New Steelcase UK Boss Highlights Workers Wellbeing As ‘Key Priority’ In Office Design

LONDON 24 JUNE 2014 – Steelcase has announced that Bostjan Ljubic, a highly experienced sales director in the Asian markets, has been appointed to lead Steelcase in the UK and Ireland.

Ljubic, 36, has taken up his new position after lengthy stints in the Japanese, Korean and Hong Kong markets.

Ljubic says that there is an increasing focus on considering wellbeing of employees in the design of working environments and that companies which are addressing the issue with most zeal are gaining competitive advantage.

He said: “As the economic situation continues to improve, companies are increasing their drive to attract and retain high quality staff.

“The economic impact of employee wellbeing plus greater understanding of the issue is now propelling companies to develop and enhance their engagement with their workforces.

“Companies are now much more enthusiastically considering wellbeing into the design of their workspaces.”

Ljubic, 36, married with two young sons, enjoyed stints with the company in Japan and Hong Kong, said: “The issue of wellbeing has developed very significantly in recent times.

“Businesses that are focusing clearly on the issue are doing so because they have identified the potential emotional, financial and competitive advantage.

The mountain of research on wellbeing points very clearly to it being in a company’s interests to take the matter seriously.”

In Europe 30% of workers believe they suffer from stress and in the UK alone, £15 billion a year is lost to health-related presenteesim (where people are at work but not fully engaged). 60% of lost work days are due to stress.

In companies where workers report high levels of stress, healthcare costs can rise by 50%. Conversely, where workers are fully engaged healthcare costs for employers drop by 41%.

“Companies are now making the strategic decisions they were inhibited from making during the depths of the recession and that includes providing the right type of environment for employees.

“At Steelcase we have been advising clients on the opportunities which can help make a difference to their bottom line and there is no question that businesses believe in wellbeing on an unprecedented scale.

We are also seeing this in sectors such as education where results are being improved by creating inspiring learning environments for teachers and students.

“What we are seeing now is consideration of the whole person at work – mind, body and soul – and the physical workplace is powerful in providing an environment in which people can thrive.

Our research into the way people work has yielded a great deal of evidence to show that there are steps to be taken that can reduce friction in the workplace and improve the potential of employees.”