The term well-being is already familiar within the Czech office environment. Many Czech companies strive to ensure employee satisfaction by sweeping aside the old standard that people had been used to.
Employees are able to appreciate the efforts of firms in this regards, and this is reflected in an improved corporate culture.
Last week we opened the theme of well-being within the office environment (see the article here). To ensure this is not just an academic discussion let’s take a look at examples of companies that are taking the issue of staff well-being seriously.
SOLEA CZ
One of the first companies in the Czech Republic to take employee “comfort” seriously was SOLEA CZ, which produces plastic and metal components for the automotive industry. 71% of employees have long-term health problems and the company has to adjust the workplace to take this into account. SOLEA CZ also ensures that its activities in the area of well-being also extends into the personal lives of employees. For example, in the case of training. The Association of Social Responsibility, which is the largest initiative of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Czechia, declared this company to be a “well-being pioneer”. Who are well-being pioneers and how are they changing the Czech work environment? … They are very successful and their work environments, company culture and the care they offer their employees exceeds the standard in the given branch. These firms promote self-betterment and development, and are selected with respect to overlap into personal life and support for overall well-being. “We take great pleasure when we see someone improve their health condition thanks to having work in which they feel good and have a sense of purpose,” says Blanka Mičková of SOLEA CZ. In this case it is mainly about work with employees, but in the next example – Avast – the concept of well-being is incorporated more into the workplace environment.
Avast and the most attractive environment
A Czech technology company that develops anti-virus software and other security products. Last autumn Avast opened a new office in Brno for almost 400 IT experts and specialist. The workplace offers employees a free-of-charge canteen serving breakfast and lunch, a gym, a sound-proof room, a music room, library, relaxation and games zones and also a children’s play area. In addition to employee comfort, sustainability was also taken into account when designing the office and therefore environmentally friendly technologies have been employed. In 2017 the interiors of Avast’s Brno office was commended for being “Employee Friendly” in the Office of the Year competition and “Most attractive work environment” in the Meeting Room of the Year competition. The designer of the interior is the successful architectural duo Vrtiška-Žák. Architect Roman Vrtiška was also the first guest at our informal TechoCon Morning Meetings, where he presented his view of office space, and in particular the Prague branch of Avast. You can read the entire article on the first TMM here.
And what about us?
Of course, we at TECHO have more than just an academic interest in the theme to this year’s conference. As a market leader in the installation of office interiors we will demonstrate at TechoCon how we look after the “comfort” of our own employees. You will be able to walk through the inspirational environment of the TECHO showroom during the conference. We will show you that as a company engaged in designing inspirational environments on a daily basis, themes such as acoustics, ergonomics and overall “feeling” are very close to us.
Under the baton of Milan Začal and Šimon Opekar the TechoCon community has been growing for three years now. Thanks to our regular meetings we have created a community of several thousand people – professionals involved in interior design, people who care about the theme of workplace well-being. Not only this blog, but our project as a whole is helping to illuminate the theme of well-being.
This year’s TechoCon will again take place at the TECHO showroom. Come along.
