Designing our work experience

Citrix surveyed 1,900 "senior IT decision-makers" in 19 countries, asking about future trends in workspaces and telecommuting. Among the highlights:
The IT executives surveyed believe that by 2020 there will be seven desks for every 10 office workers, reflecting the growing number of telecommuters.

There are many advantages to a more flexible work environment: potential cost savings to businesses, happier and more productive employees, happier families. This article touts the attitudes of IT-decision makers but what it doesn't do is extrapolate on what the possible disadvantages are -- for instance minimising the serendipitous encounters between employees working together that can't be scheduled or planned that lead to great things. It will be interesting to see how this trend is embraced and how companies design a work culture of sometimes there employees.

Cornell University researchers conducted a study that involved tinkering with the thermostat of an insurance office. When temperatures were low (68 degrees, to be precise), employees committed 44% more errors and were less than half as productive as when temperatures were warm (a cozy 77 degrees).

Cold employees weren’t just uncomfortable, they were distracted. The drop in performance was costing employers 10% more per hour, per employee. Which makes sense. When our body’s temperature drops, we expend energy keeping ourselves warm, making less energy available for concentration, inspiration, and insight.

I am all too aware that my personality changes with the weather. When its cold I am miserable. When its hot I'm all smiles. Seems I'm not alone. The wrong temperature can distract us, contributes to errors and even makes us less friendly. And what does this all have to do with soup? Read on at Fast Company for the details of the university studies.

This article came my way via Mark Neely, who is a great source of links on innovation topics if you're keen to follow on Twitter.

About 10% of new recruits to call centres take Zappos up on the incentive to leave after completing the intensive induction program.

In 2007, the luxury automaker set up an experimental assembly line with older employees to see whether they could keep pace. The production line in Dingolfing, 80km northeast of BMW's Munich base, features hoists to spare aging backs, adjustable-height work benches, and wooden floors instead of rubber to help hips swivel during repetitive tasks.

 

The verdict: Not only could they keep up, the older workers did a better job than younger staffers on another line at the same factory

 

This is a great story about a problem faced by German mororing manufacturers. What to do about an ageing worksforce (and a potential skills shortage?). Audi and BMW have both had success is redesigning the factory line to accomodate workers with innovations from harnesses to support backs and hips to screens with larger fonts. Older workers are also being paired with younger colleagues to transfer implicit knowledge. Service industries: take note.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/7651624/Never-too-old-changes-save-experienced-staff#

Resist the urge to fight to win the argument. Listening and asking questions leads others to their own better conclusions.

Tips for dealing with tyrants via Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200609/dealing-difficult-people?page=2

I've posted a few stories on the stand up desk trend. Here's the science story about the health problems caused by constant sitting from ABC's Catalyst: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3568627.htm

You will also get a sneak peak into the open office/hot desking environment of the CBA designed to foster collaboration and innovation.

Researchers at Wharton, Yale and Harvard have figured out how to make employees feel less pressed for time: force them to help others. According to a recent study, giving workers menial tasks or, surprisingly, longer breaks actually leads them to believe that they have less time, while having them write to a sick child, for instance, makes them feel more in control and “willing to commit to future engagements despite their busy schedules.” The idea is that completing an altruistic task increases your sense of productivity, which in turn boosts your confidence about finishing everything else you need to do. Catherine Rampell

This is from a list of 32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/03/magazine/innovations-issue.html