Astroturf, ping pong and flip flops - the power of a great workplace Viewpoint careers advice blog

Astroturf, ping pong and flip flops - the power of a great workplace Jane Marsh, Group People Director at innocent drinks, shares her experiences of working at such a vibrant organisation, which places the emphasis firmly on fun.   The power of a great working environment In my early career, I worked as a lawyer in private practice in the City of London, surrounded by bright interesting people who were all on a fast moving track with the ultimate goal of becoming a partner in one of those law firms.   Life was fast and fun â€" we worked hard and played hard, getting to know each other as people as well as work colleagues as a result.   It was in my last job when I started to really notice the impact of the work environment on motivation. After a while I decided to branch out â€" and move from being on the outside of companies as their external lawyer, to being more on the inside, employed as an in-house lawyer.  That way I got to know what was really going on, which was far more effective in helping me work out the right solution to that particular day’s challenge. It was in my last job, working initially as a lawyer and then as HR Director for a global IT company, that I started to really notice the impact of the work environment on motivation. I was still surrounded by great people â€" all of whom cared deeply about performing to the best of their abilities.   However as people increasingly worked from home, hot desked when they came in, and worked in global teams across multiple time zones, they had to work really hard to stay connected to each other.  The company’s ruthlessly efficient policy on office space didn’t help â€" there wasn’t enough space for everyone had we all turned up to work on the same day. Having fun together inside and outside work started to feel unusual. Also the spend on the office environment was clearly a pressure point â€" grey walls, leaking ceiling panels, meeting rooms with no natural light and stained carpets were everyday bugbears.  As a result it was noticeable how the nature of human interaction at work started to change.   Work became just about working â€" the office environment was something you learned to tolerate and the best you could hope for in the end was not to notice it.   Also, to some degree having fun together inside and outside work started to feel unusual just because the company felt it had to prioritise spend on technology to keep people connected, versus the more traditional, dare I say human, ways of doing this. Workplaces can (and should be) fun It wasn’t until I started working for a different company a year ago that I understood the real power of a great work environment. My new company â€" known for being very focused on values and culture with a vibrant and quirky personality â€" places a firm emphasis on fun. The office is carpeted with AstroTurf and there’s no dress code, so people come to work in flip-flops, shorts, T-shirts, ripped jeans â€" in fact whatever clothes they feel express their personality. I was delighted to be able to send the deliberately anonymous clothes I’d worn in my old job to the charity shop. There’s one day a year when we all come to work in power suits just to remind ourselves how that feels â€" and what’s noticeable is that the whole building feels really odd as a result â€" because the people and the building aren’t in harmony for that one day. Provide the soundtrack Music plays everywhere, and anyone can choose what’s played on their floor (no piped “suitable” corporate music for us).  The interior is colourful, friendly and welcoming right down to the bean bags, the red telephone box to  make private calls from and the left-over Santa’s hut from Christmas (complete with fake fire) that’s just stayed around because it’s a good space for chats.   Music plays everywhere, and anyone can choose what’s played on their floor. The main open-plan meeting area is where people gather to eat lunch. It’s filled with picnic tables, table football, ping pong and sofas to relax on â€" and these aren’t only used at lunchtime but for relaxing conversations right through the day.  Our weekly company meetings strike a great balance between sharing information and keeping things fun â€" lots of laughter can be heard at the same time as intent listening to the content of the presentations â€" and every meeting ends with an interactive game or exercise which sends everyone out of the room with a smile on their face, ready to start the week in a different way than if they had just arrived and gone straight to their desks. Mix it up and encourage big picture thinking And speaking of desks â€" at first I found the company’s deliberate policy of mixing everyone up, rather than sitting people in teams, slightly odd. After all, surely greater productivity comes from teams sitting together? However, as I tuned into the person opposite me who was negotiating fruit prices with a grower in India â€" or overheard the person next to me sharing the great news with various organisations that they would benefit from grants from our Foundation Trust (to which we give 10% of our profits) I realised that having a better understanding of what my colleagues are doing helps me have a more holistic understanding of our company’s business â€" and there’s a deeper good in that than just a focus on productivity. Appreciate your people As a result, the people who work here feel that their needs as human beings are being taken into consideration. They are almost exclusively ambitious, super bright and driven to learn and develop themselves proactively. They appreciate the chance to work in such a supportive environment, and there is a strong sense of wanting to be the best that you can be â€" for yourself, your team and the company. They are entrepreneurial, innovative and, above all, ready to pull together and do whatever it takes to produce a great end result in whatever area they work in. This manifests itself in the groups of people working late together because they want to, not because they have been told to. The people roaring with laughter in a meeting room as they work together to prepare their presentation on the company’s three year European expansion plan and someone has just thought of a great way to illustrate a serious point with a silly photo. And those two heading out of the building into the sunshine at midday â€" they’ll be heading off for one of the career development chats which are part of the company’s relentless focus on learning and development for everyone. I found myself working harder because I cared more. So what difference did this make to me? I felt responsible in a way I never had before â€" as a result I found myself working harder because I cared more. I looked forward to learning about the current challenges facing my  desk-mates  in their roles (or in their private lives) â€" I wanted to be part of making this company storm through its targets and beat the competition hands down. The pace of this fast moving, entrepreneurial company meant that I could never predict what was going to happen from day to day, but to be surrounded by smart, successful, highly motivated people was a joy and I knew we’d make a success of it â€" whatever “it” was that day. Employers â€" stop taking yourselves so seriously Surveys have shown that having a sense of humour, and the freedom to express yourself at work, works wonders for people’s careers, productivity, ability to innovate and personal happiness.  But I didn’t need any survey results to tell me what I’d seen for myself: when you are deliberate about supporting people at work to be the best they can be, that’s when you tap into the holy grail of a high performance culture that so many companies long for but struggle to make a reality.  So come on, employers lead from the top, undo those top buttons, understand your people’s needs and don’t take yourselves too seriously. The results might just surprise you. If you enjoyed the above blog  then you might also appreciate these other articles, which also  originally appeared in the Hays Journal: The fruits of knowledge Training at the top Why talented Chinese graduates are aiming high in Dubai Establishing an effective middle management tier Managing external resources Four pillars of people Family values Join our LinkedIn Group Join the discussion and network with other HR professionals in our HR Insights with Hays group. Join our Group Share this blog: