Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
Hand selected flexible workspace news from the most reliable sources to keep you ahead of the pack. We find all the latest news, so you don’t have to. Morning and afternoon updates. Stay in the know.
Here’s what you need to know today:
- Gender Inclusivity Starts From the Ground Up
- Salesforce Uses Reopening Experiences For The Future
- French Startup Helps Improve Hybrid Work Practices
Gender Inclusivity Starts From the Ground Up
The pandemic has had a damaging impact on society as a whole, especially for women and people of color.
Millions of women have been forced from the workforce, with Black and Latina facing the brunt of the damage. With remote working becoming mandatory for many employees, mothers were forced to either balance childcare responsibilities with work, or leave their jobs altogether.
However, these changes could open a new door of possibilities for gender equality in the workplace.
The focus on breaking the glass ceiling insinuates that women-identifying workers have to solve the problem, rather than fixing the system that marginalizes them in the first place.
The foundation of this issue starts with the history of workforce infrastructure being created and built by men. Because of this, barriers have been created that make it harder for women to thrive in the workforce.
Building a company culture that is gender inclusive needs to start from the ground up. For instance, venture capital foundry Mother Superior started the business without the concept of a ceiling. The business was built specifically for founders that are usually excluded from the venture capital world.
They do so by redefining the traditional 9 to 5 schedule in favor of four day work weeks, as well as offering seven paid weeks off every year so workers can focus on family time.
Salesforce Uses Reopening Experiences For The Future
The threat of the pandemic has slightly subsided in the past month, and now businesses are preparing for their grand reopening. However, companies need to be careful about when they reopen, how they bring employees back into the office and be cognizant of necessary changes needed for the post-pandemic future.
This means adjusting and updating the technology we use, work culture, policies and practices. For instance, Salesforce allows operations to be conducted from virtually anywhere in order to work more sustainably and offer a better employee experience
Salesforce has already opened 26 of its offices around the world during the pandemic, and is using that experience as part of their return-to-the-workplace strategy.
“As companies rethink what agile teams and ways of working look like, future employee experiences will likely be more empowering through more flexible working arrangements and more immersive with reimagined workspaces,” said Gavin Patterson, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Salesforce.
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Employees will now use the physical office for team-building and collaborative work, while working from home can be reserved for more focused work.
French Startup Helps Improve Hybrid Work Practices
French startup Café aims to help companies make a more seamless transition to hybrid work policies. However, it’s not your traditional desk-booking tool — instead, the company helps businesses see when workers are coming into the office so that users can plan their own schedules.
Companies are able to use the app with a simple calendar that divides workers into sections, such as working from home, coming into the office, etc. Then, users can simply log in what they plan to do, so scheduling meetings and planning in-person communication can be easier.
“We interviewed 150 companies and we realized companies faced the same issue after interviewing the first five companies.” said Tom Nguyen, cofounder and CEO. “They all use spreadsheets.”
Using the Café app, people can have a better understanding of the average amount of time workers spend in the office throughout the week.
Conveniently, the company’s mobile and web app has the ability to be integrated with other accounts so colleagues can see your status at all times. For instance, you can connect a Café account with Slack, that way your status on Slack is reflected in the Café app.
Currently, the company is working on being able to integrate the app with human resources systems so scheduling like vacations can be seen on Café.
