Feature
Returning To The Workplace Q & A with Lavazza Professional
‘It’s about ensuring that the office is a better, more exciting place to return to.’ Lavazza Professional’s Ashley Weller
Gradually, we’re getting back to ‘normal’ after the unprecedented disruption to our daily lives that Covid brought us. Now that many of the restrictions have been lifted, our focus can return to work. The big question is, ‘what happens next?’ Will the office resume its status as the hub of daily commercial activity, or will it take on a new status as a meeting place; a collaborative space in which people gather to undertake tasks which cannot be achieved effectively in work-from-home isolation?
So, what can employers do to welcome people back, either full-time or when needs must? Refreshment services, such as vending and coffee machines, are set to become the focus of office interaction. As an expert in the important Office Coffee Services sector, we asked Ashley Weller, UK Market Director at Lavazza Professional, for his thoughts.
Q: Do you think that people in general will be happy to return to the office?
A: I know I will! Talk about ‘Zoom fatigue!’ I want my home to be ‘home’, not an annex of the office. People are naturally sociable creatures and we’ve missed the physical proximity of working with colleagues. You only realise how important those water cooler or coffee machine moments are when they no longer happen. Having said that, you can understand that some people are anxious about going back, consequently many businesses have made workplace well-being a top priority.
‘You can see this illustrated in the leveraging of the collaborative spaces in the office: they are being upgraded to improve an employee’s break time or break out experience. You’re likely to see much more for coffee machines that offer household name brands and coffee-shop quality in the office today than you would, say, just a couple of years ago.
‘As people start to return to work they are looking at the office environment differently to how they did previously and this creates new dynamics for retaining good staff and attracting new talent’
Q: Is coffee quality genuinely a consideration when employees assess the ambience of a workspace?
A: Absolutely. Coffee is a central part of most workplace interactions and good coffee adds value to those experiences, creating a tangible sense of well-being. It’s a positive addition to the overall package and benefits as people compare workplaces and ask themselves, ‘would I like working here?’’
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