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Productivity Tuesday, 16 December 2008 |
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All Thumbs: The Ergonomic Implications of Text Messaging
People send short text messages from one handheld device to another to keep them and their businesses or social relationships moving. The speed of text messaging is one reason why it's becoming so popular with business people--it lets them communicate with colleagues and customers at lightning speed across multiple time zones. However, thumb typing text messages on a tiny keyboard can put people at risk for Text Messaging Injury, the term currently used to describe this musculoskeletal disorder. Ergonomists recommend limiting text messaging to about an hour and a half every 24 hours. And as with any repeated use of a work tool, they suggest stretching before and after the activity.
Cross Performance at Work: What New Roles Mean to the Chairs We Sit In
Companies today are faced with adjusting their office environments to the activities and demographics of a changing work force. The people responsible for making these adjustments may soon be speaking in terms of "cross performance."
Forward Thinking: Why the Ideas from the Man Who Invented Cubicles Still Make Sense
In the nearly 40 years since Robert Propst wrote The Office: A Facility Based on Change, what has become of his ideas? His study of offices found "it is our buildings, furnishings, and services that have to be revisualized and revitalized." That required an approach for addressing what Propst called the new master in organizations--constant, rapid change. For Propst, this meant new rules for the office: a "forgiving" behavior in facility design; the ability to change with "grace"; putting more control in the hands of the person working in the space. While these rules have been unevenly applied and sometimes misused in the intervening years, they continue to resonate even as work and work environments evolve. Built on Propst's original thoughts, two additional rules address the new office landscape apparent today: Give people choice and variety in how they create and share; enrich their work experience with a workplace that is flexible and open to change and serendipity.
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