We believe that having a workplace grounded in strong values helps to attract the right people to our team. We also believe that our team draws inspiration from the spaces they work in every day. Our thoughtfully designed, new workspace helps inspire us to be bold, collaborate and innovate. All of which are important when it comes to helping patients get access to the support and treatments they need. 

Following the Danish design principles that marry simplicity with functionality, our workspace is open concept, featuring light-filled spaces and clean lines. The design is beautiful and yet unobtrusive, allowing for concentration for focused work and easy access to colleagues for collaboration. 

We took a moment to speak with two team members about our new Canadian office and how it impacts how they work. Here’s what John Burrows, Executive Director of BioPharmaceuticals, and Stasia Vidmar, Corporate Events Manager, had to say.

John: For me it’s a lot of collaboration, meetings and decision making around the launch of products to support people living with hemophilia and growth disorders like Turner syndrome.

Stasia: I spend my days managing the development, planning and execution of meetings on a national and regional scale. That includes things like advisory boards and other corporate meetings that require input from and partnership with diverse stakeholders.

J: In the old building we worked on two separate floors separated by an elevator and security doors. It really felt cumbersome to go speak to someone who wasn’t right next to you. The new office, however, is much more open – you see other people taking the stairs or down the hall and you think, “oh, I need to talk to you!” It’s much easier to get input on the fly, which makes working more efficient and effective.

S: In our old office, people wouldn’t get up and go talk to people – they’d still send emails. Now, with the open concept, it’s much easier to see if they’re trying to concentrate or if they’d be free for you to pop by and ask a question without interrupting something important. That really supports some quick and nimble collaboration. You get more done during the day because you aren’t spending extra time sending emails. Not just that, but you feel healthier walking around and taking the stairs!

J: The environment we’re in now is more modern, open and cheerful. It’s a more innovative space and it inspires you to think outside the box. You want to come up with creative solutions that will help improve the lives of patients.

S: The space signifies that Novo Nordisk is keeping up with the times and becoming more of the leader that we want to be in Canada. In Denmark and the U.S., they already had the same type of office spaces as we do now here in Canada. But this is new for us, and it’s helping us get to the next level of where we want to be. As we continue to grow and make a difference for Canadians living with diabetes, obesity and other serious chronic conditions, our office enables us to envision our future.

Thanks, John and Stasia, for sharing your thoughts. As we continue to build momentum as a leader in Canada’s healthcare space, we’re keeping the principle of “being bold” in the center of our culture. From how we work together, to our office design, to how we approach problem solving on behalf of Canadian patients, our new office space helps us think creatively and collaboratively so we can always keep moving forward.