In the workplace design biz, we’re exposed to the latest and greatest office design trends.  The height-adjustable workstation has been coming on strong over the last few years, and we’re seeing more and more companies making them.  
Steelcase has researched the topic extensively and gives us 9 reasons why height-adjustability is good.  On the health side they note that “Since static posture can result in strain/discomfort, possible injury, and increased workers’ comp claims, ergonomists now recommend movement throughout the day (…) standards include a recommendation to regularly change posture from a seated to a standing position.”  
Despite the health and other benefits of adjustable height desks though, some clients seem to be hesitant to make the switch—possibly because of the higher upfront costs, or the aesthetics of having surfaces at different heights.  
On the flip-side, some companies have embraced the trend, and employees are standing up all over the place!  I came across a post by a friend who works at Google’s HQ in Mountain View—she linked to a Fast Company article and was excited because her team’s cube was featured in the photo.  I was equally excited to see this because: a) waitta go Brie! and b) they use standing-height workstations!  (Wondering if she likes her desk?  She reports: “I love love love my standing desk!”)  
In a recent article about Facebook’s new HQ in Menlo Park, CA, employees also have the choice of sitting or standing—and many are choosing to take a stand.  
It seems this trend is taking off—but is it mainly in the [...]

Wikipedia defines telecommuting as “a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links. Many work from home, while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or other locations.”
Many organizations spend a lot of time developing methodologies for telecommuting – a lot of what I hear about telecommuting is about how to go about “getting it done”. Establishing policies, procedures, technology, etc. This all comes from the organization’s perspective, but how does this relate to you? I personally have left a standard 9-5 office environment and now am telecommuting at least once a week. I realized quite quickly that I needed to change some behaviors to be effective and it helped me to establish some ground rules for myself:

Get dressed for the day. Sure it’s a lot of fun to think about spending all day in your pajamas, but getting ready psychologically puts me in a different frame of mind. I become more task oriented and effective.
Flexibility comes with responsibility. You are an adult – act like it! Be accountable to yourself and your employer. Meet deadlines and make sure they know what you are doing – communcation is key so that trust is reinforced.
Figure out a schedule that works. Seriously? Do you think your IT guy is going to hang out till you are ready at [...]

Change.  Transformation.  Evolution. Integration.  Adaptation.  Performance.
The sands are shifting.  Every client we work with has something going on in their organization that will change their future landscape/workscape.  New IT systems, tools, changing processes, organizational structures and performance measures are all constantly in play – sometimes a symphony…sometimes more jazz free style.
Strangely, when you add workplace change to that ensemble, things can get really messy.  The physical, visible manifestations of the past/present – that often represent personal and individual sense of stability in  the chaos – can send otherwise sensible and professional people into panic.
A dear friend of mine (Dave Lathrop at Steelcase) can be quoted as saying “workplace change boils every dysfunction of the organization to the surface” (I’ve attached an article from him).  I believe he is right.  With everything else in flux, it would seem that the sacred cow is workplace. 
I think that there is a huge opportunity to make workplace the thing that ties everything together…rather than the final straw the breaks things apart.  The challenge is approaching workplace change as an integrator, which means approaching the entire design process in a new way.  Developing workplace strategies that anticipate an uncertain future requires a unique thought process.
“Insanity is doing things the same way and expecting a different outcome”
Let’s stop the insanity.  Let’s really look at workplace as the powerful change integrator it has the potential to be.  Can we make it an enabler of new process…and more importantly new attitudes and behavior?  Can we make it be [...]

Just a quick video to make you smile today: Steve Hargis inspires corporate real estate folks as part CoreNet’s Corporate Real Estate 2020 initiative:

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Ok, not exactly sex, but it caught your attention, right?!  Ran across a great article on CNN.com: How Hollywood Lies about the Workplace?  I agree with all their points!
1. All the beautiful people.  Obviously I am beautiful all the time (HA!), but all of my colleagues and clients…gasp…are not. P.S. who wants to wear 4″ stilettos that cost $600 to work anyway?!
2. Executives work? Neh.  Pretty sure every executive I’ve ever met has a pretty darned grueling schedule.  And those that don’t, well, they tend not to last
3. Your outfit? Anything goes. We to this day discuss an intern who worked at our company 2005 and dressed quite fashionably but quite inappropriately for the office. And trust me, if you’re not dressed professionally, HR will be sending you home or walking you to the store to help you pick something more appropriate for the office. Not sweats and flip flops.
4. Work is so easy. HA!  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Also, as an architecture firm employee, I firmly believe that the field of architecture has been excessively glamorized (HIMYM, It’s a Wonderful Life, the Brady Bunch).
5. Money is no object. See note above regarding $600 shoes. And note above about architects in Hollywood - not so many make enough to afford the crazy lifestyles and fab apartments
6. Your boss is a horrible person and/or idiot.  Well, I’m certainly not going to say that on a public blog!  And, by the way, my boss is great.  No lie there.
Read the [...]

Please welcome a guest post from Susan Grossinger, Senior Vice President, Director of Product Design at HOK.

Please take a few minutes to watch this Gather video and listen to the design team — including HOK’s Steve Hargis, Tom Polucci, Louis Schump and Annie Bergeron — speak about the inspiration and research around the ideas.HOK Product Design’s team members came from all over North America and we joined with our industrial design Partner – id-a Design based in Zeeland, Michigan, to create an award winning collection of collaborative furniture that is a new market niche for Allsteel.
The 11-piece collection created the most buzz at Neocon 2011 and stood out in the crowd because of the focus on helping companies effectively collaborate by providing new products that until this time didn’t exist.
Fast Company Design wrote: “With its latest collection of contract furniture, Allsteel wants to be among the first to cater to this new office paradigm, offering pieces expressly designed for idea sharing.”
The Gather collection, which officially launched in December, has already won six industry awards including Interiors & Sources Readers’ Choice, Buildings Magazine’s Product Innovation Award and four Best of Neocon awards including People’s Choice, Editor’s Choice and Silver awards in the Education and Sofas and Lounge categories.

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When you hear the word “Deltek” mentioned at HOK, the first thing that pops to mind isn’t always the accounting/time software we all know so well…it’s usually the great new project that’s about to open.  Deltek is moving their headquarters into a new facility, complete with HOK-designed interiors. Yes, some of your favorite Work+Place bloggers are behind this design (Catherine Haley and Daphne Kiplinger).
What is it about Deltek’s new space that’s so special?   One of the many features is Deltek’s commitment to an open office – even the CEO will be seated in open plan workstations. Check out an article in today’s Washington Post (Deltek Consolidates into New Herndon Office) , or view a few preview photos in our Flickr set below:

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The other day at work, I was joking with one of my colleagues that I don’t have any work friends – that my job basically keeps me chained to my computer, telephone, or out at a client site, so I rarely have the opportunity to go out to lunch or hit happy hour. 
It’s not 100% true, but I really don’t socialize a whole lot while I’m at work other than with the people who sit right next to me, or the people who are on my project or leadership teams. Generally I thought this was a good thing – heads down worker, don’t waste a lot of time in idle conversation…
Yes, in general, it is a good thing….but a recent article on CNN.com caught my attention – Cliques in the Workplace. It highlighted some of the positives (in addition to the negatives that I’d thought of, plus some new ones). Guess I better get cliquin’ (is that even a word?!)
Benefits of being in a clique:

Association with people with good reputations
Connections that pay off through partnerships/teamwork and informal learning
Mentoring

Drawbacks:

Association with people with not-so-good reputations
Atmospheres of exclusivity
Potential for misinformation (that’s why it’s called gossip, people, not facts)

How cliquey is your office? Do you participate? What have you learned?
Image source: wp-content

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Lately I can’t seem to escape discussions about wellness in the workplace. In the past few weeks I’ve received several wellness related articles  from colleagues, witnessed real life issues onsite with clients and helped kick off a firm wide wellness initiative in my own firm. There are definitely enough issues surrounding this topic to turn this into a series of posts, but for now I will focus on sitting and walking in the workplace.
A colleague recently sent me these great infographics: Sitting is Killing You, highlighting some interesting statistics on the detriments of sitting for prolonged periods of time, fueling the argument to get up and walk around throughout the day. Personally, I hate the idea of sitting at a desk all day. I jump at any chance to walk across the office to talk with a colleauge. Not only does it add a few extra steps to my day, but often I can be more productive by engaging with a coworker face-to-face as opposed to long email chains which I’ll eventually have to go back and delete when cleaning out my inbox.

Adding to this discussion, HOK recently launced on Facebook what we are hoping to be The World’s Largest Workplace Survey. This is a great open forum to provide input on how well or not-so-well your workplace is performing. Join the dicussion by taking the survey here. The chart below shows some recent realtime survey results, indicating that an overwhelming amount of people complain about some physical discomfort in the workplace.

And in [...]

All that is old is new again?  True for fashion (not too long ago – I was able to “dress up” for a show by 80s cover band The Legwarmers by shopping exclusively at H&M and Forever XXI…cue embarrassing photo – please note most excellent crimped hair).  Fashion may come back around, but is it true for work, too? 
I just heard a new podcast….about an article I wrote for Building Operating Management (click here to read: Managing Change-BOM).
Listening to the podcast and rereading the article, I realized that these principles still hold up (even better than jelly shoes and armfuls of Swatch watches). So, without further ado…here are seven key principles of Change Management…it worked for Sprint – could it work for you too?

Executive support – get buy in from the top levels!
Communicate!  Get the word out – openness and honesty go a long way.
Develop an integrated team – Human Resources, Information Technology, and Real Estate all have to work together to make workplace change work.
Develop a vision – without a clear set of goals, it is impossible to succeed
Acknowledge staff – celebrate even the small victories!
Plan – change doesn’t happen overnight; it requires planning for the big and little items.
Exercise patience – every change requires some adjustment, and people are going to need time to adjust.

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