At the design company Wolff Olins, in the concrete jungle of London's Kings Cross, workers often arrive at the office early, particularly in the summer, to work on the sizeable vegetable garden on the roof. Wolff Olins's building manager, Stuart Robertson, says the garden makes being at work more enjoyable. "Rather than just going from a house to an office, it gives you some interaction with nature during your day," he says.
位于伦敦英王十字街的高楼大厦中的沃尔夫奥林斯设计公司的职员经常早早来到办公室,尤其是在夏天,到楼顶上的大花园中干些活。沃尔夫奥林斯公司的建设经理斯图亚特·罗伯逊说花园使得上班变得更加愉快。“不再是从家中到办公室,它可以使你在工作之余同大自然亲密接触,”他说。
The garden is maintained on a day-to-day basis by a staff club, but everyone in the company is encouraged to join in when they can. As well as providing employees with an opportunity to get their hands dirty, get outside and mix with colleagues from other departments, the garden also provides plenty of fresh, organic produce for the staff restaurant. From a PR point of view, the garden is a visible symbol of the company's commitment to both environmental issues and employee welfare.
这个花园的日常清洁工作通常由职员俱乐部来做,但公司鼓励每位员工在他们方便的时候加入其中。除了能够为雇员提供一个让他们动手、走到户外和与来自不同部门的同事相互交流的机会外,这个花园还可以为职工餐厅提供大量的新鲜有机蔬菜。从公共关系的角度来看,花园成为该公司致力于环境问题和职员福利的一个显著象征。
For The Office Group in London, which rents out office space, having a garden has brought financial rewards. "The roof garden definitely helps us rent the offices out," says Charlie Green, co-owner of the company. "People love it. They have meetings up there, it has Wi-Fi, they can help themselves to freshly grown vegetables. It's one of the first things we show prospective tenants." The company's garden is maintained by a charity called Global Generation, which involves young people in environmental projects in the community.
对于在伦敦出租办公室外部空间的办公室集团公司来说,拥有一个花园已经带来了财政效益。“楼顶花园显然可以帮助我们把办公室租赁出去,”公司老板查理·格林说。“人们喜欢它。他们可以在那里进行集会,花园中配备有无线局域网,他们可以随便吃刚收获的新鲜蔬菜。这是我们要向潜在租客推介的首要好处之一。”公司的花园由一个名为世代全球的慈善机构负责管理,这是一个吸引年轻人参加社区环境工程建设的机构。
Of course, not every firm will be able to rustle up a gardening club or find a local charity willing to take on the demands of looking after a full-scale vegetable patch, or have a sizeable roof terrace to hand. But even a small courtyard with some plants and benches can create a place for staff to escape and breathe in fresh air – as long as it isn't colonised by the smokers.
当然,并不是每个公司都能够建成一个花园俱乐部,或发现一个愿意满足照看花园全部菜地需求的当地慈善团体,或拥有一个相当大的楼顶露台。但即使一个拥有一些植物或长椅的小院落也可以为员工创造一个休闲和呼吸新鲜空气的场所——只要这个地方不被吸烟者所占据。