"The European world of work” by IPSOS for Steelcase International
Anybody at his/her desk? European managers are searching for other working places within the office and beyond.
Schiltigheim, France, 13th June 2007 - Steelcase International, the EMEA division of Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry, disclosed today the second part of the results of the first survey related to the “European work laboratory”. Conducted in February by IPSOS Public Affairs, the study examined several issues such as the dimensions of work, with special focus on the mobility and the sharing of information.
As a result of a panel survey of more than 2500 European managers from France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and United Kingdom, the study confirms that the majority of European managers work in their primary office building (87% of them work often or very often there). It also underlines that more and more of them work elsewhere as well: 22% of European managers work at another office building of their company, 29% while travelling (Spanish and Italian managers get higher scores: respectively 39 and 38%), 34% work (very) often from home.
“With 22% of European managers working often or very often at another office building of their company, we face a real trend towards external mobility” declared Christian Daul, REMEA Marketing Director, Steelcase International. “It implies a revaluation of work organization, with the creation of dedicated spaces equipped with appropriate furniture like B Free Lounge. While waiting, a manager with a laptop will not only spend his time productively: he may just encounter a colleague in a informal way. Such impromptu meetings favour rich ideas exchange”.
In Spain, home working is not well accepted by the top management: 93% of Spanish managers work (very) often from their primary office building. The survey also indicates that a mere 17% of French managers work (very) often from their home.
The situation is quite different on the other side of the Channel. In certain companies of the United Kingdom, managers just need to show up in the office building 2 or 3 days a week. Therefore, 46% of British managers work (very) often from home.
The right tool at the right place
Working outside and within the company requires appropriate technological infrastructure and devices. According to the survey, 47% of European managers own a laptop while 26% of the buildings are equipped with WiFi networks. German and Italian managers happen to be the one working the most while travelling are also the one owning the most a laptop: 63 and 57%.
PDA and Blackberry are not very common personal devices yet: they are respectively used by 19% and 7% of European managers.
As far as the team equipment is concerned, electronic white boards (7%), audio and video conference material (25%) and projection devices (29%) are enhancing more and more communication along more traditional tools like copier/scanner (78%) or Internet connection (88%). German (33%), British (20%) and Italian (20%) companies are the most equipped with audio and video conference.
An assigned workspace remains the norm
At the primary office building, 85% of European managers work (very) often at an assigned workspace. It doesn't come as a surprise, therefore, that 78% of European managers consider that having more opportunities to share information or experiences with colleagues is important or a top priority.
“We can see a clear correlation between the fact to have an assigned workspace and the wish to share more with the colleagues” declared Christian Daul, REMEA Marketing Director, Steelcase International.
Since work is not only happening at the desk, flexibility is very much required. An open space solution such as Forward™ can be the appropriate solution in order to increase team work and collaboration, taking into account the need of concentration and privacy.
”And when it comes to pure nomad people, we have with Moby™ the perfect mobile office solution as it combines storage unit, standing work surface, a better use of space with a footprint reduced by 14% together with a 25% quicker access to all your working stuff” added Christian Daul, REMEA Marketing Director, Steelcase International.
The study shows that the three countries where people work most at an assigned desk are Spain (81%), Italy (76%) and France (69%). Their managers are also amongst the most interested by more opportunities to share information or experiences with colleagues. They are only topped by Germany, where study indicates that 84% of the managers consider this aspect as important or a top priority.
Forget the paper, let's talk and see each other
It is not just an environmental issue: when communicating with another person, European managers tend to forget paper and prefer a telephone call, a face to face meeting or an e-mail. French (27%) and Spanish managers (28%) are the least interested by paper communication, as opposed to the Germans (62%), who - on the other hand - are the most anxious to encounter the other person (95%).
E-mail, obviously, is a very common way to communicate today. 87% of European managers use it (very) often. But Graham Bell would be happy to learn that the key communication tool of the 21st century remains the telephone, particularly for German, Spanish and Italian managers (97%). 85% of European managers use face to face meeting (very) often when they have to work with their team. And they are 28% to use video conference at least once in a while. "Next to creating meeting areas and teaming spaces for face to face meetings, long distance communications also have to be taken into account for European managers, declared Christian Daul, REMEA Marketing Director, Steelcase International. If train or planes trips are energy, money and time consuming, distance can't be an obstacle for an efficient communication. Companies and individuals can get full benefits from live visual contact using audio and video conference equipment. This can be the case of a manager wanting to have a discussion with a counterpart or between a manager and his team".