Work environment analysis
Let us first look at this from the workers’ perspective. Does their workplace give them energy? Does it make them drowsy? Is it conducive to honesty? Does it incite loyalty? Is it motivating? Is it stress inducing? Does it maximise productivity? Does the workplace reflect the organisation's mission? Are partners or stakeholders reassured when they visit? Does it, conversely, echo excess?
A Work Environment Analysis is a cost–effective means of finding ways of improving your work environment. It reveals how the human being working within it, or interested parties visiting it, perceives the space and how he or she reacts to it.It is used for both specialised spaces and multidisciplinary ones. The analysis can focus on a single room or it can evaluate an entire set of buildings over time. It can deal with the inside only or include the approach and the outside.
This analysis goes far beyond ergonomics, safety and adherence to norms. It includes substantial perception analysis. A work environment in composed of many ‘signals’. Each of these triggers a different response. Understanding them is a core otjiwarongo consulting competence.In short, a work environment analysis reveals how staff and stakeholders react to or are motivated by a specific work environment.
Job types:
Work environment analysis is divided into three job types:
- Assessment by consultation
- Institution-wide visit assessment
- Institution-wide analysis
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It is easy to assume that our staff are working in ideal conditions. This is especially true for those of us working in highly developed countries. The truth could not be further from the truth. Most of the environments we analyse turn out to be very much substandard. The good news is that solutions are often simple to implement. The key is to decipher what’s wrong and to do something about it. |
Options: / First launch: 1977
Case study
Government of Québec
In 1985, the Government of Québec was interested in refitting its northern-most offices, those offices that it had in sub-Arctic and Arctic communities. Until then, most smaller outposts had very flimsy and temporary type offices including some in small, ill-equipped office trailers. We were asked to go there and explore what their workers were looking for and to match those requests with available options. There were many issues, some obvious, others not. Among the obvious ones were temperature, space, view, furnishings and amenities. Among the less obvious ones were light during the long winter nights. Fresh air in the small stuffy trailers was also an issue. One that surprised us was the ability to communicate between separate small trailers. Remember, again, these were pre-portable phones and wireless intercoms days. Our comprehensive analysis led to a three option approach which included different types of set ups for different locations. But in all three cases, the result was a very livable work environment. One in which quality of life existed regardless of isolation or harsh climate.
otjiwarongo consulting provides strategic, media and communications consulting to UN organisations, civil society and governments. It supplies analysis, strategy, content, visibility and resource mobilisation.