Yearly Archives : 2012

Today, Loosecubes is shutting its virtual doors, leaving 25,000 members and 1000 host offices around the globe to mourn its loss. The company, founded in 2010, was the brain child of Campbell McKellar and Anna Thomas. They decided that the mobile workers, independent contractors, and entrepreneurs of today needed an option besides working at home or out of their local coffee shop. The concept of coworking spaces had been around for a while, but not every city has this kind of facility. In contrast, every city does have office buildings – most of which aren’t used to capacity all the time.

Don’t Let Empty Space Go to Waste

Think of the average office you’ve worked in. There are typically quite a few cubicles that are empty all day. The occupants might be on vacation. Or, the workstations might be sitting idle while HR searches for new employees to fill those spots. Whatever the reason, this space is simply not being used. The idea behind Loosecubes was to match people in need of a temporary workspace with businesses that were willing to be hosts for a day or two, free of charge. Guests get access to a worksurface, a chair, and a wi-fi signal as well as lighting, climate control, electricity, and other amenities that the host company would be paying for anyway.

Everybody Wins, and It’s Free!

The purpose of this matchmaking service was to foster the exchange of ideas and create a network of business relationships that transcended the walls of the office building. Employers might tap into the pool of freelancers and mobile workers to find their next ideal job candidate, vendor, or business partner. Or, the visiting workers might bring fresh ideas to the business and energize employees. It was a cool concept and was greatly enjoyed by both hosts and guests while it lasted.

Enthusiasm No Substitute for Business Savvy

As a recently launched business ourselves, we certainly feel for Loosecubes. Sadly, the project petered out because it focused more on buzz than bucks. Apparently, the creators didn’t plan in advance for how to monetize their venture. Maybe if they’d been co-working in a cubicle alongside a business or financial advisor during their brainstorming sessions, things would have turned out differently…

We think our products can be used at the office and at home. In fact, our panels are sturdy and attractive enough to please the whole family. Do you have more than one child doing homework at the kitchen table in the evening? Do they distract each other? Why not install a desk mounted privacy panel to keep them separated so they can focus on their studies?

Our universal brackets are designed to work with most desks, workbenches and tables without leaving scratches. They can be installed lengthwise or crosswise to divvy up the table space however you like. Installation is simple and takes only a couple of minutes and an Allen wrench which is provided with the panel. Your 10 year old could put this thing together!

Image courtesy of Flickr user nateOne

Have you read the article by MoneyWatch contributor Amy Levin-Epstein about how to concentrate while working in a cubicle? We all know that focusing at work is difficult when you sit in close proximity to other employees. What’s new about this piece is that the author asked a couple of ADD/ADHD experts for their opinions. Attention Deficit Disorder and related cognitive disorders aren’t just confined to children. Kids who have trouble sitting still and paying attention in school are also likely to be bored and easily distracted on the job when they grow up.

That’s a problem that can take a big toll on an employee’s productivity and their chances for career advancement. The open office environment that’s become increasingly popular with facility designers poses special challenges for those who have a short attention span. The whole idea of the open office is to create that “buzz” and get people to interact with each other more. But for a person who is having difficulty staying on task, this is far from helpful.

How to Boost Attention on the Job

Amy’s article talks about a few ways to cope with visual and audible distractions at work. One suggestion is to create ‘blinders’ in the workstation that reduce the tendency to look around at every distracting movement. This approach has the added benefit of cutting down on outside interruptions. If coworkers can’t easily see an employee, they are less likely to try to engage that person in conversation.

The suggestion to use potted plants to block the view is nice, but not likely to be that effective. Plants don’t serve as much of a barrier and they take up floor or desk space that could be put to better use. In contrast, desk-mounted privacy panels take up very little room on an open workstation. Cubicle panel extenders are mounted on top of existing walls, so they don’t take up any footprint on the desk at all. These products are specifically designed to block visual contact and reduce racket to help employees concentrate. If you have a worker with ADD/ADHD, this might be a wonderful gift to give them a boost toward greater effectiveness at their job.

No, don’t bring your own beverage. Bring Your Own Baby! That’s a topic Jen at Arnolds Furniture blog brought up recently. She talks about the pros and cons facing employers in their decision about whether it’s OK for employees to bring little ones to the office. Apparently, some employers are finding that moms (and dads) are more willing to curtail their parental leave if they can tote their tiny tot to work. If they can continue to bring their baby to the office, this eliminates a couple of the biggest reasons moms don’t come back to work after having a child:

• The inability to find affordable, quality childcare
• The thought of spending so much time away from their little one

Employers who make the workplace child friendly can enjoy high levels of employee loyalty and retention. However, babies do make noise and are too cute to ignore. Having those cubicle extenders handy to cut down on distractions is a must if you have a “bring your own baby” policy!

Lighting experts at Philips and office furniture designers at Haworth have put their heads together and come up with a bright idea for combining their products. Since lighting is a key feature that lift employees’ moods, it’s important to ensure the workplace is well lit. However, quality is just as critical as quantity.

Choose Your Luminosity with Care

Natural daylight is best while flickering, oddly tinted fluorescent lights that make everyone’s skin look chalky green are arguably the worst. LED lighting comes the closest to mimicking sunlight. In fact, LEDs can be created in literally dozens of different subtle gradations of “white” as well as hundreds of other colors. In addition, unlike filament based incandescent bulbs and tube based fluorescent lamps, LEDs can be delivered along a much more diffuse surface.

Divide and Illuminate

Haworth and Philips are leveraging these features of LED to create the ideal workplace lighting solutions that combine furniture and illumination. Haworth already features Philips lighting in the MeetYou lounge furniture series. Now, the companies are collaborating on more innovative ideas. One forward-looking design is the lighted divider concept. Imagine a workplace where light is used to define boundaries.  Instead of creating dark nooks and crannies, these gently glowing screens would make the workplace appear more bright and open – even as they provided necessary separation.

Let There Be Light

We like the idea of incorporating light into dividers. This could be done with floor-to-ceiling walls, head height privacy screens used to delineate teaming areas, and even in desktop dividers where the LEDs could provide task lighting. So far, Haworth and Philips are just debuting their LED office furniture ideas in Europe. But we think you could achieve something similar by attaching a clamp-on LED task lamp to one of our cubicle panel extenders or desktop dividers. That way, employees can get all the light they need even with higher cubicle walls that provide more privacy.

Did you think we had run out of novel ways to use panel extenders and desktop dividers? Not even close!

Every good manager knows that rewards and recognition go a long way toward keeping employee satisfaction levels high. With a custom-printed “Employee of the Month” panel extender, you can let everyone in the office know who has done an outstanding job over the past 30 days. Along with the text, you could choose to add graphics like party balloons and confetti. Then, have a cake or other tasty gift delivered to the employee’s cubicle for everyone to share. Since our products are easy to install and remove, you can simply transfer the “Employee of the Month” panel to a new workstation as needed.

Image courtesy of Flickr user 4nitsirk

Perhaps another location for an extra panel is in the reception area. A reception desk should feel open and inviting to visitors. But it can often feel a little vulnerable to the receptionist. This is especially true in a layout where reception is located near an open hallway and employees are traipsing back and forth all day. If the front office has floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the sidewalk, the receptionist may feel under scrutiny from passersby as well. Placing a desk mounted privacy panel along one side of the desk offers a little shielding while still making the receptionist easily approachable by guests.

If you do a quick web search for content about cubicles, you’ll come away with a pretty bleak picture of how employees feel about this type of workstation. Most articles offering advice make it clear from the outset that the goal is simply to make cube life a little more bearable. This excerpt from Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht’s “The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Work” is a good example. The authors write about ways to survive in a tiny workspace.

Many of the tips are tongue in cheek (they recommend suspending your stapler and tape dispenser from the ceiling to free up valuable desk space and hiding luxury items like your TV and hair dryer). But a lot of the recommendations are reasonable. For example, they caution against picking a cubicle near a supply room or other high traffic area. Employees who actually have a choice about where they sit can benefit from this tip and some of the other advice as well.

Of course, their statement that standard cube size is 8×8 may be a little outdated for a book published in 2008. Cubicles have been shrinking in size over the past couple of decades. So, chances are your employees are feeling more cramped than ever. Is it possible for workers to actually be happy and productive in such tight quarters?

We believe the answer is 3-fold:

1. First, the company culture and especially the employees’ relationship with their immediate supervisor is the most important factor in satisfaction. Employees with flexible schedules and a boss who is “on their side” are likely to adjust well to their work environment – even the dreaded cubicle.
2. Second, the nature of the work assigned is very important. For example, employees at startup companies who are thoroughly excited about the innovative project they are working on are less likely to be bummed out by shortcomings in their workspace than those who do boring, repetitive tasks. Cross training employees may break up the monotony and help them stay interested in coming to work.
3. Finally, the quality of the design, layout and materials used for the cubicle do matter. Even a small cube can be outfitted with a comfortable chair, ergonomic tools like a keyboard tray and adjustable monitor arm, and panel extenders that add privacy and reduce noisy distractions.

How do you help your employees thrive in the cubicle workspace? Share your advice in the comments.

Are you building a new office space or renovating your existing site? The LEED point and credit system developed in 1998 by the U.S. Green Building Council may provide you with grant funds and tax breaks if you make the right design decisions. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program looks at the entire office building, inside and out, to determine compliance with best practices for sustainability.

Points are tallied up for each choice that promotes greater energy efficiency, more environmental responsibility, or better indoor air quality. Everything from building materials to lighting choices and office furniture are taken into consideration during a review by an LEED accreditation professional. Participating businesses can achieve progressively higher levels of certification all the way up to “Platinum” which offers the biggest incentives and most bragging rights.

How OBEX Products Factor In

One of the smartest ways to take advantage of the potential financial benefits of LEED certification is by saving money up front. You might think that buying “green” office furniture is more expensive than purchasing standard equipment. That might be true – if you buy new. But pre-owned office furniture is much cheaper and qualifies for LEED points because it reduces the energy and raw material consumption that goes into furnishing your office. In fact, buying used furniture is always more environmentally friendly than buying even the most eco-responsible new furniture.

The downside of buying used workstations is that you don’t have quite the range of options you might like. For example, you might not find cubicles with walls high enough. Or, you might find that the most cost-effective option is a benching configuration – but not want to go with an entirely open office layout. Our panel products can extend the height of cubicle walls or turn a regular desk into a more private, less noisy workstation in minutes at a very low cost. Second hand cubicles can be refurbished in the fabric of your choice – and you can have your panel extenders made to match.

To answer the question in the title of this post: Our privacy panels give you more flexibility in using pre-owned workstations. So, we think they deserve a little appreciation for making it easier for you to earn those LEED points while saving money at the same time.

This week’s tip for panel extenders takes you outside the office and on the road. Does your company attend industry trade shows and conventions? You can easily add a sign to your booth or table with a panel extender or desktop mounted panel. Just have one custom printed with your logo. The universal brackets make setup and take down a snap and the panels can be stored and transported flat. This means they won’t take up too much space or time at your next exposition. Unlike a cheap, flimsy plastic sign, an OBEX panel is designed for decades of use with a sturdy aluminum frame and polycarbonate tile.

Image courtesy of Flickr user: milolovich69