Monthly Archives : February 2013

Steelcase is well known for publishing lengthy articles about upcoming trends in office space design. These are some of our favorite resources to share with readers because each one is chock full of interesting ideas for discussion. For example, here’s one from issue #63 of 360 Research about what company executives are noticing and changing about their workplace layout. The office building itself is an often overlooked resource that organizations are learning to tap to bring out the best in their human capital.

This particular article focuses on agility and collaboration – two topics that are linked (in the minds of many businesses) to the open office space without panels. However, we see quite a few opportunities in the new “spacial concepts” touted by Keane for the inclusion of desktop mounted privacy panels or even panel extenders for traditional cubicles. Here are the top 3 based on quotes from the article:

“Running a successful business requires teamwork and frequent collaboration, but rare is the office that can ably host even a two-person meeting.” If you need small, enclosed spaces for two or three people to meet and discuss a project, the simplest answer is a freestanding pod with high walls. It’s cheaper than a built-in conference room and can easily be repurposed for other work when it’s not being used for collaboration.

“Using a strategy we call ‘Best Place”, we created a great range of flexible workspaces to meet changing needs. You have the freedom to move, to collaborate, to put your head down and focus.” Employees may feel cooped up in a cubicle or too exposed at a desk depending on the time of day or what mood they woke up in that morning. Having a range of different workstation types to choose from can help deliver just the right environment for every day of work. Our panel extenders come in a variety of heights and lengths to create a varied landscape to support all types of activities and attitudes.

“You have to give users more options, more control over their space, and be ready to change any space, even the spaces you love the most.” Oh, yes, we’re familiar with the need to change. That’s why we created the panels in the first place. Employers need an option for adjusting wall heights without tearing down and rebuilding workstations. With our panel products, any workstation can be upgraded in a few minutes using just an Allen wrench.

Do you see red when you get stuck in traffic during your morning commute? Do you feel blue when your vacation ends and you have to head back to the office? Are you green with envy when you hear that a coworker got a promotion you deserved? We often use colors to describe moods, but the fact is that the colors in our environment have a direct impact on our emotions. A smart business will take the time to understand the message it’s sending with the décor used in the office space. KI offers a glimpse at what feelings different colors evoke in this succinct whitepaper. It’s intended for the healthcare industry, but the basic principles hold true for any workspace.

What subliminal messages are you sending with your office design? Could you change the mood of your employees with the addition of some of our panel products? They come in a wide variety of colors and can even be custom printed to match your branding. Contact us today to start helping your workers view the world through some rose colored glasses…

There’s a compelling infographic over at MyTurnstone.com that compares and contrasts two very different personality types and how they like to work. It’s not surprising to find that extroverts prefer an office environment that’s bustling and active. Introverts, on the other hand, tend to do their best work when they have more solitude. It’s not that they don’t like to collaborate or don’t know how to be a part of a team. They just don’t cope as well when they are forced to process a great deal of outward stimuli (especially social interaction) when they are trying to work.

In a 2012 article posted over at atlanticcities.com, Allison Arieff points out that 1 out of 4 people may be introverts. That’s a pretty hefty chunk of your workforce. But it’s not just these less social types who desire a little more personal space. She also points out that most employees of all personality types seem to prefer some form of separation from their colleagues. All but the most gregarious are daunted at the prospect of a completely open office with no dividers. In general, people want to socialize by choice, not because they have zero privacy. So, by being kind to your office introverts and offering the option of privacy panels, you’ll actually be making all your workers happier.

Is it possible to turn an office into a work of art? David Choe, the graffiti artist who decorated the walls at FaceBook headquarters, shows that it is indeed doable. But what if you don’t own the building where you do business? Could you still create a vivid montage in a less costly way? We imagine a talented artist taking their spray cans and airbrushes to our polycarbonate panels. The panels themselves are available in an array of vivid colors to provide a nice backdrop. Or you can choose the plain translucent ones for a blank canvas. The corrugated effect would be reminiscent of the art you see tagged on the side of railroad boxcars.

Who Should Tag Your Panels?

If your company has an edgy feel and some disposable cash, you might hire someone to do a high end job with panel extender art. It could add a trendy cachet to have a famous artist paint your panels. But hiring a local artist might give you a deeper connection with your community.

You could let each employee decorate their own panels (at least the side facing inward toward their cubicle). Give them a general theme such as the company’s logo or mission statement so they don’t get too wild. This would be a fun art project for your company picnic or a team building exercise to welcome in new employees. The ritual of tagging over the artwork of a previous employee to claim their territory could be part of your new hire orientation.

Finally, there’s the option of having us create a custom printed panel extender that just looks like it’s got graffiti on it – there are a lot less fumes involved that way! You can supply your own artwork and we can apply it professionally.

What do you think? Would you paint a panel extender and turn it into a work of art?

Here we are at the end of our series on Steelcase’s “Defining the Code” report. It’s been quite an interesting meander through all the ways groups and individuals perform within a given work environment and a given culture. It’s certainly lifted the curtain away from the hidden assumptions and unspoken rules that drive much of the day to day operations in a business.

Our final comparison is between long term and short term orientation

You can probably guess where most Americans and US organizations fall on this spectrum. We want what we want when we want it (and that would be RIGHT NOW). From the perspective of a company that’s gone public with its stock, it can actually be considered irresponsible to take a course of action other than the one that maximizes short term profits. Our society as a whole has both a short attention span and a hunger for immediate results. We don’t tend to give a lot of thought to the future – especially if we think the problems it brings will be shouldered by someone else.

Of course, the opposite attitude can be just as problematic. Those who have only a long term perspective may be too mired in tradition to evolve with the times. They may tend to stifle innovation and discourage bold action out of a surfeit of caution. Penny pinching can sometimes be the road to poverty in business while perseverance taken too far may mean breaking instead of bending when things change around you. The key is to have a balance between short and long term thinking so you don’t forego current opportunities or disregard the consequence of today’s actions.

How OBEX Fits In

With this particular cultural index, the use of privacy panels really is more about the organization as a whole than about any one individual. We think our products have appeal across both workplace cultures because:

• They immediately improve working conditions for employees, providing instant gratification
• They make workstations flexible over the long haul, saving money for businesses that value thrift

A highly informative article by Janelle Penny at buildings.com reveals the benefits of allowing individuals to control their own lighting in open plan offices. An in-depth study by the GSA compared their standard lighting setup vs. an arrangement that allowed employees to control the local lighting at their workstation. The first surprise was that energy usage goes down (sometimes way down) when you let employees have more control. Computer users are particularly prone to dimming their lights to reduce screen glare and avoid eye fatigue.

Even better, the percentage of employees who were satisfied with their lighting was increased by a substantial amount. Those who said the overall lighting at their workstation was comfortable rose from 55% to 70%. Those who complained that their work surface was unevenly lit dropped from 50% to 25%.

We’d love to have the GSA test out our privacy panels and see how employees like having control over their noise exposure and visual privacy as well. We’re betting the results would be pretty impressive.

OK, we’ve done 4 topics and have 2 more to go on our exploration of Steelcase’s “Defining the Code” research paper. Today, we’re going to talk about Uncertainty Tolerance. In a culture that is tolerant of unpredictable situations where there aren’t clear cut rules, participants place a high value on the ability to solve problems and navigate gray areas with aplomb. Diversity is an asset because it makes brainstorming more fruitful. In a culture that does not tolerate uncertainty well, security is prized. Preventing an uncomfortable situation from arising is seen as preferable to finding a creative solution. People feel best when everyone agrees on what the rules are (even if the rules are often broken).

Microcosms Exist in Each Workplace

This is just as much a personal preference as a cultural difference. This means you’ll likely have some employees who fit each profile. In addition, some departments and industries tend to be more risk averse than others. For example, Accounting is not a profession where gray areas and ambiguity are well tolerated. That’s probably because the IRS and the DOL don’t have a happy-go-lucky attitude about whether businesses follow the rules to the letter.

More Privacy and More Freedom

That being said, Americans generally like to be given some leeway in how they do their jobs. Greater autonomy (including decision making power) is closely linked to employee satisfaction. So, how do you use privacy panels to help foster both adherence to rules and the sense of having some personal power?

A lot of this has to do with how you present the panels and their role in the workplace. In settings where privacy and compliance are crucial, desk mounted panels or cubicle wall extenders should be installed as a matter of course. In areas where “risk taking” and diversity are prized, giving employees a say in how or where panels are installed is key. Getting to make the decision for themselves based on their own assessment of how these tools would enhance their job makes all the difference.