About Jim Ware

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The new issue of Work&Place, the most influential workplace journal in the world, is now available for free download

The new issue of Work&Place, the most influential workplace journal in the world, is now available for free download

We have published the latest Work&Place issue for Spring 2019. As always, it offers a diverse compilation of timely and provocative perspectives focused on the intersections between and among work, the workplace, technology, culture, and business strategy. You might start with Rob Harris’s call for shooting the messengers in his (highly responsible) rant on the dearth of meaningful research about the business value of open offices and the all-too-frequent unfounded claims about how wonderful open plan is.

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The main challenge of modern working life: finding the place just right to meet

The main challenge of modern working life: finding the place just right to meet 0

Every physical setting sends distinct signals to meeting participants – signals that set the tone and provide a context for the conversation, even when they are subtle or not in anyone’s conscious awareness.  You understand instinctively that the place where a meeting occurs has an impact on the nature of the conversation. Just imagine the difference between a conversation around a large formal conference table with expensive executive chairs and one that takes place in an informal employee lounge, with the participants seated in a circle on soft bean-bag chairs. More →

The workplace as a strategic resource: a real life CEO’s perspective

NEF today-3 workplace as a strategic resourceRaise your hand if you agree: “The workplace is obviously a strategic resource.” We facilities management professionals know that to be true. But if you often feel like a voice in the wilderness when speaking to anyone other than a fellow workplace professional, you are not alone. For many if not most senior executives, their facilities are a necessary evil that always cost too much. That reality frustrates me as much as it does you. So my colleague Paul Carder and I conducted two extensive research projects in 2012 and 2013 aimed at making the case (mostly to FM professionals themselves) that facilities and workplaces are incredibly strategic – and very poorly understood. And while we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about the work, we haven’t seen much change in mindsets, management practices or outcomes.

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