Our Workplace Advisory team recently got together with Dr. Sally Augustin to discuss the research we had commissioned her to pull together regarding environmental psychology considerations in the interim/post-COVID workplace. It was a great conversation; we all asked questions, brainstormed ideas, and challenged each other. So how might a workplace embody those positive vibes? By becoming a place where one feels safe + connected + inspired.
While planning and implementing a distributed work program often takes 6 – 12 months, this shift in how everyone was working happened literally overnight; so clearly none of the usual planning took place. There was barely time to make sure workers had the tools and technologies to work effectively from home, much less address any existing unwritten rules focused on a distributed workforce.
In an earlier blog, we noted how technology is driving many changes in the workplace, primarily focusing on improving the user experience and managing the effectiveness and efficiencies of the real estate portfolio. And when Ai – the elephant in the room as we called it – is taken into consideration, the impacts and resulting changes can be quite significant. And then COVID-19 crashes across the globe. And, literally overnight, everything changed.
Poka-yoke: A Japanese term that means ‘mistake-proofing.’ How can we apply this thinking to our not only our product designs, but the applications within the workplace?
Once it is safe to return to the office, a new normal to promote health and provide a sense of safety is going to be expected. Health and safety considerations are rising in importance, alongside our continued considerations for cost, team cohesion, and productivity.
Staying healthy is on everyone's mind today. Our focus at the moment has (rightfully) been on disease prevention, however, it is important that we do not lose sight of promoting holistic wellness.
We’ve all been using the same supply management metrics – SF/person, cost/SF, cost/person – to measure the relative effectiveness of the workplace; these metrics are still very relevant and important.
How can distributed teams better handle the challenges of being virtual teammates: task management, communication and a-synchronicity complications—in addition to mastering the basics of great teamwork when working across distance and time?
Moving out of enclosed offices into workstations is one of the more difficult workplace changes to make, since it almost always has emotional and political issues tied to it.
With an underlying concern about our own and our communities' health, we're also moving, literally overnight, into a place where working together is being discouraged and working from home is being considered the 'new norm'.
