This article was originally emailed as our monthly Workplace Design & Management newsletter at 11:00 on 18/01/2018. You can view older newsletters here and register to receive them monthly.
ROBOTS, AI, BIG DATA
Should we be scared?
Without even mentioning Brexit, these are uncertain times. Commentators and futurologists opine about the accelerating impact of technology on our daily lives. Depending on your disposition, this is either exciting or terrifying! Pessimists threaten job losses and changes on a scale not seen since the Industrial Revolution. Yet, simultaneously, governments and regions are creating Smart Cities, architects and designers are launching Smart Buildings and public and private travel planners promote driverless cars and automated mass transit systems. Surely, these developments will make our lives easier – and better? Whatever your view, these are all extra factors to consider in a workplace context which is already seeing a quickening pace of change as a result of agile working, technology and changing attitudes. My plan for 2018 is to explore some of these concepts, their interaction and impact. Happy New Year!
BIFM CONFERENCE 2018
Think (beyond) FM – adapt or disappear
In the context outlined above, this year’s BIFM conference explores the dramatic changes in the workplace and how Facilities Managers can shape and respond to those changes. As FMs and HR managers discuss what experience and qualifications a Chief Workplace Officer might need, there are exciting opportunities for those with the drive and vision to absorb the latest thinking, harness the technology and help invent the future.
RETREAT BOOTH
Single & double units with multiple options
Open plan offices need space away from the desk for individual concentration or for collaboration without distracting others. There are many approaches to these requirements and enclosed booths are a popular solution.
For an effective individual breakout booth or a more complex room-within-a-room, the Retreat range offers modules accommodating one to four people with everything they need close at hand. To complement the stylish and relaxed design, buyers can specify LED lighting, power sockets, USB charging, smart TVs and a central table to create well-equipped individual or collaboration spaces. Everything necessary to encourage productivity is immediately accessible and ready for use. Please call us for further information.
STILL NOT RESUBSCRIBED?
You could win an iPad!
Despite my previous entreaties, many recipients have still not reregistered to continue receiving this newsletter. We have to ask this to comply with the imminent new data protection regulations. I know we shall lose many subscribers but I am hoping to retain a few more! I really do appreciate your continued interest. It will only take a couple of minutes 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 between January and March. Don’t worry if you have already resubscribed: you will still be in the draws!
Posted by Guy Osmond 
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.
The New Year edition of 
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.
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.
Recently, I have been spending quite a lot of my time debunking myths and clarifying facts in the great debate about what we should do to reduce sedentary inactivity. Whether I am making presentations or writing articles, the first and obvious fact (to me, at least) is that ‘standing more’ is not the issue. Sitting less is what really matters and there are many ways to address this. Despite the fact that ‘the sitting disease’ has been in the news for about the last three years, the press coverage and social media noise have only served to confuse the topic rather than clarify it. And, frankly, the workplace furniture industry (in pursuit of sit-stand desk sales) has probably just made matters worse. Sit-stand desks may well be a valuable part of the equation but they are just one element and there are many more aspects to consider. We believe these are best addressed as part of an employer’s wellbeing programme rather than just as a furniture/facilities issue. To discuss this (or share more of my rants!), please 
Many of our clients focus on mental health as one element of their broader wellbeing agenda and we have been working on meaningful, valuable training to meet their needs. Our first 
As a B2B (business-to-business) supplier, we have always regarded the big pre-Christmas sales extravaganza as a very long way from our normal business model and completely irrelevant to our large corporate clients. However, we have decided this year to experiment with a mass clearance of our demo chair stock at genuinely ridiculous (below cost) prices. We need the valuable space occupied by our mix of surplus samples and we are prepared to sell chairs at a loss to recover it! The stock list will not be of interest to corporate buyers but may well be just what you are looking for as a home purchase. Special prices will be available from 08:30 on 24.11.17 until 16:30 on 30.11.17. Most models are limited to one example so all sales will be subject to availability. 
We are approaching 2 years of uninterrupted monthly newsletters so I am very keen to carry on! As I have mentioned previously, we are asking all recipients to resubscribe to ensure we comply with the new GDPR regulations in 2018. This is my third and final request for you to subscribe to our new database before we close the old one. To maintain uninterrupted delivery, if you have not already done so, please take a couple of minutes to register for the new database 
Dynamic employers realise that wellbeing and productivity are inextricably linked. Whether your interest is in workplace design, mental and physical health, ergonomics, recruitment and retention, engagement, agile working or any combination of these factors, there will be valuable content to interest you at 
I have mentioned aircharge® here before and the brand has grown globally in the hospitality sector. Several major coffee shops and hotel chains are already offering Qi (pronounced ‘chee’) inductive charging facilities as a service in their public areas. Even car manufacturers are introducing the technology to their vehicles. With inductive charging now available on Apple products (from iPhone 8 onwards), we expect a much higher level of interest in offices. The aircharge® product portfolio has grown to suit a very wide range of installations with trim and inserts to match chrome, wood and leather as well as the ubiquitous black and white. The most common implementation offers a standard 80mm diameter insert but other variants are available and we also have desk lamps and monitor arms with integral chargers. View products 
We are delighted to announce that we now have 
Please ignore this item if you have already resubscribed! If not, we need your help to ensure we comply with the imminent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into effect in Europe in the New Year. To do this, we are asking ALL subscribers to reregister to ensure you continue to receive this monthly newsletter. To meet the more stringent 2018 requirements, we need to be certain we have proof of opting in from all our readers so we shall be closing down this database at the year end. To ensure uninterrupted delivery, please take a couple of minutes to register for the new database 
If you are looking for a quality computer chair for yourself or a loved one but have always felt corporate seating is too expensive for your personal budget, we have good news! In the course of our daily business, we use many sample chairs for customer evaluations but these samples do not become part of the subsequent sale (often due to colour or specification). The warehouse is now looking a little cluttered with these samples so, with Christmas decorations in the shops, it seems people (other than me) must be thinking about the festive season! To find the ideal chair gift (or treat for yourself) at a substantial discount, please check our current list 
HÅG Tribute is the ideal chair to make a serious statement in your boardroom and formal meeting spaces. Norwegian Svein Asbjørnsen of sapDesign® worked with HÅG once again to develop the Tribute with the declared intention to create ‘the world’s most uncompromisingly comfortable executive chair’. Incorporating the signature HÅG in Balance® technology, integral lumbar support, optional headrest and TiltDownTM armrests, it is visually sleek yet offers outstanding comfort and support. As with all HÅG products, it is also highly sustainable and precision made. Please 
To ensure we comply with the imminent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, we are asking ALL subscribers to reregister to ensure you continue to receive this monthly newsletter. Since its introduction, we have accumulated a substantial database. To meet the more stringent 2018 requirements, we need to be certain we have proof of opting in from all our readers so we shall be closing down this database before the year end. To ensure uninterrupted delivery, please take a couple of minutes to register for the new database 
As our key clients sharpen their focus on employee wellbeing, our furniture offering is now complemented by a broader range of activities. These include training, events and services to address health, wellbeing and engagement issues. Our involvement in two upcoming events reflects this trend. 
I have been attending the 
I have been attending the 
At least every couple of months for about the last 10 years, we have been notified of a new ‘ergonomic’ mouse. These new devices are always either a cheap rip-off of an established product or a ‘revolutionary’, research-backed design that addresses key issues in a way that no previous mouse manufacturer has been able to do. In every case, the vendor is positively evangelical in their product advocacy! After nearly 25 years in the industry I hope, therefore, that you will forgive me for being somewhat jaded about such launches.
To ensure we comply with the imminent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, we are asking ALL subscribers to reregister to ensure you continue to receive this monthly newsletter. Over nearly eight years since its introduction, we have accumulated a substantial database. To meet the more stringent 2018 requirements, we need to be certain we have proof of opting in from all our readers so we shall be closing down this database before the year end. To ensure uninterrupted delivery, please take a couple of minutes to register for the new database 
As Autumn approaches, the conference and exhibition cycle restarts. This year we have stepped away from our previous experience and tried some very different events. We have been very pleased with the results. This trend continues in October and November with 
I have been attending the 
If you could translate English into French simply by preceding every English or American noun with ‘le’ or ‘la’, my conversational French would be much better than it is!
The expo has grown since I last attended but this expansion was largely due to the inevitable influx of (mainly Chinese) manufacturers of sit-stand desks and adaptors. There were also new models from established vendors but the selection was largely me-too products and a handful of minor innovations.
On the accessories front, there were three innovations that caught my attention.
Our workplace environment impacts our wellbeing and productivity. Lots of research tells us this and there are endless articles about the design of space, light, temperature, acoustics, furniture and buildings themselves. The more holistic articles (and enlightened employers) embrace diet and exercise too. Perhaps I am reading the wrong articles but there seems to be comparatively little about training. Some of the key issues (light, temperature and acoustics, for example) will directly affect individuals without any proactive participation. Other key factors will require 
Does your organisation use the staff restaurant just for eating or as an ad hoc meeting place? Are your catering facilities simply a refuelling station for your own people or a hospitality area for visitors? Do you prefer circular tables or will long rectangular benches increase the likelihood of serendipitous meetings? Will you need power sources for laptops and handheld devices? Ready access to healthy food is a crucial element of today’s wellbeing focus and properly planned catering facilities provide a multi-functional space which can enhance staff engagement and improve communications. The furnishing of any hospitality area needs to consider the scope of use as well as the corporate brand and ethos. 
It is ironical that perching, the ‘third way’ in the sit-stand conversation, first became topical a few decades ago during discussions about standing too much! Historically, there have been many logical applications for perching in manufacturing environments as a way to reduce the standing time for machine operators and process personnel without the productivity loss which can arise from frequent changes between sitting and standing. You will also see perching stools in galleries and museums so that attendants do not have to stand for their entire shift. [
We are currently reviewing our cyber security procedures and data protection systems. Two key factors stand out: you are only as strong as your weakest link and the list of devices, apps, processes and systems to be part of the review seems endless. Reflecting on the former, it comes as no real surprise that the 
It is ironical that perching, the ‘third way’ in the sit-stand conversation, first became topical a few decades ago during discussions about standing too much!
For a modern approach to the traditional ‘bus stop’ perch, the 
The 
The 
This month I have been looking at health and safety legislation in multiple territories. This conversation then extended into looking at other roles with multinational responsibility and thinking about how different organisations approach cultural diversity. It is hard enough to address all the issues affecting engagement in a single country, so overlaying cultural conflicts adds an order of magnitude to the challenge. This is especially so when the parent company has a very different national culture and assumes it can simply be overlaid on every other territory worldwide! Are you and your organisation especially good at both recognising and integrating cultural diversity – or is this a problem you are currently facing? I want to explore this further and welcome any contributions, questions or ideas. In the first instance, please 
As offices start to look like hotel lounges and hotel lounges become work hubs, specific themes and approaches emerge. New product concepts appear and, within weeks, every manufacturer has its own interpretation of the same idea! Once that has happened, it becomes a personal choice for style, quality and function.
In May, I mentioned the current interest in my ‘
I am a podcast enthusiast: I find they are a valuable source of both entertainment and education. My latest discovery is Workplace Matters by Ian Ellison of 
Osmond Ergonomics 