Cultivating a good work/life balance at Arbor Architects…

How can we avoid burnout and create a sustainable work-life balance?

Arbor Architects was founded on the understanding that a good work-life balance leads to improved efficiency and productivity, lower stress levels and improved health and wellbeing. This commitment to work-life harmony has been essential since the very beginning, given we founded the practice with two young families – there’s no room for finishing late at night or taking work calls on the weekends. This commitment has become a cornerstone to our company ethos, shaping the way we work as a team and, we feel, ultimately contributing to our success.

Here are some ways we believe our approach contributes contribute to a healthy balance:

Respect for personal time

We firmly believe that a healthy work/life balance begins with respecting everyone’s personal time. Our workdays end at 4.30pm – every weekday – allowing team members to unwind and recharge outside of the office. This boundary is also reinforced by employees with company phones; these are left in the office or turned off out of hours.

Flexibility as standard

Life is full of appointments and events that occasionally fall within the standard working hours. Arbor recognises this and embraces flexi-time for all employees. This fosters an environment that allows employees to manage their schedules in a way that suits individual needs and demands. After all... we can’t decide when the school Christmas play is on or when we can get a dentist appointment!

Embracing the outdoors

Lunch breaks at Arbor are often more than eating; we also encourage each other to get out and go for a walk in the fresh air, when we’d often otherwise be at the desk all day. Stress is inevitable when tight deadlines are looming, stepping away from the desk is vital and has been proven to help mediate stress levels and boost productivity, energizing us for the rest of the day – and quite often in our case, sparking conversations that lead to design ideas for projects.

Communal Connections within the Shell Store and the office

Since moving to the Shell Store just over a year ago, Arbor has had the opportunity to become immersed in the business community based here. Communal lunches, early morning circuit training, walks and regular social events in the building create a supportive atmosphere, allowing the team to get to know potential clients, colleagues, and other businesses (and other dogs in the building!).

Within the office, we also like to avoid lone working, we consult each other on a daily basis regarding workloads, plan our weeks ahead, and often have informal design reviews and discussions that help resolve challenges collectively.

Dogs!

Humans aren’t the only valued members of our team - Doug the German wirehaired pointer and Percy the Jack Russell are regular visitors to the office daily, providing entertainment and a good reminder to get outdoors and get some fresh air. We agree with research suggesting having dogs in the workplace can reduce stress, improve morale, and add a positive dimension to our work environment.

Celebrating Milestones

We think it’s important to celebrate project milestones and accomplishments. Whether this is treating the team to a coffee when a planning application is submitted or celebrating with a meal when we win an award, we like to recognise the hard work that the team puts into everyday tasks that contribute to the success of the company. We also give all our staff an extra day’s leave on their birthday to allow them to celebrate with friends and family.

Cycling for Wellness (and practicality!)

Over half of the team regularly cycles to the office. This not only promotes a healthy lifestyle but also contributes to overall well-being, cutting down the daily commute and being more affordable. Cycling, like walking, has been associated with improved physical and mental health, aligning with Arbor’s holistic wellness approach. Being based in Skylon Park, we can also benefit from the Greenway cycle path straight into the city centre, not only for commuting but also for getting to site meetings.

In summary, our team are at the heart of everything we do. We know that creativity and personal fulfilment need to coexist with a productive working day for the enduring success of the company. We have made efforts to make our office culture a blueprint for work-life harmony that is both sustainable and inspiring to others.

The charity Mind (mind.org.uk) has some great reading on workplace well-being and blogs they have done with personal accounts of the importance of being aware of our mental health at work. https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/