In conversation with Larissa: the art of belonging
We speak with Larissa de Jel, work.club community manager, about what makes people feel at home in a workplace; and the importance of the small, everyday moments.
Your title is community manager. What does that actually mean, day to day?
I'm the contact person for everyone in the building. They come to me for facilities, for reservations, to host events, and I coordinate all of it. But the biggest part is welcoming people and making sure they feel welcome. My job is to make people feel this is their second home and connect with each other. It's a big job, but it's fun.
What actually makes a workplace feel like a second home?
The big events help, a summer barbecue, a Christmas party, plus off-site events like padel or golf days. But the small things matter just as much: being there for people, so they can come to you with any question and you help as much and as fast as you can. And sometimes just having a coffee and a chat. That's part of the experience too.
"My job is to make people feel this is their second home."
— Larissa de Jel, work.club
If you're designing a workplace people actually want to be in, how should you think about the different ways people work?
You have to have everything in one. Offices with open workspaces but also meeting rooms and phone booths where people can shut themselves off to focus. Hospitality spaces too where people can eat, drink and socialise. We have that mix, and I think it's important to create different options.
Why does getting people together in a space beat everyone working from home?
When you're actually in the building, you share things with the people around you, and you make connections. Work should be fun. A lot of people come in, do their work, and go home: okay, I'm done. We want a home feeling. Not literally home, but that they feel good, that it's nice to be here, to have a drink, a chat, to join in.
Thinking about the offices you've seen, what do people most often get wrong?
They’re too white. It's often just a square with white walls, and it needs more colour. When you walk into a building you want to feel like you're in a living room, that it's relaxed, that it's nice. At work.club locations we try to make people feel comfortable and bring a bit more character to the space than traditional offices.
"When you walk into a building you want to feel like you're in a living room." — Larissa de Jel, work.club
You keep coming back to small, everyday moments. Which ones actually build community?
The kitchen, where people come together. And what we call the internal street, the co-working area, where they run into each other and have a quick chat or a coffee. And the Thursday drinks once a month, when everyone comes together. The day after an event, you see people chatting more. It's a really nice atmosphere.
Is there a moment where you saw your community really come alive?
Not long ago we had the summer barbecue, with more people than the year before. At an event like that you see people being themselves. The DJ's playing, we have a quick dance, everyone's chatting. And the day after, we hear "yesterday was so nice." That feels really good.
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