The Working Space
TWS - Orgatec 2022 Photo/Video Album

A quick walk thru of Orgatec 2022.

TWS - Orgatec 2022 Photo/Video Album
Manufacturer, NeoCon 2021
Source: CFN News Desk
Hightower wins multiple NeoCon awards including ...

Contract furnishings provider, Hightower received multiple awards at NeoCon 2021, including IIDA's 'Best Small Showroom' (under 4,000 sf) and 'Best of Competition' for its newly designed Chicago showroom.

Hightower wins multiple NeoCon awards including ‘Best Showroom’
Manufacturer, People
Source: CFN News Desk
Humanscale Announces Elizabeth Margles as Chief ...

Humanscale welcomes Elizabeth Margles to its Marketing Division in the role of Chief Marketing Officer. Margles comes to Humanscale with twenty years of experience in design, fashion and retail and a background in public relations and advertising.

Humanscale Announces Elizabeth Margles as Chief Marketing Officer
Manufacturer
Source: CFN News Desk
Steelcase teams up with Kontrol Technologies to ...

The exclusive relationship with Kontrol's BioCloud® Technology will provide real-time detection of airborne pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 to help make workplaces safer as organizations return to the office.

Steelcase teams up with Kontrol Technologies to provide air quality monitoring and viral detection technology
Manufacturer, People
Source: CFN News Desk
Alan Jay Heller dies at 81

For over 50 years, Heller offered leading designers the opportunity to work with new technologies to create innovative products. Those were great partnerships and they resulted in great products.

Alan Jay Heller dies at 81

Insights

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4 Questions to Ask Before Investing in Your Next Workspace

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4 Questions to Ask Before Investing in Your Next Workspace

New ways of working are driving the demands for different kinds of spaces at work. People are looking for more informal, comfortable places to get work done. Workers want to feel like they can be themselves at work leading them to seek out spots that remind them of home. But, while a couch and a coffee table might look inviting, they don’t all survive the rigors of the workplace.

There are four questions you need to ask before investing in casual spaces. Whether it’s a bench, lounge chair, coffee table or something else — what works for a seating area at home doesn’t always work at the office.

1. Does it feel good?

2. Can you plug in?

3. Will it hold up?

4. Can you be proud of it?

For more information on each of these questions, visit 360 Latest News: 

https://www.steelcase.com/blog/4-questions-ask-investing-next-workspace/

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Why Companies Are Suddenly Investing Billions On Their Workplaces

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Why Companies Are Suddenly Investing Billions On Their Workplaces

What’s to become of the traditional work office?

Is it possible that communications tools like Skype, Zoom.us and Google Hangouts will have the effect of making communal office spaces obsolete?

Is the day coming when organizations will redeploy workers to home offices – where they’ll have no commute, and the freedom to work all day in play clothes?

A few years ago, researchers at iconic furniture maker, Herman Miller, began a deep-dive into the future of the global workplace driven by the desire to answer questions like these. Clearly, technology already makes it possible for many people to work away from conventional offices. The question is whether that’s ultimately the best thing for workers, not to mention the companies that employ them.

Via talentculture.com 

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Staring At A Screen All Day Could Damage Your Retinas

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Staring At A Screen All Day Could Damage Your Retinas

Your parents were right: Staring at a screen all day will ruin your eyes. The only thing they got wrong was the kind of screen. Light emitted by LED-illuminated screens, the kinds you find on smartphones, tablets, and computers, kill the cells in your retinas as you use them. New research found that, in rats, three-months' worth of screen use led to a 23% increase in retina cell death.

The study arrayed regular consumer tablets around rat cages. The tablets where switched on for 16 continuous hours per day for three months, and then the retinal damage in the rats was compared to that of a control group that didn't have to stare at the screens all day long. Finally, a third group was subjected to the same conditions, only with a filter over the screens to cut out certain wavelengths of light.

Via fastcoexist.com 

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THINKING OUTSIDE THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT BOX

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THINKING OUTSIDE THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT BOX

For the past few decades, change management has been the accepted best business process to transition individuals, teams, and organizations to new ways of working. Preparation and support through change are essential for people if you want to drive organizational success and outcomes. Yet, when it comes to the complex needs of people in dynamic work environments, the notion of change “management” is stagnant and unresponsive. According to the Harvard Business Review, despite a huge investment in change management tools and training, most studies show a 60-70 percent failure rate, a statistic that has remained constant since the 1970s.

Via workdesign.com 

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Change Management

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Change Management

Here’s a question for the C-suite crowd: How do you think about change management as it relates to your company’s workspace? When you move, undertake a renovation, or pursue an FF&E upgrade, do you have a system in place to regularly communicate the reasons for the change, what it will entail, and how the new office will operate?

These days, we’re seeing increased focus on the engaged employee as a happy and productive one. Part of that engagement involves the physical environment and significant changes to it. When companies invest in their workspaces, it’s vital that employees are excited about the changes and comfortable with the new environment. That engagement is the best way to ensure a return on the investment.

Via dlrgroup.com 

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‘Workplace Guardians’ & well designed workspaces key to boosting business performance, says Interserve

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‘Workplace Guardians’ & well designed workspaces key to boosting business performance, says Interserve

Businesses should adopt teams of ‘workplace guardians’ to curate work spaces that support employee wellbeing and overall business performance, international support services and construction group Interserve has said.

The findings come as part of a new study from the company, Designing and delivering effective workplace experiences – a practical guide, which calls on businesses to shift their focus away from functional issues, such as cost per square metre, and towards the productivity boost that can be delivered through well-designed work spaces which engage employees and make them feel valued.

Interserve’s report sets out a six-stage programme for businesses to create effective workplace experiences which it says should be led by a team of experienced workplace coordinators or ‘guardians’ – a process that sees workplaces shaped by employees, for employees.

Via hrnews.co.uk

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The Case for Space as Education Shifts the Frame

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The Case for Space as Education Shifts the Frame

The U.S. workforce has undergone a significant shift in recent years. People change jobs roughly every 4.2 years, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s predicted that 43 percent of the U.S. workforce will be freelancers by 2020.

Today, we’re watching an American economy prepare for a liquid workforce, creating “highly adaptable and change-ready enterprise environments” where qualities such as ‘ability to quickly learn’ or ‘shift gears’ rank higher with prospective employees than ‘deep expertise for the specialized task at hand.’ To prepare our young people for this significant shift, in recent years innovators in education have been responding.

Via gensleron.com

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The office of the future should be defined by the age of its inhabitants. But not in the way you think

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The office of the future should be defined by the age of its inhabitants. But not in the way you think

The office of the future is most commonly seen as the habitat of Millennials. But there are all sorts of flaws in this assumption. Apart from the casual stereotyping of a diverse demographic of people, the most glaring is the fact that the workforce is ageing rather than getting younger, and that most offices must now meet the needs of a wider range of age groups than at any time in their history. A new report from Totaljobs seeks to redress the balance in this regard. It suggests that some of the key features of the office of the future will not be slides and ping pong tables but flexible working areas, quiet spaces, spas and private medical rooms. The study claims that the fixation with Millennials means that a large number of older workers now feel that the design of offices does not meet their needs.

The study claims that over a third (35 percent) of workers aged over 45 feel that employers’ provisions for people their age are ‘non-existent’, and almost half believe that workplaces ‘naturally cater towards younger employees’. The research involved interviews with over 2,000 working people over 45. The most pressing concerns identified in the study were health issues (30 percent), being out of touch with technology (27 percent) and being unable to learn new things as quickly (24 percent).

Via workplaceinsight.net 

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What Trump’s Messy Office Reveals About His Leadership Style

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What Trump’s Messy Office Reveals About His Leadership Style

One of the most revealing things about a person is their workspace. Not only can a person’s office or desk reveal how they like to work, it can shed light on deep-seated psychological and personality traits, says Colin Ellard, an environmental psychologist and professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Waterloo, whose latest book, Places of the Heart, explores how our workspaces and other daily environments affect us and those around us.

"For many of us, other than the room where we sleep, our office is the place where we log more hours than anywhere else, so (it) can be very revealing," says Ellard. And it’s not just whether a person chooses to keep their desk neat or messy that reveals something about them.

Via fastcompany.com

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The Deskless Workforce, “Enterprized” Consumer and other 2017 Enterprise Cloud Trends

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The Deskless Workforce, “Enterprized” Consumer and other 2017 Enterprise Cloud Trends

The enterprise cloud software industry can point to 2016 as yet another year of noteworthy growth. The 31 cloud software companies that are publicly held reported annual revenue increases of almost 25 percent, saw their combined share valuations grow over 30 percent and their market caps hit more than $1 billion.

Following on the heels of an impressive 2016, what does 2017 have in store for the industry? The partners at Emergence Capital offer the following predictions around the forces that will drive the enterprise software space during this New Year.

Via mattermark.com 

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How Co-Working is Transforming Cities

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How Co-Working is Transforming Cities

In the last 10 years, we have experienced one of the biggest changes in the work market: the rise of co-working spaces. Between 2005 and today, it grew from just 1 in San Francisco to 7,800 co-working spaces across the globe. In a year from now, predictions forecast 37 000 co-working spaces worldwide gathering more than 2 million people.

If we do the calculation correctly, it means 29,200 co-working spaces will be created between 2017 and 2018. This means that 40 new co-working spaces will come to life every day until the end of 2018. The given numbers emphasize how popular this type of work environment has become, bringing a transformation to the work market which many people want to experience in every city.

Via theundercoverrecruiter.com 

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Sitting All Day Makes Your Body Age Faster

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Sitting All Day Makes Your Body Age Faster

If you stand up right now, you'll be extending your life. Scientists have discovered that sitting down not only causes all kinds of health problems, but it might actually also make you age quicker.

"Our study found cells age faster with a sedentary lifestyle. Chronological age doesn’t always match biological age," writes lead author Aladdin Shadyab of the UC San Diego School of Medicine in a release.

Our DNA has protective caps at its ends called telomeres. These caps deteriorate, like so much else, with age, and their decline can be accelerated by activities like smoking, or being overweight. But now Shadyab and his team have linked telomere decline with a lack of physical activity. In short, if you sit all day, then your cells will age much faster than if you are active. Your body, at the cellular level, may be older than you think.

Via fastcoexist.com 

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Working From Home Usually Means Longer Hours For Less Money

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Working From Home Usually Means Longer Hours For Less Money

Telecommuting sounds like a dream. Instead of sitting in traffic, you get to spend an extra hour in bed. The coffee is better, you don't have to listen to the inane jabbering of your coworkers, and if you get through your quota of work early, you're done for the day, instead of hanging around wasting time to fill up the remaining hours. And while that may be true for some lucky folks, the reality is quite different, especially when it comes to pay and long hours.

"Rather than enhancing true flexibility in when and where employees work," write the authors of a new study, "the capacity to work from home mostly extends the workday and encroaches into what was formerly home and family time."

The biggest problem with telecommuting is taking work home. That sounds odd when the whole point of remote working is to take your work home, but the problem starts when the usual workday ends. Even if you're forced to hang around at the office until your workaholic boss quits for the day, you know when the workday is over. At home, finding work/life balance is tricky, but what you don't often hear is that those extra hours worked at home often go unpaid.

Via fastcoexist 

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Watch: Can Your Workspace Make You a Better Leader?

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Watch: Can Your Workspace Make You a Better Leader?

Sara Armbruster, Vice President Strategy, Research and New Business Innovation at Steelcase, spoke at the 8th Global Peter Drucker Forum about the concept of “The Entrepreneurial Society.” She discusses her belief that the workplace itself can help leaders lead better, and, in turn, help others around them succeed.

Via steelcase.com 

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Culture Beyond the Cube: Aligning Your Office Design with Your Purpose

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Culture Beyond the Cube: Aligning Your Office Design with Your Purpose

When you're trying to align your culture with your purpose, one of the areas that you should consider is the way your office design reflects that alignment. If your work is creative and forward thinking, but your office environment is dull and boring, that sends mixed messages to employees and customers alike.

So how can you align your culture with office design to ensure employee engagement with your purpose and encourage customer engagement with your brand? Start by thinking beyond the cubicle to office designs that suit the cultural values you want to promote.

Via inc.com 

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Transitioning to the future of work and the workplace

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Transitioning to the future of work and the workplace

Embracing digital culture, tools, and approaches.

A Deloitte survey (sponsored by Facebook) asked C-suite executives for their perspectives on the future of work. Their responses reveal six themes about the future workplace—and six lessons to help leaders ease the transition.

Communication, collaboration, and connectivity are at the core of much of what the C-suite believes will drive the major changes in the future of work. The reason for investing heavily in these aspects of work is the belief they represent hard business benefits for their companies.

Via deloitte.com 

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Q+A: Lenovo HQ Features an Ecosystem of Spaces

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Q+A: Lenovo HQ Features an Ecosystem of Spaces

This is an installment in Steelcase's series of interviews with architects and designers about this evolution of the workplace. It features Maria Peterson, Senior Interior Project Designer with Perkins+Will. Maria and her team worked with multinational technology company Lenovo to design their new Morrisville, North Carolina headquarters in a seven month timespan. We asked Maria to give 360 the behind-the-scenes story of this project.

Steelcase 360: Perkins+Will believes that workplace design is more than simply delivering a beautiful space. Tell us what you consider when approaching a new project.

Maria: At the end of the day, a newly designed space should be a beautiful space, as you mentioned. However, it also needs to seamlessly support the culture and productivity of the client’s business. Each client is different in how they work, the flexibility they provide their employees and the amenity spaces they want to incorporate.

Read the whole interview at steelcase.com

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What Uber Can Tell Us About the Future Workplace

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What Uber Can Tell Us About the Future Workplace

It was only a few years ago that people had to call a cab in advance — sometimes an hour in anticipation of when they would want to be picked up to ensure they’d get a ride.

Then Uber came along and changed things for good. By offering cab service whenever and wherever customers needed, they created a new standard: businesses would have to cater to the schedules of consumers, rather than the other way around.

This is the defining characteristic of the new economy. We’ve seen it with Netflix and movies, with Hulu and TV. And the next major industry to follow this trend in the coming years, we think, is the workplace — with coworking spaces at the center of the shift.

The demand is already there: Freelancers comprised 34% of the workforce in 2014 and are expected to rise to 50% by 2020, and more companies experimenting with alternative workplace arrangements. And the expectations of employers and workers have changed: In 2014, a four-hour response time to emails was deemed good (the point at which about 80% of people were happy). By 2015, this had moved up to about one hour. In 2014, only 4% of people said they expected a response within 15 minutes; by 2015, 14.5% expected that.

Via business2community.com

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After Two Years Of Trying 6-Hour Workdays, These Companies Say It Worked

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After Two Years Of Trying 6-Hour Workdays, These Companies Say It Worked

When some city workers in Gothenburg, Sweden, switched to a six-hour workday—in a two-year experiment that recently ended—they were sick less often, more efficient, and happier. But the municipal retirement home that ran the experiment had to hire more nurses, and the extra cost meant that the shorter workday won't become permanent.

Some small Swedish tech companies, on the other hand, say that a shift to a six-hour day can make business sense.

Brath, a Stockholm-based startup that decided to limit workdays to six hours when it launched in 2012, argues that a shorter day may have made the business more successful than it otherwise would have been—in part because the work-life balance can help them attract and keep the best employees, and in part because happier employees are more productive.

Via fastcoexist.com 

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A Futuristic Office Is Less Important Than An Office That's Good For Workers

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A Futuristic Office Is Less Important Than An Office That's Good For Workers

According to a new report from Glassdoor about America’s labor market and job trends, "2016 was a landmark year for hiring." When measured in rising pay, unfilled jobs, and historically low unemployment, 2016 proved one of the strongest in our economy’s recent history.

Interestingly, "landmark" times for hiring also yield fascinating times to be designing and/or creating the future of workplaces. Just as Glassdoor celebrates the strength of 2016, it also acknowledges that the current 5.85 million unfilled job openings in America translate to lost productivity and increased competition for talent. It also recognizes new technologies spurring innovation will also change how we work and the tools we need. Competition for talent? Enhancing productivity? New technologies and tools? Strategic and successful workplaces can play a critical role in helping companies adapt and solve these challenges.

Via fastcoexist.com

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