Rapid changes affect work space design

by Avonna Schirman

for the Business Journal

It seems we're all a bit obsessed lately with things relating to the future. Magazines and news shows are already touting the Top 10 or Top 100 Events of the Century. Information technology specialists are telling us how to prevent Y2K problems that may plague many computer systems.

But what about the effects of changing conditions in our working environment?

Just as the Industrial Revolution changed the work place, the Technology Revolution has changed our working environment in many drastic ways. I've compiled a Top 10 List of my own to help you decide if your office has kept pace with the rapid changes in the last decade of this millennium.

1. Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This mandate, signed into law by President Bush in 1990, is intended to provide all Americans with access to facilities that are barrier-free and to "prohibit exclusion and segregation of individuals with disabilities, and the denial of equal opportunities enjoyed by others."

The year this law was signed it affected nearly 43 million Americans with either physical or mental disabilities. This is a legal obligation for all building owners. The law regulates how wide corridors should be, workstation sizes and many other accessibility issues.

2. Ergonomic seating for employees. Ergonomics is the science that explores the proper relationship between people, their furniture and their equipment.

Having a comfortable chair that gives an employee the proper back support, seat height and depth, can make the difference between a productive employee and a nonproductive employee. A good chair is even more important in the computer age, because employees rarely leave their desks. In many offices, everything the employee needs is a mouse click away.

3. Computer-friendly workstations for employees. The standard workstation provided for employees 10 years ago, comprising an L-shaped desk including a typing-height pullout, is not a functional workstation solution today.

An employee who performs multiple computer tasks needs a proper work area to facilitate ease of use, which can translate into higher productivity.

This includes keyboard and mouse support that allows the wrist and elbow to remain in a neutral position one that keeps the hand and wrist parallel to the floor.

The proper workstation can also help reduce occupational injuries, which are the result of repetitive strain on tendons and muscles.

4. Office lighting to make computer screens glare-free. A combination of indirect and task lighting helps ease computer screen glare. Excessive glare on the computer screen causes eye strain, especially when looking at the computer for eight hours a day.

5. Flexible, open office space that changes with the company's needs. The trend is moving away from private offices lining the walls and cubicles in the middle of the room. Employers are looking for ways to utilize their space better and to compensate for rising business and real estate costs.

The buzz word in the '90s for office productivity is "teaming." This allows a creative exchange of ideas and interaction among employees.

The new workplace has a more flexible design, which allows for individuals to work together.

Executive suites that often sat empty are being converted into meeting or project rooms.

6. Flex/temp space. Telecommuting alternatives would include providing a flex workstation that can be used by employees who are in the office only a day or two a week. This space would include convenient modem and power access, a phone and a writing area.

This space could also be used by vendors, temporary office workers and traveling employees. With advances in computer networking, faxes and high-speed Internet access, many employees can work from their home or from the road and send work in over their modems. This could easily translate into smaller real estate needs for the office.

7.Creative use of color in the office. The trend in the workplace is the use of more color. Using color in the office can communicate a variety of messages. It can be a powerful tool in promoting a response in the customer and in the employees.

A company that offers bargain-priced products should select splashier, bold colors. This promotes a feeling of budget-oriented products. At the other end of this spectrum would be a business owner wanting to promote a feeling of elegance and reinforce high quality. This space should include soothing neutrals, deep, rich jewel tones or soft pastels.

8. Use of bold design in the office to promote employee productivity. The next wave of employees to enter the work force is the Y generation. This is a generation of young people born when the rest of us were wearing bell bottoms.

Fast-paced and computer-literate, these employees need a visually stimulating workplace with a variety of surfaces and colors to help to keep employees creative and productive.

9. Personalized work space. Allowing employees some control over their work environment creates a sense of well-being and helps the employee feel more positive about his or her job. By allowing employees to personalize their work spaces, they often feel more comfortable, and this can translate into highly productive employees.

10. Going green. Offices today are becoming aware of dwindling resources and are utilizing products and materials that reduce energy consumption and that can be recycled.

Environment-friendly office products are not over-harvested or rare woods, but renewable fibers and other alternatives to shrinking resources.

Recycled carpet and plastic products are now showing up in the form of fabrics and new carpet.

Is your office ready to handle the rapidly changing work force and technology advances of the new millennium?

(Avonna Schirman is an interior designer with Pellham-Phillips-Hagerman, Architects-Engineers.)

[[In-content Ad]]