Designing experiences

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.

  • Equipment at the workstation, in racks, on special shelves, etc. With appropriate power and connection.

  • Work surfaces for the job, such as lab-level bench, space for two computers, etc.

  • Sufficient storage as appropriate for the job.

    • Local storage for immediate access.

    • Other accessible storage for longer-term items.

    • Ergonomic considerations taken into account.

  • Secure equipment, either at workstation or nearby storage.

  • Transport at hand as needed, such as trolley that stores under the workbench.

  • 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

  • ”¦for individuals, workgroups and visitors.

  • Distinct color scheme and lighting effects that enables immediate identification.

  • Transition at boundaries that signifies movement into the identified area and gives a sense of arrival.

  • Zones within overall workspace that enclose and identify groups and shared areas.

  • Ability to personalize individual and group spaces.

  • People magnets which draw diverse people together to share information and socialize.

    • Eg. coffee bars at copy centers with information and connectivity.

  • 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.

  • Team meeting spaces close to their individual workstations.

  • Individual meeting space at workstation only for those with specific needs.

  • Larger meeting rooms for group get-togethers.

  • Noise minimization between the sounds of talking and those who have a need for quiet.

  • Private space where confidential conversations can be held.

  • Social space that allows serendipitous, chance conversation. Give a purpose to be there (as ‘people magnets’ above).

  • Technology-enabled space with net connect at all places and PC projection in meeting rooms.

The journal of E-working

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.


International ITA workshop

The international ITA workshop will be in Krakow, Poland this year. I will not be able to join in person but I will be making a live video presentation. This year’s theme will be “ICT-supported collaboration and flexible working perceived as vehicles for stimulating local development, supporting entrepreneurship and building a fully inclusive Information Society.”

The tittle for my presentation is “What does regionalism mean today”, in this presentation I want to address the (new) meaning of regionalism today. Cities, and especially larger cities, are known due to their importance in the global economy, or due to their cultural, political or religious importance. The hierarchy and importance of a city acts as an attractor which has been the main drive for the growth of cities. A city is nothing more than a grouping of architecture, and architecture are man-made structures that support human activity. Thus initially regionalism was defined by its architecture, as architecture was the very expression of the region, not only as an expression of the activities that formed the attraction of the place, but also as the materials that were used to construct the architecture which would come directly from the regional context. Today all of this is changing. Success of a city and of a region today depends on the success of its attractors. If in the past the attraction grew slowly and depended on a hierarchical system, today the attraction can be created (almost) overnight. Think of Bilbao in Spain, the construction of the Guggenheim museum has placed this sleepy little town on the global map, or Dubai which is moving from a camel market place into a global city within a few years, or the Chinese manufacturing cities that have and are popping up like mushrooms in the Chinese countryside. 

Thus regionalism today is defined by forcing the importance of the hierarchy in both the immediate as well as the global context. Thus regions, small as well as larger cities will strive and compete to become a dot of importance (of fill in the gap here) on the transitional world map.

The end of architecture

J@pan Inc asked my views on architecture of Japan and especially Tokyo. Although it is presented as if written by Jun Mitsui (I used to work for him), you can read the whole story here.

Jun Mitsui’s point that Japan is becoming a disposal ground, a toilet for foreign architects, is funny indeed, but I think rather outdated. Most of the interesting architecture in Japan these days comes from young Japanese architects, the days of foreign dumpings (potty training would be a better description), in my opinion are over. Don’t forget that most of the shit built here is by Japanese architects.

The new Peninsula, dumped according to the new colour regulations?

Happiness (part 2)

Can we fake happiness? 

According to the excellent presentation by Dan Gilbert:

Our “psychological immune system” lets us feel real, enduring happiness, he says, even when things don’t go as planned. He calls this kind of happiness “synthetic happiness,” and he says it’s “every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you were aiming for.” 

According to this article in Times:

“We’re wired to be optimistic. Most people think they’re happier than most [other] people.” And even if you aren’t part of that lucky majority, Bates says, there’s always that other 50% of overall life satisfaction that, according to his research, is not genetically predetermined. To feel happier, he recommends mimicking the personality traits of those who are: Be social, even if it’s only with a few people; set achievable goals and work toward them; and concentrate on putting setbacks and worries in perspective. Don’t worry, as the saying goes. Be happy.”

 

Happiness

Why is it more fun to work for one company compared to another? Obviously it has to do with the office environment. With that I don’t mean only the way the office looks. Although the office design will help tremendously to convey a message of “can-do attitude” or energy, it will not be the main key to happiness in the office.

First and foremost it is the lack of management: with this one in particular:

“Management doesn’t have or take the time to clarify goals and decisions. Therefore, it rejects work after it was completed, damaging the morale and esteem of those who prepared it.”

According to this article the key is for management to provide the employees with so called “strokes”:

“Here’s a true story that explains the source of the term, ‘stroke.’ An orphanage in Romania had 50 infants with only two nurses to care for them night and day. It took all the nurses time and energy to prepare the formula and feed the babies. They had to prop the babie’s bottles up on a pillow, insert the nipple in their mouth and go on to the next baby. The babies were well fed, they were warm and kept clean. Outside of this, they received no attention. The mortality rate was enormous. 

A solution was found When Renee Spitz studied the problem at this and similar orphanages. Autopsies of deceased infants revealed that the baby’s spines were shriveled up. The doctors prescribed physical stroking for new babies. Volunteers came in and simply stroked each infant. These babies survived. From these studies, the term ‘strokes’ was conceived. Although the strokes given the infants where physical, the term was expanded to include psychological strokes because they have effects similar to physical strokes. A psychological stroke is any kind of attention — a greeting, a look, a word, a gesture, or any act that says “I know you’re here.” 

Strokes are essential Not only for high self-esteem, they are essential for emotional and physical health. The power of strokes varies from a weak nod from a stranger to intense love between lovers. 

People hunger for strokes And will go to surprising lengths to satisfy that hunger. You need to have your stroke hunger satisfied to feel good about yourself and have high self-esteem. ”

Managers should learn to use positive strokes and employees should learn to deal with the negative strokes. I guess this all is another way of describing WorkVitamins.