Stay current on design trends, best practices in the workplace, employee issues and interior design research.

Increased Retention/Reduced Turnover

Hang on Loosely:The Common Sense of Retention
(346KB PDF)

While the Human Resources Department has a role in retention--setting context for it through people policies and practices--retention is also the responsibility of individual managers. In a diverse work force, the factors that motivate employees vary widely, but determining what they are is critical to retention because motivation leads to engagement, and an employee immersed in satisfying work is not going to feel the need to look elsewhere.

New Ways of Working

The Siren Song of Multitasking
(248KB PDF)

Rapidly evolving technologies deliver more information and provide more opportunity for connection than ever before. Worried they might miss something important, workers are multitasking, even though cognitive research shows that it takes significantly longer to do two tasks at the same time than it does to do them one at a time.

When Work and Life Balance, Everyone Wins
(94KB PDF)

Companies in some developed countries are facing a labor shortage. One way they can attract and retain workers is by helping them achieve a better work-life balance, an issue that cuts across social and geographical borders. Some companies have responded by offering flextime, telecommuting, and a compressed workweek, for example. In one study of 29 American firms, offering flexibility to workers had a positive impact on the companies' bottom lines in a variety of ways. However, formal work-life balance programs and even legislation aren't likely to be effective unless the corporate culture is conducive to work-life balance.

Teamwork/Collaboration

Making Teamwork Work: Designing Spaces that Support Collaborative Efforts
(817KB PDF)

"'Teams' and 'struggle' are two words I hear a lot," say a researcher who has listened to managers, facility planners, and team members from a number of types of companies talk about their efforts to promote and support collaborative work. Despite the benefits that teamwork promises to business organizations determined to improve productivity, quality, and worker commitment, many appear to struggle with the implementation of more collaborative organizational structures and work processes.

World-Class Environment

Taking on Workplace Change
(332KB PDF)

Change may be "business as usual," but for most companies, managing it is not. The major challenge in any change initiative, including a facilities change, is overcoming employee resistance. Employees resist primarily because they don't understand what the change is or what it means for them. Using change communication to increase employee buy-in before, during, and after a facilities change is critical. Workplace change has the best chance of succeeding when everyone wants it to work.