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Waving Goodbye to the Standard Office Cubicle

Posted on February 10, 2011 By kenmorris Leave a Comment

Evolving technology and a rough economy have contributed to new office landscapes, with a trend of most employees losing space, according to CNN. Interestingly, the offices of executive management seem to be getting larger.

Many companies are axing the idea of a cubicle in favor of a more open plan, while others are condensing the cubicle footprint from 8-by-10 feet to about 5-by-5 feet. Sleeker and slimmer technology is requiring less space, but that’s not the only contributing factor. With smartphones and other technology allowing more flexibility in work schedules and making it easier to work remotely, businesses are seeing that some employees really don’t need their own space.

People disagree on the effect of less space on today’s workers. Though some point out this allows for more flexibility, others worry about employees feeling crowded or less valued.

How is your business changing the office setup in reaction to new technology? Leave a comment with your thoughts on smaller workspaces.

Image: archiexpo.com

Filed Under: Innovations, The Changing Workplace, Using Technology Tagged With: cubicle, office layout, office space, The Changing Workplace, trends, workplace, workspace

Handling Business Innovations

Posted on February 1, 2011 By kenmorris Leave a Comment

As a company that provides corporate real estate services, we like to keep up with changes in today’s workplace, which more and more are brought about by innovation—a follow-through of new ideas and, thus, a catalyst for change. Businesses that successfully integrate innovations into their organization usually respond to these changes with good management and adaptation, like founder of Business Strategy Innovation Braden Kelley describes in this article.

Why is adaptability so important? Because innovations affect an entire company, from customers and employees to marketing, operations and beyond. From the article:

“It should be clear that as an organization is imagining how to take their creative idea and transform it into a valuable innovation in the marketplace, they also should be imagining all of the organizational changes that are going to be required and how they will implement them.”

You can read more about how to handle business innovation here. How does your company approach implementing new ideas?

Image: inventorsdigest.com

Filed Under: Innovations, The Changing Workplace Tagged With: business, company, corporate real estate, Innovations, The Changing Workplace, workplace trends

Robots Marketed for Businesses

Posted on January 18, 2011 By kenmorris Leave a Comment

Japan's HRP-4

As a corporate real estate company, we’re always interested in workplace changes, trends and innovations. Needless to say, “The Robot in the Next Cubicle” headline from Businessweek caught our eyes. Creating a new challenge for unemployed Americans, worker robots are hitting the business market as they can complete tasks like mail delivery and coffee runs without succumbing to distractions like many human workers do.

Multiple worker robots have been developed with a range of skill levels, from coffee fetching to “remedial problem solving.” So will these robots soon replace the need for human workers, especially in terms of secretarial tasks? Maybe, but maybe not. It could create a whole new industry of jobs for robot maintenance, Smart Robots’ chief executive officer points out.

You can learn more about robotic workers and their place in the office here. And then let us know what you think. Are you excited about the possibilities for businesses this technology presents, or are you concerned about robots taking over human jobs?

Image: AFP via news.com.au

Filed Under: Innovations, The Changing Workplace, Using Technology Tagged With: businesses, corporate real estate, Innovations, office, office market, robot workers, technology, unemployment, workplace trends
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