Great Minds Don't Work Alike
From January 2006
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“Every company in America (seemingly) has an ‘open door’ policy,” says Bob Nelson, founder and president of San Diego-based Nelson Motivation Inc. “But if you can’t ?nd management, or they’re on a conference call when you do ?nd them, you give up.” Working with companies from North America to the Middle East, Nelson, who also wrote “1001 Ways to Reward Employees,” notes that the ef?ciencies gained through technology have put distance between people. He cautions that unless steps are taken to lessen that distance, burnout, stress and high turnover are the result.
“What today’s employees want the most are things that relate to their work and add up to connections with their managers and the people they’re working with,” says Nelson. “Maintaining that connection is harder when people are spread out over different shifts and even different time zones.”
Boomers, Gen X Bond
Balancing the needs of an aging workforce with those at the start of their careers is another challenge being met by creative design, most notably in the area of lighting. From creating views to the outside, to the use of “up lights” to decrease glare on computer screens, lighting is becoming as important a factor in of?ce design as ergonomically correct workstations, with daylight at a premium.
To bene?t interior of?ces, lower work-station panels throughout a ?oor space allow for the ? ow of more natural light. Portable luminaries are under develop-ment at the California Lighting & Technology Center, the result of collaboration between the University of California, Davis and the California Energy Commission. Featuring individual user controls, the best of these ?oor-standing, task and ambient lighting ?xtures are said to capture “sunlight in a lamp.”
In companies where 20- to 50-year-olds are likely working side by side, agility and adaptability are imperative. Measuring anywhere from 2.5 inches to 4 inches thick, modular walls allow ?exibility in an of? ce space and support the sustainability trend. Though far from a new innovation, major aesthetic strides keep the product fresh. “It looks like traditional con-struction can be ?nished with a wall covering, wood veneer or even glass,” says Cameon Krotine, director of interiors and marketing for business interiors at Western Contract Furnishers in Rancho Cordova. “You can recon? gure without destroying a wall, eliminating the need for demolition and minimizing disruption.”
Technologically improved laminated ?oors are less expensive, durable, affordable and attractive. Today, a photographic image of real wood can be transferred onto plastic laminate, resulting in the look of wood, with the durability of laminate. According to design experts, even the experienced eye can’t tell it’s a laminate without scratching or feeling it.
Resistant to stains, odors, moisture and bacteria, Crypton fabric is touted for its resilience and ability to withstand 80,000 double rubs. Used on upholstered surfaces, it reportedly will go out of style from a color standpoint before it wears out.
Continued...
“What today’s employees want the most are things that relate to their work and add up to connections with their managers and the people they’re working with,” says Nelson. “Maintaining that connection is harder when people are spread out over different shifts and even different time zones.”
Boomers, Gen X Bond
Balancing the needs of an aging workforce with those at the start of their careers is another challenge being met by creative design, most notably in the area of lighting. From creating views to the outside, to the use of “up lights” to decrease glare on computer screens, lighting is becoming as important a factor in of?ce design as ergonomically correct workstations, with daylight at a premium.
To bene?t interior of?ces, lower work-station panels throughout a ?oor space allow for the ? ow of more natural light. Portable luminaries are under develop-ment at the California Lighting & Technology Center, the result of collaboration between the University of California, Davis and the California Energy Commission. Featuring individual user controls, the best of these ?oor-standing, task and ambient lighting ?xtures are said to capture “sunlight in a lamp.”
In companies where 20- to 50-year-olds are likely working side by side, agility and adaptability are imperative. Measuring anywhere from 2.5 inches to 4 inches thick, modular walls allow ?exibility in an of? ce space and support the sustainability trend. Though far from a new innovation, major aesthetic strides keep the product fresh. “It looks like traditional con-struction can be ?nished with a wall covering, wood veneer or even glass,” says Cameon Krotine, director of interiors and marketing for business interiors at Western Contract Furnishers in Rancho Cordova. “You can recon? gure without destroying a wall, eliminating the need for demolition and minimizing disruption.”
Technologically improved laminated ?oors are less expensive, durable, affordable and attractive. Today, a photographic image of real wood can be transferred onto plastic laminate, resulting in the look of wood, with the durability of laminate. According to design experts, even the experienced eye can’t tell it’s a laminate without scratching or feeling it.
Resistant to stains, odors, moisture and bacteria, Crypton fabric is touted for its resilience and ability to withstand 80,000 double rubs. Used on upholstered surfaces, it reportedly will go out of style from a color standpoint before it wears out.
Continued...
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