Bonds that keep workers happy

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 2154.

Before you read. Do you think that companies should have social events to bring everyone together? If so, what sorts of events do you think work best? What can companies do to make the workplace a more enjoyable place to be in? What is important to you when choosing a company to work for?

2.21. Read the article from the Financial Times, do exercises 2.22 and 2.23.

Alison Maitland

Many people would laugh at the idea that the workplace can be a relaxing place. With their mobiles, they would be more likely to complain about the way their work takes over their private lives.

The employees of Europe's best workplaces take a very different view, however. One noticeable theme to emerge from this year's survey is the strong attraction that many employees feel to their work and the personal bonds they have with their colleagues and managers. At Confinimmo, a small Belgian property investment company in this year's European top 10, employees go on a paid team-building trip each time a new person joins their department. Celebrations and informal lunches are another way of bringing employees and managers together. 'Although the company has seen strong growth, it keeps its feeling of a small, familiar team.' says one employee.

At Boehringer Ingelheim, a family-owned Danish drug company that has been in the top 100 since the survey began four years ago, there are social events and celebrations all year, often attended by employees' children.

Champagne and chocolate are brought out to mark achievements. 'Our managing director knows everyone by his first name,' says one member of the 132-strong workforce.

It is, of course, easier to create a family feeling in a small business. But bonding is also a feature of the smaller European offices of Microsoft, which is in this year's top 10. The employees of the software giant in Norway, for example, go mountain-hiking together and recently climbed seven of the highest mountains in southern Norway to symbolise their seven business goals.

FINANCIAL TIMES