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Mark Catchlove:
“The aim of the Insight Group is to share workplace research to enable our customers and partners to create great places to work. We do this to ensure that all workplaces begin with the occupiers at the heart.
As people often spend more time working than they do with family – we need to ensure their experience is a rich and varied one.”
Mark Catchlove:
“First of all, let me clarify that I am the sharer of Herman Miller’s research – my colleagues and some external people are the ones that put together the extensive research. It’s like they write the songs and we are just the singers! I continually read that “the office is dead” – and of course I disagree with this.
However, the office will be different. Companies are forming a new value proposition around the reason for having an office. That reason can vary extensively. For some companies, they need to give those employees who struggle to work from home somewhere to go – either to collaborate or to work alone.
A city hub will also be important as a meeting place, whether to collaborate and innovate in conjunction with virtual tools, or just connect and belong. Our research at Herman Miller established that Belonging is a key Fundamental Human Need. What the office will become is another place to work rather than what has been for many the only place to work.”
Mark Catchlove:
“Whilst at the moment there will be limited use of shared work points, this requirement will not go away, especially if companies choose to reduce their physical footprint. A well-designed floor plan will always be important – and a key part of that will be flexibility.
Companies that adopted good flexibility within the floor plan before COVID 19, will be coping better as people begin to return to the workplace. Choice has been important for a long while, but many companies have been slow in implementing this.
That choice and autonomy will have a much bigger focus as companies look to support the wellbeing and productivity of their employees. To do this you need to have a flexible workplace as well as working practices. Herman identified Autonomy as another major Fundamental Human Need.”
Bertie van Wyk:
“We look at wellness as science and focus on physical, social, and cognitive wellness through ergonomics. Our physical health at home and in the office can not be overlooked. How we sit today will affect your body for the rest of your life, so we need to police our postures through great furniture design and technology support. We use cognitive and social ergonomics to create an experience that makes work more naturally human and less stressful.
The floorplan influences how people move through the workplace, and that affects how they interact with each other. The furniture determines how often and how easily people will change their posture, and that affects their physical and emotional wellbeing.
The colours and materials can help make it easier for people to understand what a particular area is for, so they can move through the office landscape intuitively.”
Bertie van Wyk:
“1. The products you choose should help to create healthy buildings and users. Herman Miller’s Living office and ergonomic design can help users comfort and health.
2. It is all about the durability of the product. Cheaply manufactured products need to be replaced more frequently creating more landfills and increasing your carbon footprint. Our products last longer than those from our competitors, extending the product life cycle with a 12-year warranty.
3. Work with suppliers that care about the impacts of our supply chain. Our FSC and PEFC certification ensure our timber supply chain provides protection for forests and the wildlife and indigenous communities that depend on them. SMEs make up 40% of our supply chain or 33.6% by total spend.
4. Our products can help clients to meet their sustainability objectives and contribute to certification such as LEED, BREEAM, SKA, and WELL building standards.
5. Encourage innovative solutions. People have amazing ideas and you will be amazed to see what solutions you can deliver in your workplace by getting more of your employees involved.”
Bertie van Wyk:
“Next we are sharing insights on The Future Experience of Work where we cover 3 themes of Communities on Companies, The Machines Work For Us and We Want Control. We will share the indicators for the future experience of work and workspaces by focusing on:
We will discuss the impact of each of these elements on the work experience, workspace design, and management, giving actionable takeaways on how to respond to optimise the working environment.”
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