Happiness is good health and a pretty office

On the eve of Dubai’s 9th Office Expo, a recent survey conducted by that organisation reported that almost 90% of office workers regard the design and layout of their office as affecting their level of motivation. Despite this, approximately 50% said that they had never had any sort of workspace assessment from their employer.

Oh, in case you were wondering about the relevancy of a survey that couldn’t possibly be local, the survey questioned more than 1,000 office workers from across the GCC. Moreover, the survey showed that only 6% of respondents thought that the design and layout of their office had no impact at all on their working life.

Ok, time to wake up. If this survey does nothing else, it shows the Gulf’s growing FM industry that FM has become more than just HVAC, waste removal and recycling.

Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve witnessed those conversations where interior designers implore a group of FM professionals to really consider the aesthetics and functionality of the rooms inside the buildings and are met with chuckles and empty promises. Those days are gone.

For FMs and, it would seem HR professionals, the time has come to start seriously considering interior design and how certain colours, products and styles affect human beings.

Ninety percent. Nine out of 10 employees are unhappy and, perhaps more importantly, unmotivated by the design and layout of the office building they spend five days per week and 260 days per year. Ninety percent.

What do FM professionals think of this statistic? Perhaps you’re busy thinking up reasons why this doesn’t directly fall under your remit. I’ve got new for you, it does. Perhaps you’re thinking, ‘Wait, I’m not in the happiness business, I’m in the buisness of managing facilties’. Without putting too fine a point on it, FMs are tasked with making a specific workplace more efficient; making its workers more productive; and making the overall business more profitable. Again, I’ve got news for you, you are in the happiness business.

Since the inception of the industry, FMs have extolled the uniqueness and fluidity of their rolls. I always hear how, within the sphere of the workplace, FMs are everything to everyone. I always hear how FMs are jacks of all trades. Well, after I read survey results like those found in the Office Expo survey, it would seem the Gulf’s FMs need to start developing an acute sense for colour palettes and material choices.

If you’re looking to create a productive and profitable business, you have to start with happy employees. And, that goes further than adjusting temperatures and inserting recyling bins.

In an effort to fully lend your weight to the softer side of FM, maybe it’s time to support the evolution of the industry by being the first FM actually educated in interior design. Jeff Roberts is the group editor of ITP Business’ construction & design tiles.