The Changing Nature of Work Workplace Revolution 2.0
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dialogue Talking about… Workplace Revolution 2.0 The Changing Startups and Post-Startups Nature of Work Reinventing the Headquarters 22. Susan Cain and Sherry Turkle A Gensler publication 22 Features 2 2 Workplace Revolution 2.0 Twenty years into a revolution that workforce mobility trig- gered, the office workplace We should be designing is being transformed yet again. 10 work settings where First Person: Susan Chapman The American Express SVP on there’s an ability to pick workplace enablement and the importance of personal choice and choose how much to a workforce in 41 countries. 18 stimulation you want, Fringe Benefits Coworking spaces that help at any given time. Being independent workers network and collaborate are getting the able to shape your own attention of bigger companies. 24 space is hugely important. Up from Startups The new media/social media Susan Cain, author of the New York Times best seller Quiet sector grabbing the headlines is also transforming the tech industry workplace. “A revolution in personal empowerment is under way,” the Wall Street Journal 14 18 proclaimed. “In the marketplace, the largest and most durable opportunities are those based on freedom.” The topic was retailing, but it could just as well have been the office workplace. The first workplace revolution got us to the point where people can choose among a range of work settings to orchestrate their workdays. The second workplace revolution takes this further, responding to a mostly millennial workforce. Open-ended and experiential, the latest work settings encourage people to shape them as they use them. The aim is to engage and Join the Conversation empower, channeling all that personal energy into the business at hand. Follow our thought leaders ON THE COVER: at GenslerOn.com The Minneapolis office of the Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency (also shown above). opposite, clockwise from top: Departments NVIDIA, Austin; The Tower at PNC Plaza, Pittsburgh; 1871 coworking center, Chicago. 14 22 28 32 Case Study: PNC Tower Gensler’s Workplace Research Susan Cain and Sherry Turkle News + Views Could a building breathe? This Now in its sixth year, the firm’s In separate books, these two A Shanghai Tower update and question led Pittsburgh-based research generates insights that authors question the wisdom the debut of Gensler LA’s stun- PNC to reinvent the highrise are reshaping workplace design of the fully open-plan workplace ning new office and the World headquarters. to benefit clients and end-users. and always-on connectivity. Food Prize Hall of Laureates. 2.0 BY ALLISON ARIEFF The workplace is ripe for reinvention. As the millennial generation comes into its own in the workforce, the expectations for the workplace are changing. Here’s a report from the field on where it’s headed next. The modern workplace has its roots in the a sense of urgency and excitement among It’s not that people are collaborating less, opposite: The new Plantronics technological revolution that ushered in these designers as they talk about their but rather that they’re distracted more. The headquarters in Santa Cruz, CA, encourages informality. mobility circa 1990. For more than 20 years, work—urgency because the problems they’re core WPI finding is that the inability to focus organizations have exploited innovations solving are crucial to clients, and excitement undermines performance in a broader sense. above: The Facebook head- in networks, computing, and communication because the paradigm is shifting as impor- The implication: focus is fundamental. quarters in Menlo Park, CA, lets people shape the space to to boost productivity and drive down costs. tant questions about the workplace are being meet their immediate needs. Parallel gains on the building side have answered. To capture the flavor of this dis- This flies in the face of the open, densely made for healthier, more sustainable work course, let’s look at six questions that came populated workplace that’s considered settings. The need to support innovation up the most. basic to supporting the informal interaction has produced flatter organizations and open, that spurs innovation. Will cubicles and pri- fluid, flexible work settings. Nirvana? Why the renewed focus on focus? vate offices soon make a comeback, despite A key finding of Gensler’s Workplace Perfor- their documented lack of utilization? “It’s Not quite. Conversations with the Gensler mance Index® (WPI®) surveys of US office about finding the right mix,” says Gensler’s workplace practice point to deficits, dilem- workers is that while collaboration is hugely Janet Pogue. “Most people’s work styles mas, and untapped opportunities. There’s important, the ability to focus is even more so. vary, even over the course of a day. You can 2 dialogue 22 I Thinking About Work 3 In many organizations today, individuals expect to work in an open- ended way, with a workplace to suit. Across age groups, there’s a desire for choice and flexibility. design spaces for varied activities without Furniture plays an important role in creat- sacrificing openness or density.” ing spaces for focus or collaboration, Macri says. “You need furniture that’s comfort- Facebook opted to go beyond open plan. able and varied. The move to smart devices With Gensler, it developed a deliberately means that workstations, in particular, can un-designed headquarters workspace that move away from the ‘knowledge worker’ reflects its flat organization. Not even the standard.” The new mix provides openness, CEO has a private office—everyone gets what but also inserts areas in its midst where amounts to a blank canvas and is asked to people can work without distraction. create an environment that suits. Desks are customizable and height-adjustable, and Can design really help spark innovation? there’s a choice of chairs. That the workspace The answer is yes, but not as conventional would be largely open was a given, says wisdom suggests. In abandoning the old Gensler’s Randy Howder. “The real issue was office paradigm of rows, columns, cubes, how to support different levels of privacy. and linear thinking, “there was a tendency We used screens, movable and otherwise, to to go with edginess for its own sake,” says modulate the open collaboration spaces.” Gensler’s Mandy Graham. To understand better how workplace design really supports The advertising agency 22squared took a innovation, she and her team began a dia- different tack, rebalancing the workspace in logue with a cross section of innovators. favor of more “we-space,” as Gensler’s Richard Macri calls it. “Working anytime and Take 3M, a company known for its system- anywhere is the norm now, so we provided atic commitment to invention. “There’s a a variety of shared spaces that support rigorous process to support it,” Graham says. work-mode choices.” By pairing them with a “The rhythm of that process is built into slightly denser workspace overall, 22squared the workplace. It’s both a platform and kept its costs in line. a creative tool, making it safe for people to right: 22squared in Atlanta is designed to let different kinds of work occur without creating distraction. 4 5 70% of the US workforce is either not engaged or actively dis- engaged at work, according to a 2012 Gallup poll. This is why progressive workplace design emphasizes individual as well as team performance. clockwise, from top left: Autodesk, San Francisco; BASF, Florham Park, NJ; TM Advertising, Dallas; Costa Rican headquarters of a take risks.” Or consider Whole Foods. Can change management change? European telecommunica- Right off the lobby of its new headquarters Workplace change management “uses tions company, Escazu, CR. is a residential-style kitchen—a constant frequent advice and both practical and inspi- reminder of who benefits from the com- rational communication to take people pany’s innovations. Sporting goods maker from one reality to another,” says Gensler’s Wilson also re-created a retail setting in Johnathan Sandler. What is changing can its headquarters to help accelerate the run the gamut from minor to major, but product-development cycle by immersing engagement is key, his New York colleague its designers in the real world of their cus- Amanda Ramos stresses. Change man- tomers and end-users. agement is traditionally imposed on people. Today, though, Gensler is leveraging social A Gensler research team in San Francisco media to shift the frame from top-down to led by Lisa Bottom is asking how pervasive something that is more two-way and grass- computing and digitally “alive” materials— roots. “We call it change networking. When applied to windows, walls, and tables, for things are in flux, the fears that arise are example—could change the way the work- best countered through active discussion,” place supports creative work. “The technology Ramos says. “Social media makes that easier isn’t there yet,” she says, “but we need to because the people who are affected by anticipate how to incorporate it.” the changes can drive the conversation.” 6 dialogue 22 I Thinking About Work 7 Another approach is to use pilot programs, been on environmentally benign design and, as American Express did with its BlueWork in some cases, access to fitness centers. initiative. A pilot in New York let the company Meanwhile, our sedentary ways have been test and refine ideas, and then apply the fingered as a contributor to poor health. results. “It can be very challenging to get There’s a real cost to employers in lost pro- people to buy into new ideas. With a pilot ductivity and higher insurance premiums: program, you can address their issues directly, $80 million per year in the US alone, accord- along with the organization’s readiness and ing to McKinsey.