New in the library: Enabling Work Practice by Mike Joroff, et al. Many thanks to Mike Joroff for contributing a copy of his latest study and making it available to NewWOW members free of charge. The study is supported by the dWork project, Helsinki University of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mike writes that the study "offers a major shift in thinking about 'workplace-making.' Good practice today aligns place and IT supports with the activities of those who do the work, as that work is now done. This is acceptable in many, if not most, circumstances. However, sometimes there is a need for, and an opportunity to create a 'transformative workplace,' one that creates new supports for work as an intimate part of the redesign, or creation of new work practices." Find a copy of the report in our library at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/962

Featured study: Designing Space to Support Knowledge Work
The authors, a team from Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Kansas, and Steelcase, examine the impact of office design and spatial layout on employee productivity and connectivity. They base their analysis on a case study: the relocation of a design firm to new premises, which were designed to support organizational culture and creativity. Researchers learned that layout can contribute to the density of different networks of interaction at shorter time intervals. Layout can also indirectly contribute to productivity, by facilitating the sharing of ideas, communication, and the joint exploration of possibilities in the nonroutine phases of knowledge work [the second point was not supported statistically but there was evidence to support it.] Read on at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/958

Measuring workplace productivity
Joe Ouye posted his research paper entitled In Search of Measuring Workplace Productivity to the library. Joe presented this paper at the ProWork Seminar in Helsinki, Finland, this past May. His paper reviews the difficulties and approaches of measuring knowledge worker productivity and suggests a Workplace Performance Model, based on principles from Human Performance Technology (HPT) for understanding and designing multiple measuring approaches. HPT is the study and ethical practices of improving productivity in organizations by design, and developing effective interventions that are results-oriented, comprehensive, and systemic. Find Joe's summary and a link to download the paper at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/940

Book review: Generational differences
We review Stanton Smith's book, Decoding Generational Differences: Fact, Fiction, or Should We Just Get Back to Work? Smith is national director of next-generation initiatives at Deloitte. His work is based on research done at Deloitte, where over 80% of the company's client-facing employees are under 35. Smith describes three main areas where Generations X and Y differ greatly from the previous two generations. An example: Gen Yers have a consumer attitude towards the workplace. This means they "want to interact with and influence anything that they consume, including their careers." So Deloitte has developed a "mass career customization" program to satisfy those needs. Smith attributes the program for retaining between 800 and 1,000 staffers, with a savings of $120 to $150 million. More at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/931

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

A trio of articles on teleworking:

• Security – telework’s weakest link. Agency security officers and industry experts discuss telework's dark side – security. This piece describes steps US agencies are taking to keep telework risks down. One security expert suggests installing keystroke mapping software and GPS tracking devices on teleworker laptops. Lots more at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/207#comment-616
• Telework hurts collaboration efforts at Intel. A recent decision by Intel's CIO Diane Bryant requires many teleworkers to spend more time in the office - four days out of five, in fact. "Telecommuting inhibits collaboration," she said, adding that dividing projects among remote workers caused roughly a 20% to 30% drop in efficiency. http://www.newwow.net/members/node/615#comment-613
• Gallup Poll shows no growth in US telecommuting. Despite the recent increase in gas prices, the number of US workers telecommuting has not grown since 2006. In fact, it's dropped a couple of percentage points. More poll results at http://www.newwow.net/members/node/615#comment-610

Invitation to a "summer conversation" "Given the obvious benefits of teams, I wonder why they're difficult to implement and maintain within corporations?" asks Jay Brand. He observes that although organizations encourage teamwork and collaboration, many people are "isolated 'road warriors' desiring more collaboration and community, pressured by deadlines to deliver lower quality work all by ourselves. Is this a 'role-of-place' issue, a work-group culture issue, or simply the result of no formal protocols to address it ?" Jay invites others to discuss this issue. "I'd be interested in some dialogue on this--you know, a summer conversation." Add your thoughts at: http://www.newwow.net/members/node/719#comment-606