Whether it’s an insurance provider making the process easier for patients to navigate, a medical-imaging company working toward a game-changing breakthrough, or a wellness company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives, health-focused organizations are integrating more technology and innovation into their businesses.
As part of this shift, these companies are rethinking the way their teams work. Instead of having siloed teams in static workspaces, forward-looking health companies are moving toward environments that inspire cross-functional collaboration and streamline information sharing. These flexible spaces, plus a workplace experience that empowers them to use those spaces throughout the day, enable teams to work with more agility, which can impact overall company performance. A McKinsey analysis found that agile companies have a 70 percent chance of being ranked in the top quartile for organizational health, which is the strongest predictor of long-term success.
In addition, health-focused companies are putting employee needs front and center. They’re ensuring the office workspace design includes elements that promote wellness like natural lighting, greenery, good acoustics, ergonomic furnishings, and spaces to grab healthy snacks. Research has shown that these workplace features can increase employee wellbeing and productivity. And because health companies deal with sensitive information, their offices need to be equipped with secure Wi-Fi and physical security.
WeWork’s approach to design supports the unique needs of specific industries and can be customized as needed. Here are three companies in the health and wellness space that have turned to WeWork to create workspaces that allow their employees to continue bringing more wellbeing solutions to the world.
GE Healthcare Korea: encouraging innovation
As an organization that specializes in medical imaging, biomanufacturing, and cell- and gene-therapy technologies, GE Healthcare Korea needs to stay on the cutting edge of innovation. To ensure that, GE Healthcare Korea launched an internal transformation to create a company culture that inspires collaboration and innovation.
“The best work is done when small, horizontal cross-functional teams come together and focus on a customer or business outcome,” says Francis Van Parys, president and CEO of GE Healthcare Korea.
Van Parys partnered with WeWork to design, build, and operate a collaborative and cost-efficient new headquarters in Seoul. GE Healthcare Korea’s customized workspace features a variety of space types where team members can meet to share ideas, work quietly, or host bigger group meetings. And, to add to the flexibility, GE Healthcare Korea also offers employees access to every WeWork location in Seoul, allowing them to cut down on their commute while meeting with customers and partners.
Oscar Health: wellness onsite
Oscar Health is a tech-driven insurance company. With a fast-growing team of specialists ranging from nurses to software engineers, Oscar needed a new headquarters to accommodate their employees while facilitating their collaborative culture.
Oscar Health’s new WeWork space is located at One Hudson Square in downtown Manhattan. It’s home to more than 500 employees and built to meet Oscar’s unique needs. The workplace offers a variety of functional spaces to complement different employee work styles, ranging from individual booths and open lounges to numerous breakout spaces and meeting rooms. What’s more, befitting a healthcare company, there is a big focus on wellness—which is why Oscar’s office includes a large room for wellness classes like yoga and showers so employees can wash up after biking to work or enjoying a midday workout.
Gympass: bringing fitness to the world
Gympass is a corporate benefit that allows companies to give their employees access to nearby gyms and studios. Today, Gympass is active in 14 countries, serving more than 1,500 companies, with more than 45,000 associated gyms worldwide. To fuel that expansion, the team partnered with WeWork to find space for growing teams in key markets.
“When expanding to Europe in 2015, and then to the U.S. in 2018, the team knew we would need multiple smaller offices for local teams to work out of, and that they would need them to be up and running quickly. WeWork was the perfect solution,” says Nikki Salenetri, Gympass’s U.S. head of human resources. “The company was able to set up shop in prime locations without having to worry about the logistics that come with opening a new office, like activating phones, Wi-Fi, and other amenities. This allowed the team to focus on growing the business.”
This solution not only ensured that Gympass employees would work in environments designed to help them do their best work, it also allowed them to work alongside other ambitious entrepreneurs. They could then network with people across industries and learn more about their target markets through WeWork programming like lunch-and-learns and other events.
WeWork offers companies of all sizes space solutions that help solve their biggest business challenges.
Dawn Papandrea is a freelance writer who covers work, personal finance, and higher education. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Family Circle and monster.com. Follow her on Twitter.