By Paull Robathan
Edition 5 – May 2015 Pages 22-25
Tags: workplace strategy • creativity • technology
Over the decades designing productive and conductive spaces to work has focused on redefining the corporate office and its surroundings. Fantastic results have been achieved,and there are wonderful examples of quality design in buildings around the world. But there is a growing movement that challenges the presumption that work should always be done “at work”.
If we aim to allow people to be at their best,develop and nurture creativity and maximise quality output; then ensuring the place where the work is created is a strongly positive environment is a key factor.
Sarah Kathleen Peck of ‘It starts with’1summed it up when she wrote “There are people,places and things that make me feel like I’m building my energy stores,that rejuvenate me,and help me to do my best work.
Likewise, there are also people
and places that zap my energy;
that leave me exhausted; that
make me feel as though I’ve
waste my time and my energy
–and my day –without getting
anything useful done.”.
Millennials,or Generation Y,are the first group of workers who naturally and pretty universally assume that mobile communications is the norm.As Baby Boomers reach retirement age the X and Y generations make up an
increasingly large percentage of the knowledge workers around the world.They don’t think work is 9 to 5,nor do they worry about work spilling over into evenings,weekends,or even holidays.
Paul Miller and Elizabeth Marsh,authors of recently published ‘The Digital Renaissance of Work’2 discuss the latest developments they describe as “work not place,freelancing in a world of work but not jobs”,the death of the weekend and crucial issues such as trust,privacy and team working in a widely dispersed workforce.
There are four trends that characterise the fundamental shift that is underway in work:

Device independence,
Seamless ubiquitous networks,
Generational refresh,
Security and Privacy.

These interact with Corporate Strategy which,however fleet of foot,is burdened with the weight of real-estate and support contracts that can only make sense if city-centre buildings are occupied at high density.
Before exploring in more depth the technologies that enable us to work remotely – let’s look at the ways they enable us to work just about anywhere.
Work is not about place…