK employees, providing space for productivity and collaboration
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture
New research from Nespresso Professional claims that the office space is still highly valued by employees, with office workers naming seeing their colleagues (39 percent) as the thing they like most about being in the office. While a proper desk setup (31 percent) comes in second, office camaraderie (30 percent) took the third spot, showing the importance of the office environment for team building and relationships. More →
October 11, 2021
Almost half of working mothers feel they are held back from promotion
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives
New polling, carried out to mark the start of National Work Life Week (Oct 11–15), highlights a wide gulf in how working mothers, parents and carers are managing to balance their work and home lives as we come out of the pandemic. Outdated cultures and practices still hold sway in many workplaces around the UK. More →
September 29, 2021
UK FM sector not doing enough about planetary and personal wellbeing
by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Wellbeing
In its latest white paper report, VINCI Facilities is arguing that the facilities management sector is not taking a strategic approach or taking enough specific action to address its responsibilities towards the wellbeing being of individuals and the planet as a whole. More →
September 9, 2021
Hybrid working pushes up corporate Australia’s carbon emissions
by Jayne Smith • Environment, Flexible working, News
While lower occupancy has reduced the carbon footprint of many commercial office buildings amid the pandemic, higher CO2 emissions from hybrid working significantly outstrips these declines, according to data analysed by Cushman & Wakefield’s sustainability team. More →
June 1, 2021
Flexible working practices vary widely across organisations
by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has released new figures suggesting that over two thirds (66 percent) of businesses surveyed now offer flexible working to employees. The data, from a survey of over 900 businesses conducted in April 2021, also shows nearly three quarters of businesses expect to have at least one employee working remotely over the coming year, with the average expectation among those firms being just over half of their employees working remotely. More →
May 20, 2021
The pandemic will transform the way we commute
by Tim Burgess • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
Organisations and businesses have a lot to contend with as they begin to reopen their offices. From social distancing, working from home policies, office layouts, hand gel stations and more. But there also remains one key issue when it comes to welcoming employees back to the office. And that’s how they will get to work in the first place. That’s because the daily commute is going to look a lot different than it did pre-COVID. Firstly, while many employers and workers see the benefit of meeting in person, the hybrid world we now live in will see workers commuting to the office far less frequently. And, if they do travel to the office, there is an element of hesitancy about how they will get there; a recent study revealed 60 percent that ‘post pandemic’ commuting say hybrid working has reduced stress from not having to commute daily. More →
July 8, 2021
Not waving, but drowning: why we need to take languishing more seriously
by Dr Melanie James • Comment, Wellbeing