It’s the weekend. I’m not paid by UWE Bristol (my ‘day-job’) to think at the weekend. I can stop working (attending meetings, teaching, writing emails). But I can’t stop thinking – it’s going to happen anyway. As Descartes wrote, “I think therefore I am”. This is part of the challenge of understanding what “work” actually is, for the few of us (knowledge workers¹) – most of the world is still sweating and grafting a living.
At GitHub You Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Office, But There Is A Nice One If You Do
If you want to work for GitHub, the software development collaboration hub built on the open source Git project, you have to be independent and able to work outside the confines of what most organizations would consider normal operational guidelines.
Attract More Millennials Using These 4 Workplace Tweaks
Millennials are quickly outnumbering the rest of us: There are now more than 75 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 34, according to Pew Research, and that figure outnumbers the numbers for Generation X.
Fujitsu predicts new technology challenges as the workplace evolves
Imagine owning a business, but not having to rent or manage an office. New technologies and changes in the way employees work will continue to define how businesses structure and secure the workplace. In a report predicting the changes to the workplace through 2025, Fujitsu echoes earlier findings from HPand Dell that offices are becoming more mobile.
To Stay Competitive, Companies Need to Retain Talent. Here's How
With a shrinking talent pool to cull from, companies are redesigning their offices in an effort to find and keep the best people on their teams. Many of these solutions include implementing 21st-century solutions such as the cloud, in addition to seeking the help of architects and interior designers to create employee-oriented spaces. Here are five strategies being used to recruit and retain the best talent.
Women Only: How Spaces Support Women in Business
Within our industry, gender-specific coworking spaces have played an important role in helping women thrive professionally. Some have found in these spaces the support they needed to move forward or the environment necessary for them to be able to focus and disconnectfrom their home-life.
Why the Conference Room Is Always Booked, No Matter What You Do
Just a guess, but I bet your process for planning a meeting at work goes something like this: You log on to your company calendar, or spreadsheet, or whatever you use. You pull up the conference-room tab. You look at everyone’s schedules and the schedules of the various always-overbooked rooms, and you're already exhausted. You finally find a time and a space and send out an invite. Several people email to ask if you can change the time. One of them is your boss, so you look for another time and another room.
Variety of Workspace 'enables productivity'
A greater variety of workplace settings is deemed more important to enable productivity in the workplace, according to research. Leesman Index has been conducting a workplace satisfaction survey which has been operating for five years. It has now been completed by more than 120,000 people.
Employees in the Southwest are the Most Burned Out
Employees in the Southwest feel the most burned out and also log the most work after hours, according to the Staples Advantage Workplace Index, a recent study of office workers in the U.S. conducted by the business-to-business division of Staples. Coming in second in terms of feeling burned out is the Northeast, followed by the Midwest and Southeast, with workers in the West feeling the least burnout.
6 Ways to Actually Get Work Done in the Office
If you are currently one of the 119 million full-time employees in the U.S., how do you stay active and engaged while on the job? Millions of workers find themselves caught up with email, staring at a blank screen or fiddling in their chair for hours each week -- and have little to show for their time spent at the office. Often, the consequence of their procrastination is 60-hour work weeks and diminishing job satisfaction.
The workplace of the future – where no one has a 9-to-5 job
Depending on your point-of-view, the near future could either be a utopia of people working how and when they choose – or the death of job security and everything that comes with it. Welcome to the age of the freelancer, epitomised in Upwork – the globe’s biggest marketplace for employers to hook up with workers.
The Genesis of ideation and the places we go to have our best ideas
Because collaboration, creativity and innovation are increasingly perceived as key objectives and differentiators of performance, the genesis and mechanisms behind ideation and creativity are an an integral part of both business and personal development. As a consequence, there is growing interest in the way the physical attributes of work settings may influence or even trigger creative behaviour.
HOW TO CREATE A LEGIBLE WORKPLACE
Dr. Michael O’Neill, a senior research strategist for Haworth, explores how we’ve moved from cube farms to chaos to something a lot better: legible workplaces. The days of heads-down, individual, focused work at a desk for eight hours are gone. Technology has untethered us. Employers seeking innovation are encouraging collaboration among workers and groups. The “cube farms” of the Baby Boomers are giving way to the flexible workstyle of Generation X workers and the desire for social and group workspaces of Generation Y. Successful organizations recognize that the definition of work is shifting to include times to refresh, be inspired, socialize, move about, and collaborate.
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COALESSE: CONNECTING ACROSS THE GLOBE
Having strong connections at work is a key indicator of job satisfaction, and meaningful connections often happen in cafés, hallways, lounge spaces, even conference rooms. In the Coalesse and Steelcase WorkLife Centers around the world, spaces for social connection play an integral role in the work day.
Fun and Powerful Ideas to Help Shape Your Company Culture
Successful CEO's share creative company culture practices that have increased productivity, employee loyalty, and profits. A strong and effective company culture is much more than a kitchenette stocked with free snacks and a ping pong table in the center of the office. While these are nice perks, the outcome may or may not have a significant impact.
Five things to consider before switching to a standing desk
Sitting at an office desk for prolonged periods of time might be taking a toll on your body. While it's yet to be seen if sitting is as detrimental as some studies have suggested, switching to a standing desk is becoming an increasingly popular way to mitigate the potential health risks.
Workplace Flexibility: Neither for the Weak at Heart nor the Uncreative
What do you think when you hear the term "workplace flexibility"? Is it a single program? Would it surprise you to know that, on average, companies offer six different types of flexible work options? WorldatWork's recent Trends in Workplace Flexibility survey explores some of these work options.
Simple tips for staying healthy if you sit at a desk all day long
If you spend many hours of the day sitting at a desk or working in front of a computer like we do, then you know how tough it can be on your back, your neck, and uh…even your waistline. But there are actually things — really easy things — that you can do to make your work day easier on your body and to help keep you healthier.
What Can Impact Design Teach Corporations About Creativity?
Ellen Mitchell Kozack presented at the SXSW Eco Conference in Austin, Texas, in October. She talked about the dual impact that public interest design projects have on transforming communities, as well as the design firms that do the work: what we gain, and how we learn and grow as a result.
10 WAYS TO WORK BETTER
Let’s face it: some offices aren’t exactly the most motivating places to work. We’ve all visited (or worked in) an office with a soulless beige color palette, ominous florescent lighting, high cubicle walls and low morale. But flipping to an open-plan “modern” workspace—with no cubicle walls, no boundaries, and no privacy—sometimes creates more problems than it solves.