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Chris North, Gabor Nagy, and Kate Lister hope you’ll join them at World Workplace 2018 for their “Highlights from Global Workplace Benchmarking Study” session

Workplace Evolutionairies, a community of practice within IFMA will once again offer a full three days of great content at IFMA's WWP in Charlotte NC, October 3rd through October 5th.

Source: we.ifma.org

This session is not to be missed. It will offer insights into workplace trends across the past decade from “The Once Alternative Workplace Strategy Fifth Annual Benchmarking Report (2018).” Based on 10 years of trend data, covered topics will include: workplace strategies, workplace design, work practices, change management practices, where work is conducted, executive sponsorship, and more. The report was developed by a trio of Workplace Evolutionaries (WE), Chris Hood (Advanced Workplace Associates), Kate Lister (Global Workplace Analytics), and Gaby Nagy, Ph.D. (Haworth, Inc.) and additionally supported by WE/IFMA. Check out this month’s FM Journal for more information. It will be held in the WE room (room 208) from 3pm to 3:30 on October 4th. #wwpchar18 #ifma #weworkplace

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World Workplace 2018 – WE’s Week @ a Glance

IFMA World Workplace 2018 is right around the corner and the Workplace Evolutionaries Community (WE) has a line-up you won't want to miss. Be sure to come early. The fun and learning begins on Wednesday, October 4 at 8 a.m. (Charlotte NC).

Source: we.ifma.org

Wednesday 10/4 kicks off at 8am and includes:

- A year of insights from the the industry's top workplace innovators (led by renowned podcaster, Mike Petrusky from iOffice)

- Workshop: The Discovery that Forever Changed the Future and How we Work (led by best-selling author Bill Jensen)

- Explore the fascinating Erste Campus case study with workplace strategist Martin Ruppe

- Shift Happens: IT, REAL, ESUS and WE come together for a cross-functional look at the Top 3 "Big Shifts” 

Thursday 10/5 look forward to:

- WE HUB Workshop: Share experiences with HUB leaders from around the world and learn how to start a HUB in your area

- Seven great sessions on topics that include: Evolving Technologies and New Innovations, How FM Can Drive Culture and Engagement, Findings from the 5th Biennial Global Workplace Benchmarking Survey, Demystifying the Workplace Experience, Revelations and Calculations about Circulation, and Making the Change Process Predictable

-WE Tour, WE Learn, and WE socialize with IA

Friday offers a lineup worth staying for:

Six great sessions on: Redefining Experience, The Need for Focus, Quantifying the Impact of Workplace Change, Quantifying a Great Experience, The Future of Work Through the Lens of HR, IT, and CRE/FM, A New Landscape of Work, Cracking the Code on Unassigned Seating, and Hacking the Workplace.

Come Early and Stay Late so you don't miss out!

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Journaled study measured a 70% reduction in face-to-face interaction after the introduction of an open office

Organizations’ pursuit of increased workplace collaboration has led managers to transform traditional office spaces into ‘open’, transparency-enhancing architectures with fewer walls, doors and other spatial boundaries, yet there is scant direct empirical research on how human interaction patterns change as a result of these architectural changes."

Source: rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org

In two separate field-based studies, the researchers documented a 70% reduction in face-to-face interaction after the introduction of an open office environment. Email communications increased by 25% to 50% during the same period. Co-located teams suffered the same decline as those that were not.  

Pulling from other research, the article stresses:

- the relative richness of face-to-face over email and texting

- the importance of intermittent, rather than constant social interaction on collaborative work and problem solving

It concludes that open offices have the perverse effect of reducing, rather than increasing productive communication.

This claims to be the first study to empirically measure both face-to-face and electronic interaction before and after the introduction of an open office environment.

The measurement tools included sociometric badges (equipped with microphones, infrared sensors, accelerometers, and bluetooth sensors). Digital communications were collected from company servers. All participants were volunteers (52 in one case and 100 in the other). HR data indicated no bias.