This article was originally emailed as our monthly Workplace Design & Management newsletter at 11:00 on 15/02/2018. You can view older newsletters here and register to receive them monthly.
A WORKPLACE LEADERSHIP MANIFESTO
A panoptic approach
I have mentioned Ian Ellison of 3edges previously in this newsletter. As you may already be aware, he has been working with his colleague James Pinder, and Neil Usher of Workessence on A Workplace Leadership Manifesto. It was first published piecemeal through social media from the beginning of 2018 and is now available as a single document. This is a classic example of the ‘less is more’ principle, condensing some deep and wide-ranging thought into a handful of thought-provoking statements and explanations. The more we understand the nature of work, workplace and performance, the more we can achieve. This document provides a foundation for that thinking.
FACING THE CHALLENGE
Throwing down the gauntlet
Hot on the heels of the Leadership Manifesto publication comes an article from Mark Eltringham entitled Luther, Marx, Engels and a nailed-on manifesto for workplace change. I have also mentioned Mark before and I enjoy his writing. He frequently challenges the status quo and often points to where we should be looking. This article references the Leadership Manifesto and, in my simplistic terms, says ‘Come on FM industry (and others), what are you going to do about it?’. As always, there are threats and opportunities. Those who embrace this challenge have an outstanding opportunity. Be assured, however: this is absolutely not a time to sit back and see what happens!
SIT-STAND DESKS
Truth or sales pitch?
On a rather more mundane note, we continue to be asked all sorts of questions about sit-stand desks in particular and the ‘less sitting’ issue in general. Many people find the information available to be rather bewildering and the majority of the office furniture industry does not seem to be particularly well informed. We are concerned that there is still very little training being provided for users and, as a result, some of those who choose to stand more are starting to manifest other health issues. There is also the comparatively common matter of sit-stand desks being purchased but hardly used. As usual, this sort of widespread confusion prompts me to start writing and you can find my response –a sort of combined history lesson and ‘how to’ guide – in this blog.
ALTO BENCH
Multi-purpose high table
High tables and benches of all sorts are becoming increasingly popular in the workplace. One of the reasons is their obvious versatility. They can be used as individual desks, work benches, collaboration tables, canteen surfaces and general touchdown areas in many environments. Users can also stand or sit on a high seat or bar stool. Alto addresses all these applications and incorporates a modern look with multiple finish options. The standard depth and height are 1200mm and 1050mm respectively with widths from 2200 to 2800mm. Complementary smaller benches are available with surface areas from 1400mm x 900mm upwards. For further information, please contact the Customer Service team.
I expect, like me, you are tired of hearing about GDPR. My apologies for raising it yet again but we still have lots of people who have not resubscribed. I know we shall lose some recipients but I hope you will not be one of them! It will only take a couple of minutes to register here and, as an extra inducement, we shall be holding a prize draw for all registrants on April 30th with a 128Gb iPad 9.7 as the prize. There will also be a monthly prize of a Contour Unimouse. (Last month’s Unimouse winner was Vicky Henderson of Grimsby). Don’t worry if you have already resubscribed: you will still be in the draws! The reregistration submission will send you a confirmation email to complete the process. Please check your spam/junk directories if you do not receive it.
Osmond Ergonomics 