[disclaimer] In the midst of our quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak, many people are being forced to work from home for the foreseeable future. Your work may be pretty much the same as before, but your work setup is probably different (couch, meet butt). Although it’s cozy, this desk alternative isn’t ideal for your back—which is...
Society often makes a distinction between nature-buffs and non-nature buffs, but you don’t have to enjoy being outside to enjoy the company of plants. Indoor plants can actually be extremely beneficial to us in a myriad of ways, and for those of us afraid of the commitment, there are many...
During much of the 1990s, organizations hired employees faster than they expanded their offices. With layoffs in the early 2000s recession, and again in 2008, surviving workers regained some space, largely because companies held long-term leases and were loath to invest in office reconfigurations. But as hiring rebounded, leases came...
In early March, there were fewer than 100,000 cases and 4,000 deaths globally. Now, not quite three months later, infections exceed 5.5 million and employers face a whole new set of questions as they consider how to reopen the workplace after weeks or months of restrictions. As always, employers must...
Employees should be safe while on the job; that includes healthy air quality. Although laws and policies exist to protect workers, problems with air quality on the job are often overlooked. Breathing unhealthy air at work can be dangerous, but it's also preventable. In a recent study conducted by Harvard...
Companies that use offices as “centers of gravity” and places for connection likely won’t require as much space as before. Their workplaces will become more about human experiences and collaboration rather than square footage. While organizations are looking forward to bringing back workers into the office, they are also rethinking the...
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a global reckoning with the awesome power of infectious diseases to grind economies to a halt. The forced lockdowns and retreat into home isolation have also given us a heightened awareness of the role our surroundings play in our health and wellbeing. While no one...
With the country more divided than ever on whether or not to return to the office, another alternative arises for business owners and corporations: testing on site. But can it help curb the spread? Experts have weighed in and the short answer is no. Not only can it hinder the...
In a typical year, you will take two million breaths in your office. This, however, is not a typical year. The pandemic spawned by the novel coronavirus has forced a global reckoning with the awesome power of infectious diseases to grind economies to a halt. The forced lockdowns and retreat...
The Coronavirus has upended just about everything. We all want to see our lives get back to normal, but what will that mean? The future is murky, and we all agree there will be some permanent changes to the world. These are bound to alter our working environment. Here are...
As a nexus of technology, community, and the locus of our livelihood, the workplace is a topic of perpetual interest in architecture and interior design. The novel coronavirus pandemic, however, has disrupted the workplace in ways that few pundits anticipated. Previously, design firms, industry specialists, and academic researchers speculated on...
As consumers, we want to know where our food comes from, where our clothes are made, and what exactly is in our shampoo. It’s about knowing what chemicals we use or are exposed to in our daily lives. While it’s easier to manage what’s introduced in the home, the workplace...
Research on the composition and dynamics of the workplace have consistently shown that team members’ location has a big impact on both their physical and their digital interactions. In general, the farther apart people are, the less they communicate. in fact, the probability that any two people on a corporate...
In the corporate arena, interior designers have the goal and responsibility to create functional, practical, comfortable space. It goes well beyond the need for beautification or even branding. When it comes to office design, we should focus more on how to influence employee behaviors through the design of space, with...
Why do lighting and views matter? The eye has dual roles: It detects light to allow us to see but also detects light to tell the brain what time of day it is. These visual and ‘non-visual’ effects of light have different sensitivities to light intensity, spectrum, timing, pattern, and...
Maintaining healthy indoor air quality is an important step for all of your employee’s health. Regardless of whether you work in an industrial, service, or office setting, common allergens and irritants may be closer than you realize. Here are the minimum guidelines provided by the American Lung Association to help...
For most of us, it's enough of a hassle just to work out, let alone the added effort to drive to and from the gym, pay the membership and look for daycare. Just the thought will dwindle the fitness hopes of many. However, the physical space should not be an obstacle, if...
It’s never been easier for workers to collaborate—or so it seems. Open, flexible, activity-based spaces are displacing cubicles, making people more visible. Messaging is displacing phone calls, making people more accessible. Enterprise social media such as Slack and Microsoft Teams are displacing watercooler conversations, making people more connected. Virtual-meeting software...
Many companies, even in more traditional industries like law and banking, are aiming to have more casual spaces, including ping pong tables or video game consoles that encourage frequent communication and interaction. It’s not uncommon to see community spaces like the one above that look more like a bar or...
You're probably aware of the importance of creating a safe, comfortable, relaxing space in your home, to provide refuge, release and a space to explore and meditate. However, it's just as important to establish deep ties to the home within you, not just to your pile of bricks and wood....