August 21, 2008
From the Urban Dictionary:
A game that can be played in large meetings. The players write down management-nonsense word like “Out-of-the-box-thinking”, “Synergy”, “Content streamlining” etc. in a 5 by 5 square bingo card.
If a word or phrase is used during the meeting you check the box. When you get a five box line (horizontally, vertically or diagonally ) you shout “BULLSHIT!” and win.
Company bigshot fancypants: “And that is why this merger is going to benefit shareholder value by creating value driven content.
You: “BULLSHIT BINGO!”
Company bigshot fancypants: “You’re fired!”
August 19, 2008
With Tokyo daytime temperatures in their 30’s, working is becoming a drag. Especially going out. There is obviously a relationship between temperature and productivity. This study from the Cornel University suggests that in the winter raising the temperature to a more comfortable thermal zone saves employers about $2 per worker, per hour. And this study by Olli Seppanen concludes that an average of 2% decrement in work performance per degree Celsius temperature, rise when the temperature is above 25°C. The problem really with air conditioned indoor spaces is to find a proper temperature balance, as there is a difference between perceived temperature versus actual temperature. Someone coming from outside might perceive an indoor space rather cold while someone already in the space might find the space rather hot. In addition to the heat, the “Cool Biz” campaign by the Japanese Ministry of Environment aimed at getting people to remove their neckties and jackets, seems according to this article in Japan Today to have another effect:
Each week at a section on its website called “aspara club,” the Asahi Shimbun polls some 8,000 registered “be monitors.” The results then appear each Saturday in the print edition’s supplement, in a department called “be between.”
“The question for the July 26 edition was, “Do you feel women’s summer garb is too extreme?” Of the 4,361 valid responses, 80% replied in the affirmative. Of these, nearly equal numbers objected to flashing of too much skin (2,189 responses) and allowing undergarments or navel to be exposed (2,011 responses).
Asked which garments were unsuitable to be worn at the workplace, 3,320 respondents named camisoles—which originally functioned as an undergarment.
“Seeing women nonchalantly wearing something that looks like underwear is really unpleasant,” a 67-year-old Tokyoite tells Asahi.”
Is Japan’s flirt with recession merely a side effect of the high temperatures?
July 16, 2008
July 2, 2008
I believe we live in the age of self-promotion. After we saw the industrial revolution in the18C, the social revolution in the 19C and the technical revolution in the 20C, today we are witnessing a Narcissistic revolution.
Good or bad, today it is all about ME (or moi, ich, ik, watashi). Time magazine dedicated their person of the year in 2006 to you.
Why? I call it “individualizers”, elements in our lives that make us more individuals. Here is my list of six individualizers:
- Shareware: technology makes it all happen, from the internet to our mobile phones, from the banal to the exquisite, we are all witnesses and are driven with a need to share,
- Marketing: product marketing is focusing on individualism as a form of self-expression. “You shop therefore you are” is the mantra of our times. We buy products to express not only who we are but also who we want to be. Which iPod are you?,
- Therapy: is the new religion, over 1 million patients are treated every day in the US alone. The search for our unique selves leaves a void,
- Real: in our confusion “the real thing’ is driving us for a search for real food, real jobs, a real home, a real family, a real me, real self-promotion,
- Space is individualizing us: from hotels to airports and theme parks, each visitor is carefully checked and tracked. We need to prove who we are before we can enter these transitional spaces,
- Finally, there is no place to hide. What yesterday might look like fun with the boys (and or girls), will tomorrow end up tagged as “Priceless!” on Youtube.
June 13, 2008
Good question, if I say so myself, and this questionnaire ( you need to log-in) gives you, when you are really honest, the right answer. I was pleasantly surprised when it confirmed that I should become and architect as I seem to be creative-analytical. I should not be (or want to be) and electrician it said as well.
June 6, 2008
May 20, 2008
Very, very interesting work by Anne Hardy, more at the Bellwether gallery.
May 19, 2008
Some interesting ideas on experience in the office, more here
The heads-down technical experience
Engineers who work on equipment often need to be able to work next to it. They also need to be able to easily access reference material. Some engineers need to solder.
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Equipment at the workstation, in racks, on special shelves, etc. With appropriate power and connection.
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Work surfaces for the job, such as lab-level bench, space for two computers, etc.
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Sufficient storage as appropriate for the job.
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Local storage for immediate access.
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Other accessible storage for longer-term items.
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Ergonomic considerations taken into account.
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Secure equipment, either at workstation or nearby storage.
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Transport at hand as needed, such as trolley that stores under the workbench.
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Appropriately flexible phone system, eg. with wireless headset to allow talking with customers whilst walking to equipment.
The community and team experience
Although many field are in and out, they still feel a sense of community. Some people work alone and feel a sense of isolation.
Create a sense of identity
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…for individuals, workgroups and visitors.
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Distinct color scheme and lighting effects that enables immediate identification.
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Transition at boundaries that signifies movement into the identified area and gives a sense of arrival.
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Zones within overall workspace that enclose and identify groups and shared areas.
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Ability to personalize individual and group spaces.
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People magnets which draw diverse people together to share information and socialize.
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Visual connection with others, for example lower partitions to allow people to see one another. Balanced with height for zoning and perceived privacy.
Enable shared activity
…within teams and the field.
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Team meeting spaces close to their individual workstations.
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Individual meeting space at workstation only for those with specific needs.
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Larger meeting rooms for group get-togethers.
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Noise minimization between the sounds of talking and those who have a need for quiet.
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Private space where confidential conversations can be held.
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Social space that allows serendipitous, chance conversation. Give a purpose to be there (as ‘people magnets’ above).
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Technology-enabled space with net connect at all places and PC projection in meeting rooms.
May 14, 2008
My article: “The post telework condition” has been published by the journal of E-working.
Abstract
“His weariness is that of the gladiator after the combat; his work was the whitewashing of a corner in a state official’s office”. Franz Kafka.
The idea of the office seems to be engraved in our consciousness: the dreadfulness, the numbness of the office floats through Franz Kafka’s stories like the smell of mould in the old offices his characters are trapped in. The office of today appears not to be able to get rid of its rather unpleasant reputation. Thus today, a large number of the office workers, given the opportunity, jump on the chance to work from home. But the division between working in an office or at home starts to blur. As an increasing number of people work in what I would like to call: “a post-telework condition”. Technology makes it possible to work anywhere, anytime, and thus many people spread their working hours in client’s offices, in planes, trains, at home as well as in “the office”. Somehow we still have and need offices, but what is their role today?
In this paper I will investigate the changing role of the workplace amid the other confetti of transitional spaces people use as their working environment. In order for companies to attract and retain high quality staff they need to take a renewed importance of the workplace into consideration. The role of the office today is to act as a catalyst in company culture creation as well as team building, collaborating, learning, and knowledge sharing. The paper will show that both the perception and the idea of the office are going through tremendous changes. The clear division that existed between telework and office work is blurring as we are witnessing the emergence of a post-telework condition in which the corporate workplace will regain a renewed importance. Finally a case study will be presented that takes all these issues into consideration.
You can read the full text here.
May 13, 2008
How high can we go? Very high it seems.
