On our daily sojourns delivering fruit around Dublin city, we’re lucky to get an insight into some of the most interesting, innovative and, by extension busy workplaces in town.
Dublin is undergoing a bit of a tech boom at the minute, and we deliver fruit to many of those big startups, the guys who are driving our economy. And one of the key things that strikes us quite often is how the workplace is changing.
Drab
Maybe 10-15 years ago, when you thought of knowledge/office work, the default was the grey, drab cubicle, set in the middle of a loud, impersonal and unfriendly ‘bullpen’ of co- workers. But as businesses like Facebook, Google, Twitter, AirBnB and plenty of others started to realise, your people are often your product. For years, human resource functions within businesses have focused on the hiring and firing, but as people work longer hours and more is expected of them, what we’re seeing now is a workplace revolution!
Holistic
Companies are looking at their culture in a more holistic sense, and trying to improve things to both attract talent, but also create a truly motivated, healthy and therefore truly engaged workforce. They’re starting to tailor their workspace and engage their employees and trying consistently stay ahead of the competition?
When we started The Fruit People, we do so with the simple ethos of brining more goodness into people’s lives, and particularly the workplace. We rely on smart leaders within organisations, whether that’s front desk people, H.R. or others to contact us and take that first step to having a healthier workplace. Research shows that our blood sugar, glycemic index level, hydration and obviously general health has a huge impact on how productive we are.
So in essence, when we deliver fruit around Dublin, we like to think we’re making workers better at their jobs!
Fitness
Similarly, many companies are now offering free gym membership and fitness classes to their employees. Googlers used to complain about piling on the pounds when they joined the company, but with free fruit and a gym to use, it’s now the opposite. And that’s all part of the package!
With stress levels in every workplace, we’re also seeing a rise in popularity in yoga and mindfulness. We’ve heard of one company who does a Friday class at lunchtime, and has paid for a free package of the renowned ‘Headspace’ meditation app for its workers! Smart eh?
And of course, the interior design aspect is critical too. Our surroundings inspire us.
Nobody wants to be going into a cold, dreary or downright ugly office each morning, not matter how great your job is.
The likes of AirBnB in particular have set great examples here, building an amazing space for their workers. When we’re doing our fruit delivery around Dublin to businesses, we’re in the unique position to be able to take a peek inside the front door and talk to both workers and recruitment/H.R. people.
And there’s definitely something stirring! In a few years time, could we see all workplaces embrace healthy eating, healthy living and smarter workplace design? We reckon so. And that’s a great thing.
