According to our research, workplaces with areas where employees
can congregate, like dining and break areas, have twice as many
people with best friends at work. If you are involved in shaping
the layout of a new workspace or rearranging an existing area,
consider this an opportunity to capitalize on the "water cooler
effect" by creating more conversations in your workplace.
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In addition to the findings about dining and break areas, our
research revealed that workplaces with a physical layout that makes
it easy for people to socialize have significantly more
friendships. In fact, the effects of these environmental factors
were much stronger than we had originally guessed. You are three
times more likely to have a close-knit workgroup in this kind of
physical workplace environment. Unfortunately, only one-third of
the people we asked feel that the physical layout of their
workplace makes it easy for them to socialize. [See "In Search of
the Perfect Office" in the "See Also" area on this page.]
The terminal
In the late 1990s, retail giant Best Buy could hardly keep up
with its own growth. Headquartered in the Minneapolis area, Best
Buy's corporate staff was spread across 14 different locations,
which posed a major challenge for this people-centric organization.
The company's leadership figured it was time to build a new
corporate campus and consolidate all 14 offices into one central
location. They knew it would take a very innovative design to
foster conversations and teamwork in a 1.6-million-square-foot
building that needed to house 7,500 employees.
Best Buy decided to model the layout of an airport, with
interconnected terminals. They labeled the buildings "Terminal A,"
"Terminal B," and so on, and then built the ultimate hub, or "Main
Terminal." The Main Terminal would have three zones, dubbed "The
Park," "The Café," and "The Neighborhood."
When you walk into Best Buy's Main Terminal, the first thing
that strikes you is the bustling entryway. The only route for
visitor or employee entry from the massive parking garage is
through the middle of the Main Terminal. Even employees who work at
the far end of Terminal D have to enter through this common area --
although it is less than convenient. When you walk through the busy
security area, you find yourself in the middle of one enormous
room. This Main Terminal has soaring 30-foot ceilings, is
surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass, and spans the equivalent of
almost four city blocks.
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On any given morning, almost all the patio tables with umbrellas
are occupied with people talking, reading the newspaper, or working
wirelessly from their laptops. Just beyond the tables is a
full-sized Caribou Coffee with people waiting in line and chatting.
Although indoors -- and in suburban Minneapolis -- the place has
the feel of a sidewalk café in San Francisco. One reason
this coffee shop is always packed is that it is the only place in
the entire complex where employees can get coffee. Instead of
placing coffee pots on each floor and in every building, Best Buy
intentionally forces people to visit the terminal for their daily
caffeine fix.
If you walk around the other side of this main area, you'll see
foosball tables, pool tables, and several video game consoles near
the large glass windows. Just beyond that is an outdoor sand
volleyball court. None of this is unique -- the place has the look
and feel of a high-tech company, particularly in the Bay Area
during the dotcom boom. Unfortunately, in many dotcom companies,
employee play areas were just for show; you'd rarely see a foosball
table in use, even though they were on the front of many companies'
recruiting brochures. But at Best Buy, people actually play
foosball or pool, and usually, every video game console is in use.
And on the outer edges of the Main Terminal, there's a gift shop,
bank, pharmacy, fitness center, health clinic, dry cleaner, and a
bustling day care center.
The Main Terminal also houses a smaller building within a
building. This is Best Buy's facility for meetings and management
retreats. Instead of going off-site to a hotel or conference
center, employees use this space for longer meetings. It's filled
with large couches around a fireplace, a small creek with water
flowing over rocks, and several small to mid-sized meeting rooms --
some with whiteboard walls for brainstorming sessions. No one has a
permanent office in this space; it's reserved for
collaboration.
While it is impossible to quantify the precise impact of Best
Buy's massive connecting hub, it's clear that it's stimulating
thousands of additional interactions and conversations every day.
As one Best Buy employee explained, "There always seems to be an
energy in the building." You could call it a water cooler for the
21st century.
Best Buy is not alone. Over the past decade, many organizations
have designed their buildings to encourage conversations and
interaction. One of the world's largest software companies has
modeled its headquarters after a large ship. The building is shaped
like a long narrow boat encased in glass. Every employee, including
the top executives, sits in a cubicle with natural sunlight
streaming in from both sides.
According to our research, nearly one-third of employees cannot
see the outside from their workspace -- and people in this group
are 86% more likely to be disengaged in their jobs. The good news
is, employers are finally starting to realize the importance of
architecture, and they are taking this into account before
construction starts. The bad news is, many people work in older
buildings that were designed during the days when workspaces had
more walls, and people were rewarded with plush, remote corner
offices that created additional distance from the masses.
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If you work in a building with imperfect architecture, it will
take a bit more effort and creativity to foster vital friendships.
Many organizations depend on "virtual" water coolers. That is, they
encourage people to bring the conversation with them wherever they
go, helping others connect. Regular events where people can catch
up and meet others can also serve as venues for ad-hoc
conversations. Organizations filled with "best friends" are always
trying new things: weekly or monthly social hours, dinners hosted
by managers in their homes with their workgroups, outings to events
in the area, involvement in community service groups, or larger
parties for special holidays and events. These workplaces have one
thing in common: They try anything to start a conversation.