Member conversation: Teams, place, and burnout
Jay Brand's "summer conversation" is still going strong with Jay's responses to Terri Griffith and Clark Sept. Jay essentially agrees with Terri, who "uncovered a key problem. There has been no formal process or protocol development by middle management." He takes issue with Clark's post, in that he doubts that "work 'place'--at least within the milieu of typical corporate office design--plays much of a role in 'team' success." Stewart Levine suggests that "Lone Rangers" and compensation systems that reward individual performance also share the blame for poor team collaboration. Follow the conversation and add your thoughts at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/719#comment-606 (scroll down to find all the posts.)
Commentary: Who are the leaders in office mobility?
"Remember--I enjoy being provocative, even contrary," writes Jay Brand in a preface to his comments. He continues: "I believe (based mostly on empirical research) that low utilization rates for corporate office space are more of an indictment of its design than an indication of 'new ways of working.' No doubt there are important exceptions to this, but I would argue that because employees can't accomplish much of anything important (from the perspective of individual, heads-down, concentrative work) in most open-plan offices, they have chosen to work elsewhere." Jay has much more to say on this topic at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/912#comment-619
Study: Measuring green building performance
A new study from the US General Services Administration (GSA) evaluates building performance data from a dozen owned or leased buildings in its portfolio. It found that buildings designed with sustainable features cost less to operate, use less energy and have more contented employees on average in comparison to all US commercial buildings. The study pondered the question: "While sustainably designed buildings promise higher performance, do they deliver?" The answer: they do. Researchers found that the buildings in the study used 26% less energy, had 13% lower maintenance costs and showed 27% higher occupant satisfaction. Read our summary at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/923
Also new this week:
- Office space is not just space. This story features an interview with Jacqueline Vischer, an environmental psychologist at the Université de Montréal. Vischer discusses why there are so many "abysmal" workplaces. "Companies make the mistake of thinking it's just space." http://www.newwow.net/members/node/924
- Telework on the rise in US & Canada. The 2008-2009 WorldatWork Salary Budget Survey reveals that telework showed the most significant 12-month increase in both countries. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/615#comment-622
- More 4-day workweek news. Lots of press on the subject of compressed workweeks in the US. There's a trend towards TGIT (Thank goodness it’s Thursday) at many US companies, says one commentator. Find links to Sloan Network research on compressed workweeks, a summary of news stories about reduced workweeks from ThomasNet and information about the efforts of the US House of Representatives Majority Leader to encourage a compressed workweek for all federal employees. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/855#comment-621
