[Photos] How Shopee's new office in Singapore creates a fresh, fun and vibrant workspace

A 3,000 sqft gym, a massage room, nap pods, co-working spaces and a central staircase that connects all six floors of the building - when the Human Resources Online team took the tour around Shopee's new regional HQ, these were some of the exciting features that greeted us.

In less than four years, e-commerce platform Shopee has grown from a 10-employee brand to one with over 1,000 employees today.

To mark this growth, the company recently moved into its own building, in line with its commitment to nurture tech talent, develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and create job opportunities as it expands in Southeast Asia.

On this, Lim Teck Yong, Head of Regional Operations and People Team, Shopee, tells Human Resources Online: "As Shopee continues to experience exponential growth, it becomes increasingly important for us to brand ourselves as a unique entity.

"Previously, Shopee was located at Ascent in Science Park, with part of the team working out of Sea’s headquarters at Galaxis in One-North. As Shopee grew, there was an increasing need to house all employees in one building in order to facilitate cross-functional collaboration." (Sea Group is Shopee's parent company)

Lim further shares that this purpose-built space is centred around the concepts of connectivity, collaboration, and community. "As we connect millions of buyers and sellers across our platform, we aim to foster a creative and collaborative working environment as employees often work across departments."

Thus, the new building features an open and interactive space aimed at breaking down barriers and facilitating ease of communication. "Through the new office features, we have also created a community for employees to be comfortable and feel at home."

The new office space also incorporates features unique to the brand, to create a sense of belonging and home for the growing team.

"From the increased use of our brand colour, orange, around the office, to our in-house masseuses and gym, we have created a fresh, fun and vibrant environment that represents our people and culture."

How does such a space then help with the company culture? According to Lim, in addition to breaking down walls and easing communication, it also "reflects Shopee's personality of being approachable and personable, which we also cultivate through our daily interaction with Shopee's buyers and sellers."

Further, with flexibility and autonomy in mind, the company stays away from the 'one-size-fits-all' approach and instead, makes it a point to accommodate to every employees' individual needs as best as possible.

Apart from that, employees are free to work anywhere they wish in the office, be it in the cafeteria, standing hot-desks, or other common areas. "Our office boasts numerous collaborative spaces scattered throughout the work areas, including a co-working space on Level 4."

Talking about how having such an office space will ultimately improve employee productivity, Lim says: "Fundamentally, we envision the workplace to be where employees can come together to build meaningful connections. While it is important for our workers to continually challenge themselves, we think it is equally important to provide an inviting and comfortable work environment.

"Employees spend a large part of their day at work and that's why we paid extra attention to ensuring maximum comfort for all our employees when designing the new office."

For instance, the space includes a gym, fun-zone and more, where employees can relax over a game of darts, air hockey, or table tennis; eight nap pods on four levels where employees can take a power nap, a feature Lim deems particularly useful for the software engineers who often work late.

He adds: "Employees can also make appointments with an in-house masseuse up to twice a month - it’s no surprise that this service is always fully booked!"

Last but not least, there are standing hot-desks and community areas for employees to work at, four-pax phone booths on all six levels for those who need to take phone calls, and a cafeteria where staff can hang out, relax or collaborate over food and drinks. This space is also where Monday morning breakfasts are hosted for employees, with daily dinners available to all employees on order request.

On a concluding note, Lim shares: "By being flexible and creating an exciting working environment, our employees are happier at the workplace and are empowered to drive greater productivity and efficiencies."

Photos / Shopee