This article was originally emailed as our monthly Workplace Design & Management newsletter at 11:00 on 21/12/2017. You can view older newsletters here and register to receive them monthly.
SEASONS GREETINGS
Take time to appreciate your colleagues, friends & family
As we complete two years of WDM newsletters (and 55 years in business), it is time to thank you once again for your continued support and wish you a fabulous Christmas and exciting New Year. The last quarter of 2017 has been our busiest ever, even with the inevitable December slowdown. Life is hectic on all fronts and it is gratifying to see how willingly organisations are investing in workplaces, despite the Brexit instability, resultant weakness of Sterling and general sense of uncertainty on so many fronts. Of course, whether business is easy or tough, looking after your talent continues to be the most important consideration and we are delighted to assist.
GET MOVING AT WORK
New article in FMUK
The New Year edition of FMUK magazine highlights ergonomics in both the workplace and the education sector in their ‘Get Moving at Work’ feature. This includes content about the importance of movement to avoid prolonged sitting (see my observations last month). Inevitably, Sit-Stand is part of this conversation so, to coincide with our new A4 advertisement artwork, we have created a new brochure that clearly states our position in the muddled world of sit-stand sound bites! You can download the pdf here.
THE YEAR AHEAD
New topics, new thinking, new processes
It is a truism that the workplace is changing faster than ever before. Our two most popular presentation topics in 2017 were about Millennials and Sit-Stand. The latter is really very old news to us, since we have been selling sit-stand desks for nearly twenty years. However, the confusion and misinformation continues. Worrying about Millennial management is soon to be replaced by Centennials issues. Centennial (Generation Z) employees now entering the workforce were toddlers when social media, iPhones and tablets first appeared. Like Millennials (and everyone else!), they are all individuals so there are no simple rules, but they introduce new opportunities to review our thinking and communications.
We are also racing into a world of machine learning, artificial intelligence, smart buildings and self-driving cars. These changing circumstances challenge the way we think and work and I shall be exploring these topics in the year ahead. We shall also be introducing an evolution of our brand to reflect our role in these transformations.
TIMELY REMINDERS
Price Changes & Resubscription
As you have probably seen elsewhere, manufacturers’ 2018 price lists are showing a significant uplift, with 5% rises commonplace. After years of small or zero increases, they can no longer absorb the currency issues and rising costs. If you have a project in planning, we probably already know about this and will do everything possible to soften the blow.
I’m also taking this opportunity to mention, just once more, that we shall be closing this database early in 2018. If you wish to continue to receive this monthly newsletter, you will need to resubscribe here.
Posted by Guy Osmond 
This edition commences our 9th year of monthly newsletters so it is time to send seasonal best wishes to all our readers and express our thanks for your continued support. It is a delight to have so many readers who have been with us for a long time and many more who are more recent subscribers. We know that hardly anybody reads every item of every issue and it is our intention that you should just pick out the items that interest you. We are extraordinarily grateful for the interaction and feedback we receive as well as any suggestions for topics or improvements in the future. If you have not yet resubscribed to join the new database, you can do so 
As you probably know, we have been concerned for some time about 
Since the Brexit referendum, the pound has crumbled against both the Euro and the Dollar. This and raw material price rises have impacted the manufacturing industry and we are seeing significant increases planned for 2018. After several years of 0 – 3% increases, a 5% rise appears to be about average for next year, with some products rising as much as 8%! If you have any projects or purchases planned in the next few months, please 
Our first IIRSM Approved Training Course in 2018 will be ‘
Like many companies, we make a donation each year instead of sending Christmas cards. We always focus on local charities to ensure that any contribution benefits our own Dorset community. This year, our mobile phone contract is being renewed in December so we are also contributing additional funds from the sale of mobiles that are being replaced. Our charity choice this year is 
Osmond Ergonomics 