Leading Scottish construction and property consultancy, Thomas & Adamson, has taken the bold step to reimagine the future of the workplace following the pandemic by introducing a raft of new wellbeing changes, designed to better meet the needs of staff in a post-pandemic world.
The move embodies the company’s vision and ethos of prioritising employee’s mental health and wellbeing, whilst also recognising that the world of work has changed forever. It sees the business abolish the standard ‘9-5’ working week in favour of a genuine flexible working policy; enabling staff to meet both the needs of the business and support their own work life balance. A raft of regular wellbeing and fitness sessions have also been introduced, designed to help employees improve their physical and mental wellbeing as the pandemic continues to take its toll on the nation’s mental health.
The new measures coincide with the company reaffirming its commitment to Edinburgh and Glasgow by relocating its headquarters to Quartermile following 85 years in the city’s Wemyss Place and its Glasgow base to Libertas House in the heart of Glasgow’s central business district. As employees begin to return to physical work after more than a year spent working from home, the new office spaces have been designed to better suit the future of work and support the changing needs of employees, offering modern and innovative space and breakout areas to help inspire and aid creativity. Despite being fully redesigned around the needs of employees and clients, the company also used the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability in its use of retaining original building features and donating redundant furniture and equipment to local charities for repurposing.
Alastair Wallace, Senior Partner at Thomas and Adamson, said: “Despite it being a tough year operationally with many projects having been put on hold due to COVID regulations, we were determined to use this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take the bold step of reimagining the future of work at Thomas & Adamson. We wanted to create an office and environment that supports our industry-leading position, and as horrific as Covid has been, we used it as a chance to make positive change; to use the momentum from the pandemic to take our team on a journey of transformation, with everyone having a say each step of the way on what they wanted from the new environment.
“While some businesses have spoken about moving towards a pure remote working model post-pandemic, we are firmly committed to having a physical location for staff to collaborate and learn from each other, as well as giving them more flexibility and support as we begin transitioning back into the office. It’s something we’ve dreamed about doing for a very long time, and the pandemic has given us the push we needed to reset the business.”
Aside from being the latest company to take up office space in Quartermile, Thomas & Adamson were also part of the team involved in the creation of Quartermile. This urban regeneration consists of 1,050 apartments, 370,000 sq ft of Grade A offices and 65,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space. It was master-planned by architect Foster + Partners and takes its name from the fact it is a quarter mile (400 m) from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile and measures a quarter mile from corner to corner.