Future Workspace Design

In a world where the hustle often overshadows health, here's an idea from Chinese schools that's worth exploring globally: desks that convert into beds for power naps! Imagine pressing a button and transforming your work or study space into a cozy nap zone. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐬? Research supports the undeniable link between rest and productivity. These transformative desks are not just furniture; they're tools for better cognitive performance. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥: >> Enhanced Focus and Learning: Studies show that a short nap can boost alertness and improve learning by refreshing the mind. It's like hitting the reset button in the middle of your day. >> Boosted Productivity: Napping can rejuvenate the mind, enhancing creativity and problem-solving skills. This means higher quality work and fewer mistakes - critical in professional and academic settings. >> Improved Well-being: Regular napping reduces stress and can contribute to better overall health. It leads to a more energized, motivated, and efficient workforce or student body. 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬: Imagine if workplaces embraced this technology. Offices designed with well-being in mind could see significant gains in employee satisfaction and output. It's a step towards acknowledging that productivity isn't about working longer, but smarter. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬? Adjustable power nap desks could change how we view office ergonomics and design. By allowing employees a space to quickly recharge, companies can foster a healthier, more productive work environment that respects and utilizes the natural human need for rest. 💭 Could the integration of such innovative furniture into workspaces be the key to balancing productivity and well-being in our fast-paced world? #innovation #technology #future #management #startups

Workplace flexibility is more than a four day working week, remote work or nine-day fortnight. What are the options and exactly how personalised can flexible work arrangements become? Thanks to the Geraldton Guardian newspaper for publishing my piece on this topic. Working remotely, hybrid work arrangements, and the four-day workweek are among the smorgasbord of flexible work treats now available at an increasing number of workplaces. While these options have been gobbled up by some workers, they might not satisfy everyone's appetite for workplace flexibility. The growing demand for flexible work arrangements is about to get a whole lot more personal, with an increasing number of options being put on the table for workers to choose from. The modern workplace is made up of individuals with widely varying personal situations, yet too often they are served a one-size-fits-all menu when it comes to flexible work arrangements. Consider remote and hybrid work arrangements. While many workers enjoy these flexible options, others prefer to keep their personal and work lives separate and do not find these arrangements appetising at all. This emphasizes the need for workplaces to dish up a more varied menu of flexible work options, catering to the diverse tastes and needs of their employees, ensuring everyone can find an arrangement that suits their unique lifestyle. They are plenty of flexible work options that can be put on the table many of which have been on the menu for some time, although we’ve yet to truly dish them out. Many workers prefer the flexibility of part-time work but are locked into full-time roles. There is often hesitation to convert these roles, fearing reduced employee dedication. When converting full-time roles to part-time is not feasible, job sharing—where two or more part-time employees share the responsibilities of a single full-time position—can be a viable alternative. Staggered start and finish times allow employees to adjust their working hours to better fit their personal lives, such as starting earlier or finishing later. Split schedules allow employees to divide their work hours into segments, such as working 8 am to 12 noon in the office, taking a break, and then working 4 pm to 8 pm from home. Purchased leave allows employees to buy additional leave days beyond their standard entitlement, enabling them to take extended time off for personal needs, vacations, or other commitments by deducting the cost from their salary. A deferred salary leave plan lets employees work for several years at 80% pay, saving the deferred portion to fund an extended break while still receiving a reduced salary. The variety of options on the menu means that while some employees savour a four-day week, others will relish staggered hours, and still others will opt for split schedules or time banking. #flexibleworkarrangements #flexibility #workplace #management #job #humanresources #leadership #AIMWA

This article in MIT Sloan Management Review on hybrid work by Nick Bloom, Prithwiraj Choudhury, and Brian Elliott confirms what we've been documenting for years: This isn't a location problem. It's a leadership capability gap. While too many executives still debate office attendance, their more forward-thinking, innovative competitors build the leadership AND operational capabilities that a high-performance flexible work model--not just "hybrid"--requires. The research and case studies that the article cites get critical points right: ✅ "To date, no peer-reviewed research shows a benefit to a rigid five-day office model." ✅ Synchrony's CEO focusing on measurable results over presence. ✅ Atlassian's teams creating working agreements. ✅ The reality that only 25% of managers of distributed teams get leadership training (and we wonder why they are reporting historically low levels of engagement and burnout!) But this alone doesn't close the capability gap. What I'm seeing in our work with organizations: 👉 Teams need more than permission to create norms. They need facilitation frameworks for making planning and coordination decisions within the context of broader organizational parameters that all levels of leadership have aligned behind. 👉 Managers need consistent protocols, tools and training to guide the conversations about how, when, and where their specific work gets done—not just implement generic policies. This includes defining: → How does work get prioritized and coordinated for your business? → When do teams need to be together in person, and not in person, to achieve specific outcomes? → In what spaces and places (in person and virtual) does different work happen most effectively given your constraints? The article does mention the importance of space redesign and technology but a high-performance flexible work model integrates technology capabilities, and workspace design into the defined parameters as one coordinated way of operating across places, spaces and time. This requires moving: ✅ From debating location to starting with the work and defining how, when and where that work happens best, and ✅ From treating flexibility as policy compliance to building it as strategic capability. The evidence is clear. The business case is proven. Organizations that build these operational and leadership capabilities have a competitive advantage and will outperform those still debating badge swipes. What's the biggest capability gap you're addressing to help your organization achieve high levels of sustainable performance working flexibly? #FutureOfWork #FlexibleWork #RTO #HybridWork #Leadership #WorkplaceStrategy #HighPerformanceFlexibility #ReimagineWork

Coworking is dead! Co-office seems to be the norm now. Coworking was created as a way for freelancers and entreprenerus to share ideas, knowledge and build a community of cool people doing cool things. Most so-called coworking spaces are now co-offices. An office building full of small offices where companies put their employees with little to no knowledge share. I don't blame the companies doing it, it's just more profitable, but although it serves a purpose, it's not one of connection and ideas sharing. Coworking is something different... Coworking is community and we see a big trend of the coworking spaces changing slowly to become social spaces, places where people go to connect and work. These spaces are often comfortable, with plenty of events and put the community first. Their way to profitability is very intelligent, these spaces added something that all remote workers love. Coffee and snacks. So they can charge a lower membership as part of their profitability comes from the café inside the space, making the event organization not only key for the community but the best way to always keep their café full after working hours. A true win win. I recently visited a coworking café in Paço de Arcos that had an open café with comfortable chairs, a coworking space on the first floor and... A place for kids to play with fun interactive infrastructure. O Passo is the future of working spaces, a place for connection, work and family. More spaces like that are thriving as the incentive to build the community is much bigger when you have a café to serve food and drinks. Outsite café coworking is another successful case of these trend. Coworking as a space where you rent a desk is dead. But maybe it's for the best. Social hubs with coworking have their incentives better aligned and will replace the typical coworking space. What are good Coworking as a social hub spaces you know of? Picture of O Passo in Paço de Arcos, Lisbon. #remote #coworking #digitalnomads

If your company cares about your health, they should incorporate these healthcare policies. First, the harsh reality: 56% of employees worldwide are struggling to stay healthy and happy. And the problem is generally not personal, it’s professional. Companies generally do provide insurance, but I don’t think that’s enough. Here are the new health policies we need to normalise in 2025: ► 1. One no-meeting day per week Hike and Doist both have "No Meeting Wednesdays." No Zooms. No Slack. Just focused work. Pick any day and protect it. Watch stress levels drop and deep thinking improve. ► 2. Mental health days with zero paperwork Buffer gives employees 2–3 mental health days annually - no questions asked. No forms. No guilt. Trust your team enough to take a break when they need it. ► 3. Paid volunteer time + wellness reimbursements Salesforce offers 6 paid volunteer days yearly and reimburses therapy or gym costs. Even 2 volunteer days and a small monthly wellness allowance can boost purpose and health. ► 4. Digital shut-off reminders Treebo Hospitality Ventures sends Slack nudges to log off at 6 PM. Leaders model this behavior too. Set boundaries with simple tech nudges. Respect recovery time. ► 5. Subsidised healthy meals + movement spaces Google redesigned its cafeterias to make nutritious food the easy choice and placed gyms close to workspaces. You don't need Google's budget. Start with subsidised healthy lunch options or a simple stretch zone near the office. You don't need a big budget to build a healthier workplace. You just need consistent action. If you liked these ideas, your HR team or manager probably will too. Repost 🔁 to share the playbook. #healthandwellness #healthtips #workplacehealth

Imagine if every workplace, restaurant, bar, retail store, or event space did this! Boston Public Schools has installed Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensors in all classrooms. The data on IAQ in 4,400 classrooms is available online so that parents can know if their children's classrooms are safe and healthy. High levels of CO2 can be dangerous. First, CO2 is a risk when it accumulates at higher levels. It can reduce brain function and harm concentration and productivity. Moreover, as we continue to track various respiratory threats at high levels in much of the US (such as #COVID19, RSV, and flu), CO2 levels are a proxy for how much rebreathed air is in a space. The more air we inhale that others exhale, the higher our risk of infections. If we did this for every commercial enterprise, people who care to take small steps to protect their health could make informed decisions. Especially during surges of respiratory illness (as we're experiencing now), knowing CO2 levels would help people decide where they might be safer and what businesses they might wish to avoid. And that, in turn, would pressure business leaders to care more about the filtration and ventilation in their workplaces and public spaces. As we become more aware of the chronic impact of repeated COVID infections, I believe we will see more government regulations requiring safe air and monitoring. Furthermore, as more of us appreciate what COVID reinfections do to brains, hearts, and other organs, I expect more people will ask for tools such as this from the businesses they frequent and trust. Boston Publish Schools is embracing air quality transparency to protect students. Doing so has already provided many benefits, such as increasing fresh air during school events with high emissions, identifying activities that make IAQ worse, fixing issues with existing mechanical ventilation systems, and educating the school community about IAQ in schools. What is your business doing to improve the air your customers and employees breathe? https://lnkd.in/g8gyS4pA

Sustainability = Innovation 🌍 Environmental and social pressures are reshaping how companies approach growth, risk, and competitiveness. When strategically integrated, sustainability becomes a framework to identify operational inefficiencies, anticipate future demands, and respond to evolving market conditions. The starting point is recognizing how sustainability issues reveal opportunities for innovation. Rising input costs require rethinking material choices and supply strategies. Climate risk drives the need for resilient product design. Regulation, customer expectations, and resource constraints all point toward reconfiguring business models and value chains. Each business function faces specific triggers. Operations teams respond to inefficiencies in energy or water use. Procurement can reduce exposure by transitioning to circular sourcing. Product development must address the growing demand for low footprint design. Sales and marketing teams face increasing pressure from clients and regulators to demonstrate real, measurable impact. Several innovation pathways are already proving effective. These include redesigning products with lower impact materials, modular components, and take back systems. Business model shifts such as repair programs, resale strategies, and service based delivery models can extend product value. Digital tools enable smarter operations and transparency for customers. Functional teams require clear prompts to connect sustainability to their daily work. Operations can identify areas where reducing emissions also cuts costs. R&D teams should explore how to design for circularity from the beginning. Sales teams can develop solutions that align with client ESG targets. Finance can evaluate payback periods and risk adjusted returns. HR can focus on building a culture of sustainable problem solving. Impact measurement is essential to validate innovation efforts. Metrics may include revenue from sustainable offerings, product carbon intensity, emissions avoided, client retention linked to ESG solutions, and time to market for low impact products. Implementing innovation at scale requires specific tools. These include life cycle assessment platforms, circular design processes, materiality assessments, innovation accelerators, and sustainability linked finance instruments to fund new initiatives. Sustainability driven innovation is a strategic process embedded across the business. It enables long term value creation by aligning environmental and social imperatives with product, process, and business model development. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #innovation

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? Workplace design is increasingly shaped by how people engage with space. The physical office is no longer viewed as a static backdrop to work. It is becoming an active contributor to culture, connection, and clarity within teams. Over the past year, we’ve seen a shift in how organisations approach spatial planning. Many have begun to question whether their offices truly support how teams interact. Instead of following standard layouts, they are looking for spaces that encourage movement, allow informal connection, and respond to how work happens across different functions. Design briefs today often include specific requests for spaces that build informal connections. Lounge areas are being planned with as much care as conference rooms. Soft zones and decompression areas are being prioritised alongside focus pods. These choices reflect a shift in how organisations are defining productivity and presence. We have also seen design decisions are closely aligned with HR and people strategies. This is important as the workplace environment influences employees’ trust, behaviour, and a sense of belonging. At Ensemble, our approach focuses on observing how people move, pause, and engage with each other. We study how light, acoustics, posture, and privacy affect focus and collaboration. These observations help us plan spaces that support both business goals and people’s needs. The idea of community is often discussed in abstract terms. But in our work, it shows up in particular ways. It is present in how circulation areas are designed, how open areas are balanced with quiet corners, and how choice is built into how people use a space. We continue to work with clients who see design not as a checklist but as a layer of culture. They are building environments that bring people together with intention. That intention is where community begins. 𝐈𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤? 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. . . . #WorkplaceDesign #OfficeCulture #DesignForConnection #WorkplaceStrategy #DesignThinking #HybridWorkspaces #EmployeeExperience #FutureOfWork