The initial idea for WAW came from Claudia in 2018.
Claudia: “After graduating as a Master of Interior Architecture here in the NL, I went out to pursue my passion for making purposeful and humane design in the workplace. But soon came to realise that it just wasn’t really there. At least not in the way I had it in mind.
I really wanted to design spaces beyond the aesthetic trends that could really help people with problems that I knew were happening such as burn out. I couldn’t find it, so I started thinking of doing it myself...
I shared my thoughts with Sol, because she has been a close friend since we were 10 years old and she is specialized in wellbeing, ending in long brainstorming sessions on skype about design and well-being...as well as a little bit of gossip ;)
Sol: “I was doing the CIPD qualification, and as part of a HR research, Claudia and I found multiple sources from each of our fields; Human Resources and Furniture/Interior Design. We have a common ground of improving employee’s quality of life at work. However, our research showed that both fields were completely disconnected”.
We concluded that a holistic wellbeing approach was needed, acting as a bridge between HR and Design to make happier employees, so we decided to build it.
And that is how we got started with a concept, a clear vision and goals, and of course the name ‘WAW’ which stands for Wellbeing at Work. Together we created a unique consultancy that measures wellbeing and offers interior design solutions based on our 5 variables model: Purpose, Connection, Sense of Belonging, Mobility & Health and Sustainability.
We believe that people are at the core of any business. We believe spaces should adapt to human beings, not the other way around. Therefore with WAW we humanise workspaces with the goal of helping employees to become the best version of themselves.
Our model optimises workspaces and therefore brings lots of benefits not only to employees but also to the business. For example, increased productivity, improved employee motivation and collaboration, and decreased absenteeism levels.
To create a workspace tailored to your culture, people, needs and aspirations we follow 3 independent phases.
Discovery:
We discover the organisation’s needs and aspirations by executing interviews and surveys, measuring spaces and taking photographs.
Design:
We establish design requirements and solutions based on our clients spatial and well-being needs.
Do:
Supervision of the Construction plan, furnishing acquisition, and supplier management.
We provide our clients with different plans that match specific circumstances (for example the refurbishing of a current workspace requires a different approach then an entire new workspace). To learn more about our plans here or read how Cliff Lay from Proactive Marketing Agency experienced collaborating with us here.