Aldous Huxley’s prescient essay from 1946 and Susan Cain’s current day TED talk shed light on the bombardment of noise and distraction we are increasingly subjected to.

“The twentieth century is, among other things, the Age of Noise. Physical noise, mental noise and noise of desire — we hold history’s record for all of them. And no wonder; for all the resources of our almost miraculous technology have been thrown into the current assault against silence.” Aldous Huxley from his essay Science, Liberty and Peace

Read more of Mark Eltringham’s blog and see Susan Cain’s TED talk at: https://workplaceinsight.net/what-aldous-huxley-can-teach-us-about-acoustics-at-work/

 

According to KI, a manufacturer of office furniture, the modern workplace must address the needs of the 4 generations currently active in the workplace. While baby boomers are accustomed to private offices and personal workstations, the dawn of the digital age has been adopted by Gen X, Millenial and Gen Z employees to varying degrees, resulting in the need for more flexible workspaces.

Read more about how KI addresses the adaptability that must be incorporated into the modern workspace at:

https://blog.ki.com/designing-a-flexible-workplace-for-all-generations

(Photo from: blog.ki.com)

The office design most suited to the mobility of the digital age must incorporate several elements, according to associate designer Stephanie Allen at Cooper Carry:

• Quiet spaces for focusing on detail-oriented work
• Spaces that encourage creativity and collaboration with surfaces to post conceptual materials
• Casual  lounge areas
• Private rooms for confidential  discussions
• Wi-Fi everywhere

Read more about the hottest trend in office space on Forbes.

(Photo Credit: Mindspace on Forbes)

Environmental sustainability in the context of the workplace involves such measures as using sustainably sourced paper, as well as recycling paper and even selecting sustainable furniture for long term use. To minimize the impact on the environment, and attract socially conscious workers,  the office of the future will not include inexpensive, low-quality furniture that won’t last and cannot be easily refurbished. Investing in high quality product makes the furniture last longer and reduces waste. If the product outlives the business, it still retains some resale value and is more likely to be repaired and reused than scrapped. Rather than disposing of outdated IT equipment, hard dives can be wiped clean and reprogrammed for reuse. Using sustainable resources to create adaptable, modular workspaces which can be reconfigured for future growth and changing needs is a strategy that will be cost-effective while meeting the standards of a new generation of environmentally conscious workers.     Read more about the circular future of the workplace here.