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Office furniture and design in the Bay Area have continually evolved to attract and retain young Millennial and Generation Z talent. It started with open office workstations in the mid-2000s. Several Bay Area tech giants implemented the layout despite mixed reviews from workers of all ages. Standing desks grew in popularity through the first decade of the 21st century too. Most offices use them as flex-seating for workers who want variety throughout the day. They may spend half a day sitting at unassigned cubicles, and the second half standing, perhaps to fending off after-lunch fatigue.
Office furniture and design is unique to a company's brand and culture. It's never a good idea to incorporate a specific style for the sake of being trendy. These circumstances played out at one of the world's largest corporations, headquartered right here in the Bay Area.
Owl Labs debuted the Meeting Owl in the summer of 2017. The device is a standalone smart speaker with a 360-degree camera on top. It integrates with Zoom, Skype and other videoconferencing services, and places the person speaking in a meeting front-and-center on everyone's screen. Mark Schnittman, chief technology officer for Owl Labs, told Venture Beat that the first edition of Meeting Owl is light on features because the company doesn't yet know what users want. But the data is trickling in quickly.
The San Francisco Bay Area was home to 18 Fortune 500 companies in 2018, according to 24/7 Wall Street. San Francisco was named the hottest startup city by Inc. magazine in 2019, boasting three-year revenue growth rate of 413%. But there’s only so much space available in the Bay Area. Companies must team with the right office designer to maximize productivity within their walls and budget.
Statistics can say anything the author wants them too say, and that definitely holds true with a 2016 study by the Bureau Of Labor Statistics. Data compiled by the agency that year found that the average U.S. worker spent 39% of their days sitting and 61% standing. But when you take a closer look at the numbers, you'll find that in most occupations, workers either sit or stand a vast majority of their days. Waiters and welders, for instance, are on their feet more than 90% of the time. Accountants and software developers sit 80% or more of the time.
There is a clear age gap when it comes to concerns about environmental issues, and it could have detrimental effects on your recruiting efforts. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 75% of young Millennials and Generation Z (people age 18-34) believe that global warming is caused by human activity. That number dropped to 56% when the 55 and older age group was asked the same question.
The 2019 workplace is a potpourri of humanity with everything from 18-year-old entry-level employees to 60-year-olds putting in those final years to maximize Social Security payouts. But when it comes to the open office layout, the differences in generations begins to show themselves.
The United States was once a hub for manufacturing, which meant many workers made a living in that sector. Federal Reserve data show that 30% of American non-farm jobs were in the manufacturing sector in 1949. When you combined those workers with retail, mining, construction and hospitality, that meant more than 60% of American workers were on their feet, moving around for most of their workdays. Manufacturing jobs account for only about 8% of all jobs today, the lowest ever. More than 86% of Americans sit all day for their jobs in 2019.
The concept of spring cleaning is said to originate from a tradition related to the Iranian New Year, which is the first day of spring. Everything in the home is thoroughly cleaned, from the curtains to the carpet. Spring has also traditionally been the season for businesses to renovate, redecorate, and move to completely different spaces as the weather warms up and the days get longer.
Interest in the standing desk alternative to traditional desks has been growing in recent years. According to the BBC, standing desks have already become commonplace in Sweden, Finland and Norway (why do those Nordic countries always seem to be ahead of the game?), with some estimates putting the adoption rate at 80 percent of office workers. In 2014, Denmark became the first country to mandate that businesses offer a standing desk option to all employees. But while spending less time sitting hunched in front of a computer might seem intuitively like a good idea, is there really any science supporting the increased interest? Turns out, the answer is yes.
Businesses around the world use technology to get work done. Between phone lines, computer set ups, printers, fax machines, and other electronics, every office needs to keep their power supply needs in check. Each device requires another cable or wire to be plugged in. Even if each desk only has one computer and a phone line, that can equal a large amount of cables to manage.
Among the large software companies in Silicon Valley and cities across the nation, software developers enjoy a wealth of amenities, from in-house coffee bars to ping pong tables to free massages. While these luxuries may be great in the short term, they don’t address the main problem facing professionals in this industry — long-term effects of time spent sitting at a computer.
It is time for an office makeover and there are a lot of things to consider before buying new office furniture. What size space do you have? Who will be using the furniture? Will you choose an open office layout? The final question is this: Where will I buy my office furniture?
Despite the emergence of e-friendly initiatives to shed waste and reduce paper use within businesses, there is still a need for storage space. Whether it is backup files of key client accounts or physical space for larger items, designing an office space with storage in mind will help keep the office clutter free in the future.
Its 3:00pm on a Thursday and you can feel it—that aching soreness down your back and legs. While sitting may seem more comfortable in the short term, staying seated for long hours at work can lead to devastating health conditions. That is why it is important to use a set of office furniture tailored to your daily needs. A standing desk is one furniture option that can help reduce negative health effects by allowing users to stand, or sit on a high stool, while working.
When Google and other corporate giants decided to implement an open office setting instead of traditional private offices and cubicles, 70% of the American workforce followed suit, according to experts. However, some believe this trend may be more harmful than helpful. The Washington Post noted, “Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace. Workplaces need more walls, not fewer.”
Were you aware that the average American worker is productive for only 3 hours daily? In a study of 2,000 full-time workers, it was revealed that many workers are not working for the majority of the time they’re on the job. The average person works approximately 8.8 hours daily, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Considering an open office layout for your new office?
