Jean-Michel Gathy, Denniston
What are the biggest challenges you’re facing?
The most challenging part for me has been working directly with the team on project updates. This is crucial in ensuring that we’re heading toward the same goal for that particular project.
What is your current work situation?
My team and I are working in our homes, and we stay connected via WhatsApp and email. I believe we work well as a team, and we are the strongest when we are together. No one succeeds by one’s self—you need a partner, a family, a team, colleagues. Like the beads on a necklace, all are of the same importance because if one breaks, the necklace falls.
What are some of the positive effects of working in these new ways?
There are many benefits to working from home. What I think is relevant right now is that we are wasting less time commuting. Cutting out a commute can be both a huge morale booster and a huge timesaver as we waste less money on gas or public transportation. Besides that, work productivity is better. Studies have shown that employees who work from home are 13 percent more productive compared with their in-office counterparts. This new method of working will motivate us and make us happier. Everyone seems to be talking about work-life balance these days, and there’s no better way to improve the work-life balance than to work from home.
What is your pulse on the industry?
The hotel world is not like fashion, and trends don’t simply change overnight. Ultimately, you need to design something that not only responds to the needs of the hotel, but also makes money. You have to work within certain parameters, therefore trends don’t change at the same rate. What has changed are attitudes around sustainability and current innovation relates to how to build things responsibly. Material use is changing dramatically, so I’m constantly looking at new modernizations—windows that are also solar panels, aluminum pergolas made to look like wood, which don’t warp and help preserve our forests. This is not just a trend, but the way the world is changing in terms of the environment.
Lastly, share some good news! Have you done anything to stay busy in these crazy times?
My work never stops. Basically, every day, I comment on drawings and redesign things. I work for 18 hours every day. I’m an absolute maniac—I never stop. I love what I do.