Insights

Big businesses benefit from start-up style working

Big businesses benefit from start-up style working

Big businesses are taking stock of organizational structures which are usually associated with start-ups in a bid to maintain a competitive edge.

As such, many notable corporates launching their own accelerator programs across Europe.

A start-up accelerator is comprised of a number of small, young companies, which receive funding and mentoring, typically within a shared physical space. For start-ups, participating in an accelerator program not only boosts funding resources, but also provides valuable connections with potential investors, buyers, and partners. For more established companies, however, setting up and funding an accelerator can add a dynamic operational layer.

Via jllrealviews.com 

5 Things Millennial Workers Want

5 Things Millennial Workers Want

Millennials entering the workforce display a markedly different set of preferences from their predecessors, at times confounding the companies striving to attract and retain them. Generational attitudes may be partially responsible for their characterization as disloyal or transitory, but equally culpable are the employers that fail to understand and meet Millennials’ needs.

Via bisnow.com 

Headspace: Where Do You Find Yours?

Headspace: Where Do You Find Yours?

Could lack of choice and access to quiet, focus-oriented space stifle career trajectory, especially those in a creative industry or role? Most offices tend to lack a proper amount of quiet space to focus and clear your head, as well as offer shared social spaces to release, play and teach. In reality we need time and quiet ‘headspace’ between each of these phases for ideas to mature before they take off.

Via gensleron.com 

Smart offices: the future arriving at a workplace near you

Smart offices: the future arriving at a workplace near you

Not so long ago, smart office buildings were seen as something out of a sci-fi movie, but today the technology exists to make them a reality. So how will the smart office benefit the people and businesses that occupy it? British Land’s new report, written in collaboration with WORKTECH Academy, seeks to pinpoint these benefits and locate where we are on the journey towards seeing them becoming widespread.

Via worktechacademy.com 

2017 AIA Conference: Visual Strategists on the Power of Creative Thinking

2017 AIA Conference: Visual Strategists on the Power of Creative Thinking

From the inner workings of the mind to the outer limits of the galaxy, Friday’s keynote at the 2017 AIA conference expanded the conversation well beyond the traditional boundaries of design.

Michael Bierut of Pentagram moderated a panel called “Design that Overcomes,” which included Dan Goods and David Delgado from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Dr. Eve Edelstein, the director of Perkins+Will’s Human Experience Lab.  

Via architecturalrecord.com 

How Generation Z is transforming the shopping experience

How Generation Z is transforming the shopping experience

Millennials are growing up, if not exactly growing old. Although it’s unlikely that publications like The New York Times are done issuing think pieces about the millennial generation, we are in the final season of HBO’s "Girls," and hoverboards are no longer a favorite after too many literally caught fire (millennials are increasingly trading them in for safe, sensible cars with baby seats in the back, anyway).  Retail marketers are responding by turning their attention to Generation Z, the cohort that follows millennials. 

Via retaildive.com 

LISTEN: How Aristotle Created the Computer

LISTEN: How Aristotle Created the Computer

The history of computers is often told as a history of objects, from the abacus to the Babbage engine up through the code-breaking machines of World War II. In fact, it is better understood as a history of ideas, mainly ideas that emerged from mathematical logic, an obscure and cult-like discipline that first developed in the 19th century. Mathematical logic was pioneered by philosopher-mathematicians, most notably George Boole and Gottlob Frege, who were themselves inspired by Leibniz’s dream of a universal “concept language,” and the ancient logical system of Aristotle.

Via theatlantic.com

Staying Connected at Work: 1900s to Now

Staying Connected at Work: 1900s to Now

Since the world’s first skyscraper went up in Chicago in 1885, people have converged to work together for a common goal. Companies and how people work together have changed dramatically since then and, in recent years, these changes have come fast and furious.

Via steelcase.com 

Six Design Principles to Support Wellbeing

Six Design Principles to Support Wellbeing

What do busy workers need most from their workplaces today?  First and foremost, they need it to be human centered; a workplace crafted to mentally excite and engage, physically comfort and emotionally support the people that work there. Although many have predicted the death of the office since mobile technologies allow workers the ability to be productive on the go, people have discovered they need more. Needs for collaboration, team building and individual focus are just a few reasons employees are heavily relying on their office to provide them with access to the people and tools they need to get work done.

Via pdrcorp.com

3 Things Corporates Can Learn from Co-Working Spaces

3 Things Corporates Can Learn from Co-Working Spaces

Entrepreneurs, small business owners and freelancers who used to call everything from cafes to airports their office now have a significantly better workplace option: shared work spaces. According to reports, co-working spaces or shared work spaces across the world have reported having 50% more members than two years ago. These innovative work spaces such as IndiQube host tens to hundreds of different companies across industries, irrespective of the size.

Via bwdisrupt.businessworld.in

Why co-working spaces are on the rise

Why co-working spaces are on the rise

The market demand for co-working space in Toronto is relatively new, but has been growing steadily over the past 10 years, spurring an increase in supply.

Co-working space refers to a shared work environment that a group of people from different employers share. Users of co-working space are often self-employed, frequent travellers, and work in either small start-up companies or with smaller non-profit organizations. The individuals and organizations who rent co-working space also vary across numerous industries.

Via reminetwork.com

To Save The American Dream, We Have To Change How We Think About Work

To Save The American Dream, We Have To Change How We Think About Work

Work today isn’t working for lots of people. Wages for most Americans haven’t increased above inflation in 40 years. Real unemployment–which includes people no longer looking for work–is above 10% (at least double the headline rate). Full-time jobs with benefits and protections are growing rarer. More than 15% of workers are now employed on-contract or temporarily, one recent study showed. And every indication, from holographic secretaries to Amazon drones, suggests that the workplace will continue to splinter. Robin Chase, cofounder of Zipcar, put it succinctly: “My father had one job in his lifetime. I will have six jobs in my lifetime, and my children will have six jobs at the same time.”

Via fastcompany.com 

Why the Millions We Spend on Employee Engagement Buy Us So Little

Why the Millions We Spend on Employee Engagement Buy Us So Little

Organizations are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on employee engagement programs, yet their scores on engagement surveys remain abysmally low. How is that possible? Because most initiatives amount to an adrenaline shot. A perk is introduced to boost scores, but over time the effect wears off and scores go back down. Another perk is introduced, and scores go back up — and then they fall again. The more this cycle repeats itself, the more it feels like manipulation. People begin to recognize the short-term fixes for what they are.

Via hbr.org 

Watch: Unlocking People’s Creative Potential at Work

Watch: Unlocking People’s Creative Potential at Work

“Everyone who is a leader of a company is trying to figure out how to unlock people’s potential,” said James Ludwig, vice president of global design for Steelcase. Ludwig joined Ralf Groene, general manager of device design at Microsoft, for a panel discussion ahead of the New York Times’ 2017 New Work Summit about how leaders can harness the creativity of their people and their organizations.The moderated discussion sponsored by Steelcase took place on the same day Microsoft and Steelcase announced a new partnership to support creativity in the workplace.

Big Screen Benefits: Why You Need Art at Work

Big Screen Benefits: Why You Need Art at Work

When you go see a movie, you’re going to get an all-consuming, immersive experience. The screen is generally five to eight stories high. The colors are vibrant. The story takes you places. Your brain gets to take a break from the real world and science tells us that’s a good thing. By giving our brains a break, we improve focus, sharpness and motivation. After all, if art in the theater is important enough to deserve a televised awards gala, why not put more emphasis on it to support creativity in the workplace? Creativity isn’t just for movie stars and screenwriters. We face global issues that require us all to unleash our creative potential to solve problems and generate ideas.

Via steelcase.com 

WHITE PAPER: The Effect of Individualized Work Settings on Productivity and Well-Being

WHITE PAPER: The Effect of Individualized Work Settings on Productivity and Well-Being

This white paper is the first in a three-part series of research studies which examines the evolution of office environments and considers how present day activity-based work environments (ABWs) support employee personalities and work modes. "The Effect of Individualized Work Settings on Productivity and Wellbeing" is the culmination of an extensive in-depth examination - in partnership with Three H - of workplace trends and the direct impact that design can have on employee performance, collaboration, wellbeing.

5 WAYS OFFICE DESIGN ENGAGES EMPLOYEES (EVEN REMOTE ONES)

5 WAYS OFFICE DESIGN ENGAGES EMPLOYEES (EVEN REMOTE ONES)

Companies continue to focus a great deal of attention on building better office environments: open floor plans, formal and informal collaboration spaces, increased natural light, and even a bit of whimsy are all accepted design practices. And, like all of the other aspects of our lives, technology continues to be integrated into our workspace.

Via workdesign.com 

How Charles Eames came to have mixed feelings for his most famous chair

How Charles Eames came to have mixed feelings for his most famous chair

As any smartphone user could attest, the things we own sometimes end up owning us. Equally, the things we create can end up owning us. The most famous item designed by Charles Eames is a moulded plywood, leather upholstered lounge chair and matching ottoman that are timelessly iconic, have spawned thousands of rip-off versions, invariably feature in any anthology of classic Twentieth Century design and are now part of a permanent exhibit at the New York Museum of Modern Art. Yet Eames himself never intended it to go into production in the first place and didn’t even view it as his best product. In an interview in Time magazine he reveals that it was originally designed as a gift for a friend. ‘I made it as a present for Billy Wilder,’ he said. ‘Billy had made a picture in East Germany and found a Marcel Breuer chair and brought it back to me and this was a return present.’

Via workplaceinsight.net