A few weeks ago I visited New York City while attending the Future Offices Winter Event to learn about the drivers influencing the workplace.  We know that workplace design matters and can positively impact the level of engagement employees exhibit through my article in Smart Business Magazine. Through my few days there, a number of common themes arose.

Panel Discussion Hosted During the Event.

Employee Experience:

The word, “experience” is all the buzz across a variety of sectors. Retailers are focusing on how to create a memorable experience for shoppers, to incentivize them to shop in store rather than online. Universities are focusing on enhancing the college experience to attract students. The modern office is no different. Understanding the value of human capital when it comes to the costs of doing business, employers are focusing on improving the experiences of their employees in order to attract and retain the top talent. Employers are prioritizing food offerings, wellness activities, training, and professional development.  Additionally, companies are looking for ways other than amenities to engage employees.

Internet of Things:

With the evolution of connected devices in our homes, employees now expect to see these products at work too. Mobile phone apps will remind us when to adjust sit-to-stand desks. Automated package delivery systems will send messages when packages arrive, minimizing or eliminating the need for a staffer to deliver packages to your desk. Meeting rooms will be assigned based on appointment criteria, rather than scouring our calendars for open rooms. Plants will notify us when they need water with sensors. The possibilities are endless with the goal of minimizing administrative work allowing us to do our jobs more efficiently.

Coworking vs. Flexible Office Space:

Coworking space started out as a way for solo entrepreneurs and start-ups to have a professional environment to work and meet. While this need still exists, flexible office space has entered the market from traditional coworking providers and new providers. Flexible office space is personalized and branded within a building with shared amenities, facilities management, and shorter lease terms.

While this type of space is becoming the norm in larger cities for both small organizations and as an enterprise solution, it’s unclear to me at this time how prevalent it might become in the Cleveland market. If you have experience with this model, I’d love to talk to you for a future blog/article I am writing.

Brooklyn Bridge - New York, NY

Oculus at the World Trade Center - New York, NY

The event was thought-provoking and inspiring in many ways.  As was the city of New York itself.  I extended my visit for a short retreat with my husband and was awed once again by this amazing city! My favorite new stops were the Oculus and One World Trade Center as well as walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the DesignWell conference in San Diego with fellow wellness-minded designers and architects. For those of you who didn’t make it, here are three things you missed. 

Lesson 1: People, Not Profit

Eric Corey Freed, founder of organicARCHITECT, opened the first day by issuing a challenge: to change the way we measure success. After all, the importance of a space is not how fast it turns a profit but rather the way it makes you feel. So why are we still using ROI (Return On Investment) as the primary metric of architectural success? It’s time to turn our focus to the people and start measuring success by the impact on the humans who inhabit the space.

Eric, of course, was not the only one to challenge our way of thinking. He opened the conference for a slew of speakers reminding us that we need to put the people first. A message that was woven into the fabric of every presentation: We need to humanize the conversation.

Lesson 2: Understand the People

While people over profit is an easy concept to get behind, it’s not always a clear path. As Kay Sargent so eloquently said, “We have to understand the people we are designing for and the experiences we are creating for them”.

Rex Miller, Dr. Mike O’Neill, and Phil Williams, the co-authors of “The Healthy Workplace Nudge”, suggested we focus on a new central question: Are we designing spaces that make people healthier and happier? They reminded us that the spaces we design can be a powerful tool for encouraging healthier behavior if we understand the way people will behave.

Sally Augustin, Principal at Design With Science, reminded us that we have science on our side. Even when we can’t predict how people will behave, science has taught us the physiological and neurological impact of our environments. By understanding the science we can shape the way people feel in our spaces.

Lesson 3: It Takes a Village

In the murmurings between sessions and the dialogues during Q+A, we kept coming back to the same question: How do we change an entire industry? Tim Conway, VP of Sustainable Development for Shaw Industries, reminded us that it will take more than one person. We must work together to do better. Along with Veronica Schreibeis-Smith stating, “We can do better - today, not tomorrow”.

For more information on this topic, DesignWell has provided the presentations of the event's speakers at their website.