Search Results for: interaction

June 2, 2015

The bonds that link work with place are loosening day by day

by Paull Robathan • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Work&Place

Over the decades designing productive spaces for work has focused on redefining the corporate office and its surroundings. While there are examples of quality design in buildings around the world, there is a growing movement that challenges the presumption that work should always be done “at work”. If we aim to allow people to be at their best, develop and nurture creativity and maximise quality output then we must ensure the place where the work is done is outstanding. Sarah Kathleen Peck of ‘It starts with’ summed it up when she wrote “There are people, places and things that make me feel like I’m building my energy stores, that rejuvenate me, and help me to do my best work. Likewise, there are also people and places that zap my energy; that leave me exhausted; that make me feel as though I’ve waste my time and my energy – and my day – without getting anything useful done.”

May 24, 2015

KFC Germany introduces keyboard paper tray (for a while)

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

Ever worry that the five minutes it takes to eat fast food is not only depriving you of nutrients but also the chance to stay online – unless you really don’t mind greasy fingerprints all over your smartphone? Maybe not, but it’s clearly a problem for some people which is why a German advertising and design agency has developed a Bluetooth enabled keyboard tray for KFC which allows customers to eat fatty food without the intrusion of inconveniences such as napkins, awareness of the physical world, their own thoughts and interactions with other people. The agency Gute Werbung and a tech firm called Serviceplan have helped the fast food chain to introduce the Tray Typer as part of a promotion. The device consists of a tray liner with a 0.4 mm thick keyboard, rechargeable battery and a Bluetooth chip.

May 20, 2015

Collaborative work is the driving force behind the desk rental boom

by Peter Ames • Comment, Flexible working, Property

In the wake of the Smarter Working West Midlands project, which encouraged SMEs to try co-working for free, it is increasingly apparent the nation’s small businesses are prepared to embrace alternative office space options. Both serviced offices and desk-rental can offer the flexibility a long-term office lease often cannot because they involve rental agreements that may work monthly or quarterly, while a traditional lease will generally require a commitment of several years. Desk rental also offers a chance of skill-sharing, collaborative work and networking. In fact this was the key benefit for many businesses participating in Smarter Working West Midlands. For startups the ability to expand, contract or even relocate office can be invaluable. It’s this flexibility which allows them to mould a space to their brand and make the office feel like a true home.

April 12, 2015

A preview of this year’s Milan International Furniture Fair ⁰

by Justin Miller • Comment, Events, Furniture, Workplace design

One of the least remarked upon consequences of the digital revolution of the past two decades has been its impact on the world of exhibitions. Not so long ago, these were one of the few ways people had of finding out about new products, firms, services and technologies. Now we can find as much as we would like about all of that kind of thing at any time, and so the exhibition has had to adopt a new role. In many ways, the changing role of shows has followed the same trajectory as that of offices. Far from becoming irrelevant or extinct, as some people predicted, they have instead developed a new prominence as platforms for new ideas, the sharing of information, meeting new people and reacquainting ourselves with old friends in the analogue world.

March 19, 2015

Office workers report difficulties with remote communications technology

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Just as the adoption of digital communications technology is making the one-person per desk workstation model look outmoded, the design and layout of the typical conference room is no longer suitable for remote communications. That is one of the findings of a new survey by Steelcase which found that despite, or rather because of advances in technology, office workers are having difficulties when trying to communicate with work colleagues based elsewhere. The problem, which Steelcase has coined presence disparity can lead to an overall collaboration experience which is best described as unpleasant and taxing, with participants feeling strained physically, cognitively and emotionally. This isn’t helped by the fact that conference rooms, the most used spaces for videoconferencing, usually feature long rectangular tables designed for face to face meetings, not those to camera.

March 13, 2015

A third of Britons claim their employers still don’t offer flexible working

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

More than a third (37 percent) of British employees claim their employers are not yet offering flexible working arrangements, according to a report from unified communications firm Unify. This is in spite of the fact that nearly all UK employees now have the right to request flexible working following the introduction of revised legislation last Summer. The survey of staff at more than 1,500 businesses in the UK also claims that 39 percent of respondents said they would be more loyal to the business if it offered more flexible working options. According to the report, Humanising the Enterprise, a further 28 percent said they have no preference about where they get work done and 40 percent said they would find it liberating if they were able to work entirely outside of the office. Over half (51 percent) said their colleagues and other interruptions distract them from doing their jobs.

March 10, 2015

Third of Millennials more engaged by contributing to company vision than a high salary

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The younger generation of workers say high visibility and the chance to help influence the workplace culture is of much more importance than the size of their pay packet. When asked by US-based firm Futurestep what matters most to them as employees, the greatest number of Millennial respondents – those born after 1980 – (23%) said it was “the ability to make an impact on the business,” followed by “a clear path for advancement” (20%) and “development and ongoing feedback” (16%). Income came in at fourth place at 13 percent. When questioning what makes Millennials choose one job over another, more than a third (38%) said “visibility and buy-in to the vision of the organization” while 28 percent said “a clear path for advancement.” “Job title and pay” came in third place at 18 percent.

February 9, 2015

The open plan remains an important office design element

by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

For half a century the default office design model in large parts of the world has been the open plan. Even though that continues to be the case, a growing number of voices are questioning this hegemony and suggesting there may be better ways of designing offices that balance the advantages of the open plan while eliminating or mitigating drawbacks. On the face of it, the case for working in open plan offices is clear cut. Not only are they believed to be more conducive to collaborative work, open plan workstations take up around half the space of cellular offices. As well as taking up less space, a crucial consideration is that fit-out costs are typically around 25 per cent lower, even in eye wateringly expensive commercial property hotspots such as London.

January 28, 2015

How well designed office hives can foster swarm intelligence

by Lee Parsons • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

A beehive in your back-garden is hardly ideal, nor is stumbling across an ants’ nest while searching for a picnic spot. However, these swarms have become the inspiration for a revolutionary new way of working. Swarm intelligence describes how a group of people find effective solutions to difficult problems and their ability to adapt automatically to changing environments and work as a team of equals. To get the full benefits of swarm intelligence, we need to make sure that our offices have areas where staff can collaborate. There can be no rigid structures or process chains that ideas have to go through. The flow of knowledge shouldn’t be restricted. It should be allowed to flood through our businesses and offices and take no account of whether the people sharing knowledge, ideas and opinions have been with a company for five days or five years.

January 20, 2015

New Hammersmith mixed-use scheme to accommodate 2,000 workers

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, News, Property

Legal & General has appointed Land Lease Property to develop a £75 million mixed-use scheme on London’s Hammersmith Road. The development, designed by Sheppard Robson, will feature 242,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space over 10-storeys, which can house up to 2,000 workers. The office space has been designed to maximise natural daylight and features outdoor roof terraces. The entire 350,000 sq ft site retail frontage will be stepped back from Hammersmith Road, with a new landscaped plaza at the front that leads through to a podium garden. A business lounge and café will form part of the retail element, which totals 13,000 sq ft, to help enhance the public areas and encourage social interaction for workers. Construction is set to start in early January 2015 with completion expected in summer 2017.

January 8, 2015

Report outlines steps firms can take to banish the workplace blues

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The back to work blues following the festive holidays are a challenge for businesses and their employees. However, new research from office furniture maker Steelcase claims that prioritising employees’ wellbeing at work is one way to help employers and staff overcome their annual seasonal hurdle. The study of the link between workers’ wellbeing and the business’s bottom line claims that employees who are in a positive frame of mind are not only healthier, but more productive at work and better able to deal with workplace challenges. Steelcase has also produced a list of measures that the firm claims can help to create a working environment that looks after the wellbeing of employees and helps them to become more productive.

November 24, 2014

Latest Insight newsletter: weaving together the strands of people, place and technology

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter

The latest issue of the Insight weekly newsletter is now available to view online. This week; reflecting on the key messages of this year’s Worktech conference, Sara Bean and Mark Eltringham concur that while the office may be entering a new phase, we still have a need for human interaction and a place we call the workspace. Ergonomics expert Lee Jones warns that the leap in the number of cases of workplace musculoskeletal disorders is a reminder there is a world of difference between an iPad on a sofa and a PC on a workstation and Sam Robins comments on Government plans to measure wellbeing. In news; why the UK’s largest companies are calling for the greater uptake of flexible working, green building credentials become a driver of investment performance and the gender pay gap reaches its lowest point in history. If you don’t already receive a copy, please sign up using the simple subscription form in the right hand sidebar and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.