The Key to Wellbeing in the Office

A few years ago, all we saw in the news was the ‘great resignation.’ Now we have another ‘great’ to deal with. According to CBRE, 2023 was the start of the ‘great return’ as office workers returned to their normal offices after working from home. The data shows that two-thirds of all U.S office buildings were more than 90% leased as of Q2 2023.

Just as we heard a lot about the great resignation, the great return is prompting similar talking points as people are once again confronted with the downsides of office life. The knock-on effect of these downsides has been a demand for better initiatives and policies to support employees’ wellbeing. If they must return, many employees feel they need to be supported.

The forms of support vary from hybrid working to gym memberships or hot desking between office locations. Common to them all is the need for effortless access control and flexibility as people find their way back to shared spaces and open-plan offices. In many instances, the responsibility of making things run smoothly falls on facilities managers, office managers and installers. To ensure success, smart locking solutions are a necessity. As we will see, many organizations have used them with notable results.

Meeting in the Middle
The return to the office has not been welcomed by all. There are clear dividing lines between employees and management. Gartner research shows that 48% of office employees believe that return to office policies prioritize what leaders want over what employees need. The only solutions that avoid things like quiet quitting and plummeting wellbeing are ones where employees and leaders meet in the middle.

Hybrid working, where employees spend several days in the office and several days at home, is the perfect agreement. It boosts employee productivity while also allowing in-person collaboration.

To facilitate hybrid work policies and preserve employee wellbeing, offices need access control solutions suited to the task. They must be flexible, integrate smart technologies and be easy to use.

Faced with this challenge, companies can use ‘hot lockers’ for their hybrid employees that could be shared by different people on different days at varying times. Look for locks that allow facilities managers to give all employees unique, card-based access to each locker, saving the time and money needed to cut thousands of unique locks for individual lockers. Thanks to the RFID technology and central control system, facilities managers are also capable of overseeing employee access for all lockers simultaneously and remotely.

As for employees, the process of using the ‘hot lockers’ is frictionless. They simply use their card to access and lock the locker when they need to store their belongings. When they are not in the office, the locker is available for other employees to use. Some companies have multiple office locations and the added benefit of a system that uses card-based access is that it can be implemented across several office sites, giving employees the freedom to choose which office they want to work from without facilities staff or office managers having to coordinate new card access.

Wellbeing Benefits Beyond the Office
Employee wellbeing goes beyond the four glass walls of the shared office, which is why we are seeing many organizations offering gym facilities for their staff. An active lifestyle has many health and work benefits that cannot be overestimated. Regular exercisers are 129% more likely to report feeling more productive at work, and, on top of this, and 73% of employees who exercise in the morning say they are more satisfied at work. Having exercise facilities at work, therefore, improves employee performance and makes the office a more desirable location to work.

For office workers, keyless access is a massive bonus. Many gyms in office buildings require people to bring their own combination locks. When you forget it, they make you buy one at an inflated price. As well as being an unnecessary expense, this is also frustrating. For a workplace gym, this would not help with morale.

Due to the keyless access, facilities managers have saved a significant amount of time not having to manage locks. The locks largely take care of themselves, and the additional capacity has given them time to focus on other high-priority tasks. The same goes for gym staff, who, rather than dealing with locks, can focus on supporting gym users. If something does go wrong, such as an employee leaving their belongings behind or forgetting their temporary access code, the key override function means the problem can be swiftly resolved.

From hassle-free access to effortless key override, when it comes to employee wellbeing, the less friction, and more flexibility, the better. As things are made easier to use, and employees are given choice in how they use them, employee morale and productivity is likely to increase.

This article originally appeared in the November / December 2024 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • AI to Help Resolve Non-Emergency Calls Across Utah and Decrease 911 Caller Wait Times

    The Utah Communications Authority (UCA), which oversees the state’s next generation 911 technology services, recently announced that public safety answering points (PSAPs) throughout the state plan to implement Motorola Solutions’ Virtual Response technology to automate the receipt and resolution of 10-digit non-emergency line calls in Utah with the help of AI. Read Now

  • Report Reveals Local Governments Face Surge in Ransomware Attacks with Minimal Resources

    KnowBe4, the cybersecurity platform that comprehensively addresses human risk management, recently released new research highlighting the critical cybersecurity challenges facing state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments. The report details how government organizations have become prime targets for cybercriminals while simultaneously facing severe resource constraints. Read Now

  • Video Surveillance Trends to Watch

    With more organizations adding newer capabilities to their surveillance systems, it’s always important to remember the “basics” of system configuration and deployment, as well as the topline benefits of continually emerging technologies like AI and the cloud. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.