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I'm looking at things that could make the office I work in a nicer place to work for my colleagues - so I was wondering what worked for you? We are around 50-60 people. Mixture of single, married and families, drinkers and non-drinkers. Painting the office Blue and White is probably not going to be a goer.
I don't have a budget but am looking for small things that make things nicer that people have found made the office nicer - things like those listed below (feel free to repeat them if you think they worked):
Plants, mints in office, pizza fridays, beer o'clock (we do this already each week), nominating staff etc.
Plants would make a massive difference in my office, which is VERY plain/grey.
Your other ideas all sound a lot more creative than anything to happen at our office.
One thing to improve the atmosphere is to ensure that everyone's comfortable - our office is miserably cold, especially on Mondays - throughout the Winter. Everyone working in coats etc.
Pretty basic stuff, but maybe ask if there's anything which could be changed to make people's working environment more comfortable? (but be willing to explain why the answer is 'no' if you can't then act on it)
If practical, could people maybe move desks every couple of months or so, just to keep things varied? At my office I think this would make a massive difference as work is very 'individual', we self-manage most of our work and do not speak to colleagues much during the day. It wouldnt be too hard to organise - just a few minutes to move round a few computers. No answer from the mangement when I made the same suggestion at my place...
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Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 09:43 - Mar 27 with 6610 views
Don't employ woman who are out and out racists Don't employ Woman who sh1t on the floor Don't employ HR assistants who have a ruck with each other and then dump one of them on the hard shoulder of the M1 in Leicester when the office they work in is in Northampton
employ more men is the answer , groups of woman are nothing but aggro and spend all day chatting and b1tching
And Bowles is onside, Swinburne has come rushing out of his goal , what can Bowles do here , onto the left foot no, on to the right foot
That’s there that’s two, and that’s Bowles
Brian Moore
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Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 09:48 - Mar 27 with 6604 views
We have just moved offices about a year ago. One of the nicest things is that we have a staff room with sofas etc and a TV. There is also a couple of big fridge freezers,a microwave and a coffee machine. It is great for gathering at lunchtime and encourages interaction. Everyone we show round says how lovely it would be to have such a facility.
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Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 10:07 - Mar 27 with 6566 views
Yeah, good kitchen facilities do go along way. I've worked in an office that did a weekly baking club that was quite funny...each week someone, including people who were terrible at baking, took a turn to bring something in. The PA here regularly buys donuts and things though we have reigned that back as it was getting really unhealthy.
We do a charity day every year where we all go out and volunteer somewhere and then hit the pub. its a nice mix. The company upstairs (who we own) do a lot of organised 'fun' activities in the office that im not such a fan of....fancy dress days, competitions etc.
The Playstation is popular too though not cheap if you're on a budget.
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Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 10:09 - Mar 27 with 6559 views
As above, decent cooking facilities so you have a bit of a choice when it comes to lunch/breakfast. Plants go a long way as well, as others have said. Bit of artwork on the walls to brighten it up a bit is nice.
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Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 10:43 - Mar 27 with 6504 views
Our company used to work standard office hours in Old Street which meant everybody was having to fight their way in on the Northern Line in morning rush hour. It meant you never really knew what time people would arrive because morning Northern Line is a fcking lottery, and everybody was seriously angry, miserable, bedraggled and stressed when they arrived.
Solution was they let us work from home in the morning as long as we start by 8, then we go in when the trains are empty at lunchtime. Productivity, morale, punctuality all through the roof. Everybody slightly richer for travelling off peak. Company actually gets more hours out of us because we're not stuck on trains in the morning.
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Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 10:44 - Mar 27 with 6502 views
Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 10:54 - Mar 27 by Mick_S
Can't say stupid day in the new office. You are suspended.
Fair enough. I'm just a bit exasperated because on other threads there's a bloke who refuses to believe Fernandes hasn't got some tricky scheme to get his quarter billion back, presumably from us as the poster gets so dark about it, while another bloke thinks that it's a good scheme to give away 2 mill if you want to save 700k.
This one just pushed me over the brink. Bring on the HR vultures.
Every couple of months, we get the whole office together and order lunch in to the office or BBQ in the car park. Its compulsory and encourages people to get together and chat who usually work in separate parts of the building and really goes down very well.
Otherwise, I just find the more flexible the management are about staffs working hours/conditions, the more flexible staff will be about getting things done when required.
Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 10:43 - Mar 27 by Northernr
Our company used to work standard office hours in Old Street which meant everybody was having to fight their way in on the Northern Line in morning rush hour. It meant you never really knew what time people would arrive because morning Northern Line is a fcking lottery, and everybody was seriously angry, miserable, bedraggled and stressed when they arrived.
Solution was they let us work from home in the morning as long as we start by 8, then we go in when the trains are empty at lunchtime. Productivity, morale, punctuality all through the roof. Everybody slightly richer for travelling off peak. Company actually gets more hours out of us because we're not stuck on trains in the morning.
Ditto. I'm a big fan of this flexible approach as if done right it's a win-win. However clients often take some persuading!
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Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 11:17 - Mar 27 with 6459 views
We have free breakfast (pretty much anything you want) on Fridays from 8am (official start time is 9.15) and tools down at 4pm. Seems to be appreciated.
Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 10:44 - Mar 27 by isawqpratwcity
Is it stupid day round here or something?
Yes, it does do bacon without making it too crispy, providing you take it out in time!
Look, if you want a decent bit of bacon you fry it, in a pan, with a little bit of lard in it.
When it comes to breakfast George Foreman lean green killing machines are for sausages IMO and preferably Richmond ones as the skin don't break and stick to the machine. I've tried it with upmarket sausages, 5 minutes eating, an hour getting the remnants off the griller.
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Non-QPR - what makes your office a nice place to work? on 11:47 - Mar 27 with 6396 views
A very interesting book with significant discussion of the optimum ways of organising work and offices is DeMarco and Lister's 'Peopleware - Productive Projects and Teams'. It was first published in 1987 and is now in its third (2013) edition. The book has a software flavour, as DeMarco and Lister are software consultants, but most of it applies to any work where you have to concentrate to get things done.
'A California company that I consult for is very much concerned about being responsive to its people. Last year, the company's management conducted a survey in which all programmers (more than a thousand) were asked to list the best and the worst aspects of their jobs. The manager who ran the survey was very excited about the changes the company had undertaken. He told me that the number two problem was poor communication with upper management. Having learned that from the survey, the company set up quality circles, gripe sessions, and other communication programs. I listened politely as he described them in detail. When he was done, I asked what the number one problem was. "The environment," he replied. "People were upset about the noise." I asked what steps the company had taken to remedy that problem. "Oh, we couldn't do anything about that," he said. "That's outside our control."'
The second section of the book is on offices. Here are the chapter headings to give you an idea of what it's about:
PART II: The Office Environment
07. The Furniture Police 08. You Never Get Any Work Done around here between 9 and 5 09. Saving Money on Space 10. Brain Time and Body Time 11. The Telephone 12. Bring Back the Door 13. Taking Umbrella Steps
From the beginning of Chapter 13. Taking Umbrella Steps:
'For this final chapter on the office environment, we look into characteristics of an ideal workplace, trying to shed some light on concerns such as these:
What kind of space would support your workers best to make them comfortable, happy, and productive?
What form of workspace would make these workers feel best about themselves and about their work?'
One book that DeMarco and Lister quote from extensively in 'Peopleware' is Christopher Alexander's 'A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction', (1977). Someone has put Alexander's patterns online, such as this one:
Our newly installed stocks have raised morale no end
In all seriousness, three things which help are the free drinks (tea, coffee, water, soft drinks), the free fruit and a regular meeting we have for the whole site (that sounds like a lot of people but there are only about 20 of us based in this office).
The meeting is not really necessary from a business perspective because the occupants of the office work in separate divisions but having a get-together is great for team building and the individual "factions" usually come up with some tips or information which are of use to the other groups.
Oh, and celebrating birthdays, engagements etc as a group also helps a lot.
RFA
"Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1."
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