Is there a tendency among computer programmers to visit their future workplace before accepting the offer?
A.D.: According to our research, more than a half of the surveyed admit that they would like to visit their future office before accepting the offer.
M.B.: The participants of our survey claim that a well-maintained space is a proof that employer actually takes care of them. Company invests in people if it invests in a place where they are supposed to perform their tasks. Of course, working in the IT industry is frequently related to sensitive data, so necessarily some of the organizations can’t allow for inviting a person from the outside. However, we can observe that our clients more frequently leave some part of their office closed, to which only people with special permissions have an access, as well as opened part, where educational meetings are organized and where people who don’t belong to such organization can come in. It means that they think in the context: “We want to show a part of our office but the other part has to be safe because we work with clients, for whom the issue of data security is crucial”.
So, computer programmers do appreciate design of their office?
M.B.: An acquainted computer programmer from Krakow points out that the moment the IT market was starting to develop in Poland and the first start-ups appeared, their head offices were usually located in shabby-looking tenement houses, in the offices with an old flooring strip. They didn’t mind it then, however, this group of employees is currently becoming to notice the importance of their offices. Why? One reason may be that they are starting to feel the adverse health effects of the wrong office. We’ve also discussed this particular issue in our report.
A.D.: According to our research, ca. 50% of the surveyed do have some problems with their backs. What’s more, they aren’t the people who are about to retire. The majority of them are the so called Millennials, who are more aware of the significance of healthy lifestyle, thus they require good conditions for health, not only for productivity, from their employers.
Computer programmers are starting to realize how important the office is for their health?
M.B.: I have to admit that I was quite surprised while hearing that a chair is of great importance for computer programmers. While preparing the surveys with the employees of Antal, one of the recruiters, who specializes in the IT industry, told us a story from her own experience. While negotiating the contract, one of the candidates agreed with his employer that he will receive a chair with specified parameters. When it turned out that he was sitting on a different chair, the man resigned from his work. This actually shows the awareness of the industry and that the issue of health is extremely important.
A.D.: I’ve concluded from my own observations and conducted talks that computer programmers more often take care of their health. In Poland, there is a myth of a computer programmer dressed in a flannel shirt and sitting in a room with no windows, however, in reality, the increasing number of such people work in corporations which offer them various benefits closely related to the broadly understood “well-being”. The majority of them have multisport cards; they take care of themselves, go to the gym, etc. Hence, they also want to have healthy working conditions. The issue of health was also discussed in the context of kitchen. Many computer programmers are on a concrete diet, they bring their meals from home and they want to eat them in comfortable conditions.
Nowadays, sedentary lifestyle is what threatens a great number of employees. Can we say that office equipment, layout of rooms, etc., cause that employees move more frequently? I’m thinking about sit & stand desks in particular…
M.B.: If a certain company equips the office in sit to stand desks, it‘s most frequently the organization from the IT industry, mainly because the employees of this sector are strongly subjected to the negative effects of sedentary lifestyle, and, at the same time, they’re aware of the fact that such product is available on the market.
A.D.: In the context of office activities, we may also consider the issue of zones. Office isn’t only a desk, a chair, a kitchen, a toilet, etc. It comprises of different zones such as a loud zone intended for meetings (computer programmers meet too, for instance, during design work), or a quiet zone, where it’s possible to work at the desk. What’s more, there are separate relaxation zones or social zones where employees can eat a meal. Thereby, employees generally move in the office all day. In the case of computer programmers, this rotation is smaller because they spend ca. 70% of time at the desk. However, they do have a meeting room and they have to stand up and go there instead of conducting meetings at the desk, or they eat their meals in a common kitchen; it all has an impact on the increasing dose of locomotion at work. While working at the desk, it’s important to make frequent breaks for changing the position. The office diversity is exactly what forces the locomotion among employees.
