When Tanvi Bajaj, the senior marketing manager with BigFoot Retail Solutions(BFRS), is stressed about an upcoming deadline, she takes Bruno -- the resident pet of the company in Delhi -- out for a walk. There are days when she or her colleagues bring their pets to work too. The idea may seem fanciful but the trend is on the rise particularly in metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
“The definition of office and workspace is changing,” says Tanvi’s boss and director of BFRS, Vishesh Khurana.
It was about a year ago he decided to break free from the conventional office set up.
The cubicles were done away with following a feedback from 200-odd employees who felt bosses sitting inside closed rooms are inaccessible and lot of time is wasted in waiting to get an appointment to discuss work-related matters.
“Now we all sit together in a huge hall on the same floor and shout out to each other. There is no hierarchy or dress code followed. The open office policy has proved to be more productive,” he says.
The start up company established in 2011 is parent firm of website developers KartRocket, the online fashion store Kraftly and ShipRocket for delivery of goods and all three work in tandem out of eco-friendly spaces.
The game changer was when Vishesh adopted a Labrador, Bruno, and brought him to office. “Since I spend three-fourth of the day in office, Bruno is always around and has become the permanent resident of the place and I find my staff enjoying his company,” he says. So he asked his colleagues to bring their pets along to work if they wished.
“We all work long hours and dogs tend to cheer you up,” says Tanvi. “Some of my colleagues who did not like pets have all turned into dog lovers,” she adds.
A pet-friendly policy is a lovely thing to encourage and Vishesh has also appointed dedicated staff to take care of the pets. Another new age streaming platform called Dekkho based out of Mumbai also allows its employees to bring their pets at work like the other start-ups including Coolwinks, Inmobi, Chumbak, Myrah Store and Pagalguy where you find pets running around in the office. It may still be a rare perk at most companies but people do agree there are benefits to doing so.
If not furry colleagues, then theme-based interiors are also redefining workspaces and making a positive difference.
For instance, at Bhubaneshwar-based Milk Mantra’s office, the surroundings reflect the core of their business as cow prints are embossed on the walls to the coffee mugs on the table.
Bangalore-based NoBroker, a property search portal and Toppr, an education portal in Mumbai also boast of awesome interiors.
The seven-storey Navrasa Duende, a production house that plans, designs, manages and promotes live entertainment across the world is one of its kind grandeur spread over 72,000 sq.ft. “We are into creative business and did the office aesthetically to spur the imagination of our 250-odd creative thinkers,” says Dinesh Singh, the founder of the three years old company.
“We did not go quirky but wanted to be regal in our look so that employees do not feel stressed out and visitors do not feel out of place while entering the office,” he says, adding, “our effort is to make everybody feel good in the interiors we created.”
So right from the portico that is embraced in green cover, the vehicles pass through a green tunnel to enter the main office of Navrasa in Gurugram. The waiting lounge and the board rooms are all palatial with shimmering chandeliers and royal and classy furniture. The central atrium is like the lung inside the office and provides a 360 degree view of the entire building. A waterfall drops from the seventh floor to the ground giving a gorgeous feel and look to the modern and trendy interiors. “We are building a happy community around us. When we give our employees the break-out time and such invigorating atmosphere, the happiness quotient goes up and their work performance touches a new high,” says Dinesh.
Ashish Aggrawal, the Head of Brand Solutions at Roposo, a fashion social network, excitedly participated in a competition announced in their Mumbai and Gurugram offices. “We had to redo our work stations and I did a Pink Floyd wall, while my colleagues did murals, paintings and hung crafts all over. There was a burst of colour all around and now we all enjoy working in a space we like,” he says.
Ashish also asserts how everybody thinks better when they have the flexibility to do what they want. His office mates break out into a game of table tennis when they want right in the centre of the main office hall and any visitor who walks in also feels the momentum and success here.
Likewise, the travel search engine Ixigo’s office in Gurugram reflects the spirit of its work with railway tracks and airport runways printed on corridor floors. The meeting room is designed like a train’s compartment. Says Kanika Nevatia, an employee of three years, “We love coming to office everyday as there is the freedom to feel free and work the way we want to.”
“We can be sitting in the lawns or in the cafeteria to work, shift from chair to the bean bag for comfort. The break rooms are not a distraction. We can be in the gym or play ping pong, couch in front for video games and all of this aids to production,” she notes.
Clearly employees do not suffer from Monday blues in these new age offices. Their work stations are their new zones of comfort and fun that help to achieve the work targets.
QUOTES:
“There is scientific evidence that bringing your dog to work has a positive impact on team collaboration, morale and productivity and helps reduce stress levels as well” -- Vishesh Khurana, co-founder BigFoot Retial Solutions
“Office is a place where you spend so much time that it needs to be designed to nurture the employee creatively, emotionally, cognitively and physically” – Dinesh Singh, founder Navrasa
