How to love the office
Bruce Daisley
LinkedIn Top Voice on Work & Workplace Culture, 2x Sunday Times Bestseller, ex-tech firm VP
How should any firm think about using their office space?
A strong recommendation this week is for Tim Harford's podcast which takes a look at the evolution of the office to where it is today.
It’s a fascinating history lesson about the ground-breaking work of Mad Man Jay Chiat who created?a prototype hot-desking environment in the 1990s. In an era before personal laptops and mobile phones employees would have to sign-out equipment on arrival in the office - as an economy there weren’t enough of these things to go round which added to the sense of hellish dissatisfaction with the experimental regimen.
Along the way Harford reminds us of the Allen Curve, namely the phenomenon observed by MIT Professor Thomas Allen that?we communicate less with other colleagues the further away they sit:
“we are four times as likely to communicate regularly with someone sitting six feet away from us as with someone 60 feet away, and we almost never communicate with colleagues on separate floors or in separate buildings”
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The most compelling detail on the programme is research into what office environment workers most enjoy which found that employees are?‘happiest and most productive when they control the look and style of their work areas’?but are driven to distraction when they feel they are powerless over their surroundings.
It makes for a compelling listen for any of us trying to get the best out of our workspaces. I’ve heard several companies who have a system where teams have specific zones (or neighbourhoods) of their office, Harford’s show gives us a perspective on how those innovations might be best shaped.
Everything is back except offices & transport
With the dazzling box office performances of Avatar 2 and Mario Bros cinema admissions have now returned to pre-pandemic levels. As one commentator says?‘Bottom line: Pretty much everything is back except offices and public transit. It might take more than Super Mario to bring back a five-day week in the office.
For a full list of this week's hottest workplace reads, checkout the Substack version. This week includes: the impact of WFH on mentoring, the start-up that is tracking its workers, 30 ways to use AI, the woes of the CBI show the risks of 'work hard, play hard' and Amazon explains its office working approach
AI is changing the world - I am here to supercharge that change | Connecting HR and Tech | 12+ Years Leading People & Product Initiatives | opinions expressed are my own
1 年Office space isn't one-size-fits-all; it's an evolving ecosystem that thrives on adaptability. Think of it like a chameleon, changing colors to fit its environment— our offices must do the same.
Marketing Consultant | B2B & SaaS | Bestselling Author of Boring2Brave | Former Editor, Marketing Week
1 年Jane Holmes, Kathryn Braid, Chloe Walker, Joe Jarrett
Chief People Officer @ QA Ltd
1 年Love this. Working physically together allows real creativity to thrive and human connection to cement.
Inspirational professional keynote speaker / trainer and author about the #FutureOfWork, #Technology and #AI Hire Dan as an inspirational #keynotespeaker / corporate trainer or as your private workshop provider.
1 年I love your work. You know that but I'm wondering about this change in focus. Why should we make people like the office again?