The Challenge
As MSD's team continued to grow and transform, local leadership was concerned that the existing management style had become too cautious and conservative for the ambitious, young, and diverse workforce.
Merck’s Global Real Estate team initially felt hesitant about implementing a Future of Work concept in the Middle East. The Middle Eastern work culture is characterised by the incredibly fluid and complex external environment, and many teams in the MSD Lebanon office had already developed close-knit connections within their immediate teams. To some, the new concept brought about curiosity but also uncertainty and fear. The leadership team, on the other hand, had started to recognise that in order for business to succeed, people from different teams had to come together with greater ease, and the physical office environment should facilitate these connections.
Although over 85% of employees believed that the design of their workplace is important to them, only slightly over half (58%) thought that it created an enjoyable environment to work in. Although many employees (79%) considered that the culture of the Lebanon office was supportive to working in a mobile/flexible way, they felt limited by the design of the workplace and technology tools and infrastructure.
The Outcome
The office of the future and new ways of working that MSD envisioned, designed and implemented with Veldheon + Company gave a clear picture of what this integrated approach can achieve:
- Greater sense of pride
- Increased productivity
- A greater sense of community
- A greater sense of engagement
Results in Numbers
- 100% employees agreed that the office was “a place I’m proud to bring visitors to”
- 20% increase in agreement with the statement "The workplace enables us (me) to work productively”
- Over 96% employees believed that the current workspace contributes to a sense of community at work
- 96% of employees thought that the design of their workplace encouraged them to choose work settings/locations that best supported the different tasks
- 76% of employees preferred or strongly preferred working in an activity-based way over old ways of working
