office furniture


33


Including a new WOW factor in workplace design


Professor Alan Hedge, a leading ergonomics expert and consultant with office furniture manufacturer Humanscale, explains how workplace design that encompasses new ways of working is essential for worker well-being.


W


here do you work? When do you work? It may not be as easy to answer these questions as it used to be in the past. With the advancements of


technology, workers can now adopt a mobile workstyle and do their jobs from several places or outside of the traditional nine to five, Monday to Friday pattern. Working at a specific place for a set amount of time is no


longer a necessity and this new-found freedom has led to rethinking traditional office workplaces. New ways of working (WOW) have emerged and they are now revolutionising commercial interiors, from general layouts through to the furniture used and the facilities that are provided.


What are new WOW workplaces?


New WOW workplaces tend to feature ‘agile working’, ‘hotelling’ and to a lesser degree ’hot-desking’– all referring to the principle that space isn’t ‘owned’ by a single individual and


rather employees are encouraged to utilise space as required to address their specific needs throughout the day. Companies provide a range of activity-based spaces such


as quiet zones, team working areas and breakout spaces. At the same time employees are encouraged to move between locations throughout the day to enjoy a more varied workday and combat the perils of a desk-bound job. Furniture too needs to be fully flexible and adaptable to suit


the needs of each individual worker, whether this includes adjustable chairs, sit-stand tables and intuitive monitor arms or laptop trays.


The downside


Despite the benefits, there is a serious potential downside to new WOW. The freedom handed to employees to work from anywhere can see them working in places in the outside world that do not always provide ergonomic solutions.


www.architectsdatafile.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36