Wellbeing at Clockwise Offices

Alexandra Brunner (pictured), Chief Operating Officer of Flexible Space Association member Clockwise Offices, shares her insight into the importance of wellbeing measures.  She looks at what the business is doing for its customers, as well as detailing the creation of a ‘Wellness Hour’ for staff in response to the ongoing resilience and commitment of the team.

I believe that, as a growing business with ambitious plans for the future, we have a responsibility to promote positive physical and mental health for everyone who works within our spaces. This includes our customers, the members who rely on our product to support their businesses, but also my colleagues, those who deliver the services that bring this vision to life.

The very nature of the Clockwise product, the reason we exist, is to create personal, purposeful and productive work environments and experiences that enable individuals, companies and communities to flourish.

While we may not have been able to travel, I’ve still had the words of aeroplane cabin crew ringing in my ears… “fit your own oxygen mask first before assisting others”. I’m really committed to the idea that we have to look after ourselves before we can look after each other. Wellbeing is a core part of our proposition but I can’t expect the team to deliver that without creating a supportive framework for them.

The wellbeing of the Clockwise team has been high on my agenda as I’ve been navigating the business through the challenges the pandemic has presented. It’s been tough on everyone and felt relentless at times. In recognition of the ongoing resilience and commitment from the team we created the Wellness Hour initiative. Throughout October, the month of Mental Health Awareness Day, we gave an hour a week for every team member to take for themselves. Some used it for an extra hour of sleep, to go for a run in the park, spend time with loved ones or go for a ride on the beach, many shared their experience on social media. It was wonderful hearing and seeing the different ways we all used this time and it seemed to create a powerful ripple effect. The engagement received on these Wellness Hour posts was so positive, sparking a bit of joy amongst Clockwise colleagues, their connections and beyond.

As we’re continually trying to identify ways to create positive impact, we’ve since created a wellness committee. This is a peer-to-peer group designed to consider and propose future programmes that will support everyone’s wellbeing.

For our members, we have remained open throughout COVID-19, adapting and enhancing safety measures to stop the spread. Initially the intention was to continue providing a service for those who needed their office to operate their business. Through member feedback and ongoing demand, we realised that the office is also crucial for those who can’t effectively work at home, who need the space to maintain their wellbeing. Working from home is often challenging; difficulties with WiFi, limited room, loneliness, uncomfortable furniture and the blurring of boundaries between work and life, the list goes on. A space dedicated for work and a connected community seems more important now then ever.

For those that haven’t returned to the office we wanted to continue providing a supportive framework. Many of us began lockdown with ambitious plans to master new skills, purchasing embroidery kits and ukuleles or embarking on website coding classes and aggressive fitness regimes. But living against the ongoing backdrop of this virus is tough and we believe it’s time to take care, rather than overextending our bodies and minds. With the understanding that we’re witnessing the most radical transformation of our daily lives and habits we didn’t think it was the right time to encourage members to master Mandarin, learn Latin, ace algebra or study computer science. Instead we created a wellness weekly newsletter, a curated edit of things to do to support mental and physical wellbeing.

Wellbeing remains high on our agenda and we’re looking for ways to evolve and elevate our product so that we can both support our members and the Clockwise team.