When I was a little kid I had a favorite thinking space in my home. The space was a teeny, little hidden area behind where we would place our Christmas tree. To get to my secret thinking space I would crawl under a little storage hutch next to the tree and when the tree was decorated you couldn’t tell I was back there. Thankfully, my mom put the Christmas tree up early and I was able to enjoy my space for almost a full month.
I still like the idea of being “alone” in my thinking space. I don’t have a Christmas tree up all year long, but I do have a location and time where I get my best thinking done. My office is relatively empty between 5am – 6:30am so I have a quiet place and time where I can get some of my best thinking and subsequently my best work done.
What about you? Where do you get your best work done? Do you have a time and place to go to where you feel comfortable and can do your best work? If not, I highly suggest you do some reflection on the subject and identify when you are at your best. Then make sure you recreate that time and experience as often as possible.
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Helping people work better in the hybrid future of work.
Even before the pandemic, some organizations began experimenting with mobile work — for example, shifting the ownership for spaces and offering more choice and control, expecting people to move about a campus and select where they worked based on their activities and tasks. And some companies also employed hybrid work, giving employees flexibility in working from home when warranted. Now, the practice has become the mainstream for many organizations — even those who believed it wasn’t a fit for them.
Whatever the ultimate scope of hybrid work, there can be no question the pandemic greatly compressed the timeline for widespread adoption.
Hybrid work is not practical for every company or job type, of course, but any organization for which it is feasible will likely have to offer it — or watch talent drift to competitors that do. Studies show that the freedom to work remotely is a significant part of the value equation when employees weigh the pros and cons of prospective employers.
Now more than ever, employees enjoy significant influence with employers and within the job market. A talent revolution was underway well before the pandemic hit. Demand exceeds supply, partially because technology-assisted mobility means skilled workers can cast a wide net for job prospects. For employees, there are greater opportunities to move away from major metropolitan areas to lower cost areas, because proximity to a workplace matters less than it once did. For employers, competition for talent comes from everywhere, not just companies located nearby.
Having experienced the convenience of working from home, employees know they are in a strong position to demand continued flexibility in their working arrangements. Meanwhile, employers are well-aware they are confronting a seismic shift in employee expectations.
Hybrid work is here to stay and the ability to work in the office as well as at home or remote locations can be the best of both worlds — but only when it is a fit to an organization’s culture, is managed well and part of an effective overall work experience.
89% of business leaders globally expect to offer some level of choice and hybrid work options.
78% of employees say they want some remote and flexible working options to continue.
In planning a hybrid approach, it’s best to remember that both in-person and remote work have benefits, and both have a place in the work experience.
Overview of hybrid work models
When adopting a hybrid work strategy, organizations can structure the arrangement in multiple ways, depending on what works best for their business. Some organizations prefer the traditional approach—everyone in the office all the time. Others are moving in the opposite direction, allowing employees to work away from the office whenever they want with no restrictions.
Most organizations, though, fall somewhere between, experimenting with some variation of the following:
Days of the week. In this model, the employer specifies how many days each week employees must work in the office—typically three, though it could be more or fewer. This provides flexibility to accommodate the needs of both teams and individuals. Some companies set the number of days in the office and then allow team leaders to determine which days of the week will be inoffice days.
In other cases, organizations are being more specific about the days of the week people must be in the office. For example, people might be expected in the office Tuesday through Thursday, and free to work at home Monday and Friday. This approach gives employees the flexibility to work alone while maintaining the competitive and cultural benefits of working together. The fixed schedule makes it easier to coordinate in-person meetings.
Number of weeks per month. Some organizations want employees present for a full week at a time, often either one or two weeks each month. The specific weeks in question are either mandated for the entire organization or left to the discretion of team leaders.
Leader decides. A few companies leave the in-office and out-of-office patterns up to leaders and they are comfortable with employees spending the bulk of their workdays out of the office, asking only that they report in person occasionally. What constitutes “occasionally” is left up to team leaders.
When choosing a hybrid model, organizations need to consider the nature of their work, as well as how much in-person interaction is needed to maintain their culture. It will be important they communicate not just how much time they expect people to be in the office, but why they want people to show up—the benefits they expect for employees and for the organization based on in-person work.
Talent competition matters, too. The harder it is to attract people, the more it makes sense to consider a policy which provides the employee plenty of autonomy and choice, while also ensuring people have the opportunity to connect with colleagues and feel part of the culture.
Remember, though, that today’s policy almost certainly will not be forever. Any organization instituting a hybrid policy will likely improve it over time based on productivity measures, cultural considerations and employee feedback.
Top considerations: balance, change, and choice
Whatever hybrid approach organizations choose, they will need to keep in mind some key considerations and the process can be complex. Best practice is to find what works, and then continually learn and intentionally fine-tune over time. To this end, organizations would do well to keep the following considerations in mind:
What’s best for individual employees might not be best for their work teams or the organization as a whole — it’s important to consider the right balance of both. Certainly, individual employees will appreciate the flexibility afforded by a hybrid approach. The elimination of commuting time alone triggers a marked improvement in work-life satisfaction.
On the other hand, time spent in the office contributes to camaraderie, collaboration, mentorship and morale. It’s tough to maintain a meaningful culture if employees don’t work within the culture. Finding the right balance between individual and organizational needs is perhaps the biggest challenge inherent in hybrid work.
Whatever the balance, remember that it will almost certainly be redefined over time. The extensive migration to hybrid work is an economic novelty. We don’t know what we don’t know. Just about everyone agrees that hybrid work is here to stay, but no one can be sure of the extent — it will be important to balance short term solutions with longer term approaches.
At some organizations, hybrid acceptance will grow while at others, the pendulum might swing back, settling closer to the pre-pandemic work style. In either case, the role of the office and the best work experiences will need to evolve, and prudent leaders will anticipate the likelihood of tweaking hybrid work and set expectations accordingly.
Remember the extent to which employees want choice. Steelcase studies have found that workers are more engaged and productive when they enjoy greater choice and control. And in addition to choice, it’s also fair that employers set expectations and hold people accountable for how work gets done — ensuring work contributes to team and organizational outcomes. Working from home or remote locations can be a perk, but this must be balanced with how an organization needs to sustain its business and its culture.
The most attractive employers will give their people the flexibility to work wherever they can work best for the task at hand. That might be at home, in a coffee shop or at any number of spaces within the office.
COLLABORATION WITH REMOTE TEAM MEMBERS
Effective collaboration is challenging when meetings involve two types of participants — those present in the office and those logging in remotely. Even before hybrid work entered the lexicon, most office workers had some experience collaborating with long-distance business partners. Now it’s time to take that experience and use it to develop best practices for hybrid collaboration among colleagues who previously worked together. Here are some protocols to consider:
Share schedules. Develop a system for sharing schedules so there is never a question about who will be in the office on any given day.
Social start. Start each meeting with a few minutes of casual conversation to build social capital—and don’t forget to make introductions if there is a chance any participants have not met before, whether in person or virtually.
Video on. Lessen the sense of distance by creating a cultural expectation that remote participants will have their video on whenever possible.
Check sound. Know the location of microphones in the meeting room and make sure remote participants can hear everyone.
Check sight. Consider assigning an in-person participant to pay attention to what remote participants are seeing. Perhaps the camera needs to move or a photo of markerboard content needs to be sent.
Pause with purpose. Stop regularly and ask remote participants if they have input. Develop engagement protocols such as who monitors the chat and whether it’s necessary to raise hands digitally before commenting.
Clear next steps. Bear in mind that remote participants miss any wrap-up conversation after a meeting ends. Make this less of an issue by bringing meetings to a hard close with a clear summary of decisions and next steps.
Encourage intentional decisions
Hybrid work policies empower people to choose where they can do their best work within appropriate boundaries set by the organization. Employers have an opportunity to encourage employees and teams to be planful about how they can best accomplish their work. A key to success is for employees to make intentional decisions about where they can be most effective using the following criteria as a starting point.
The nature of work. When confronting a day that promises routine, repetitive or contemplative tasks, and when the environment supports the work, working solo from home is probably fine. When complex, urgent or collaborative matters are on the agenda, however, the office rightfully beckons. Face-to-face is also better when employees need to brainstorm or generate ideas.
Sensitive matters. Video technology makes it possible to meet virtually, but it’s poorly suited to capturing non-verbal cues that help hone communication. For this reason, difficult or challenging conversations should occur in person whenever possible.
Finding motivation. Too much time at home can feel monotonous. When employees need an energy boost, a day at the office could be just the solution. The change of scenery, the act of moving around the office, the surrounding buzz of activity — all can boost wellbeing and stimulate productivity.
Finding respite. Traditional advice about work-life fulfillment suggests creating boundaries to keep work concerns away from home life. With the advent of hybrid work, the opposite is just as likely to be a challenge. Home has its own distractions, and a day at the office could offer a much-needed respite.
Connections and career growth. It’s possible to build social capital virtually, but strong relationships require some in person contact as well. Learning from others, building a network and shoring up a league of people who can offer advice and support are best done in person. Leaders should support work-at home initiatives, while reminding employees that presence is important for learning, growth, and meaningful connections.
Make the workplace a magnet
For many employees, the choice between working from home or working in the office barely registers as a choice at all—because they have a clear preference for one or the other. But for many, the decision is not so clear cut. In fact, recent Steelcase research suggests fully 34% of people do not have a preference between working from home or working in the office. This introduces an important opportunity for employers to “earn the commute” — in other words, make it worthwhile for people to make their commute — by creating work experiences which contribute to people’s effectiveness and satisfaction.
For starters, people lacking a well equipped, distraction-free home office might well prefer the comforts of their corporate office. Steelcase research shows that many workers would gladly give up some remote days if their corporate space included an assigned space. People also say they prefer reservable work areas so they have a level of predictability in where they will be working on any given day, and can avoid inefficiencies. They also want space to support focus work. This is largely because home offices may not feature the ideal conditions for focus, contemplation or deep concentration. And people also want space which supports belonging as well as comfort and control. Overall, they are expecting offices to support a variety of needs and expectations.
In an economy that increasingly incorporates hybrid work models, organizations need to position their workplace not as an occasional requirement but as a favorable option. The workplace must become a magnet, offering a work experience employees can’t resist — or duplicate at home.
That means workplaces of old might no longer pass muster. Previously, many workplaces were set up to emphasize individual work at workstations. Going forward, they need to offer greater support for connecting and collaborating — essential aspects of a fulfilling work experience for which home offices are ill-suited. This will need to include support for hybrid collaboration in terms of the spaces and technology that support working together when people are both in the office and in remote locations. In recent Steelcase research findings, people significantly prioritized spaces to support hybrid collaboration as critical to a good office experience.
The corporate office should not over emphasize collaboration, however, nor should it concede individual work to home offices. Steelcase research demonstrates people value privacy when they are in the office. After all, some home offices are so cramped or replete with distractions their occupants hardly perceive them as a haven.
Think of the total work experience as consisting of five distinct work modes — focus, collaborate, socialize, rejuvenate and learn. For a workplace to be perceived as a desirable destination, it needs to offer spaces that support all five. This gives employees control of their workday — the autonomy to choose where they want to work based on what they need to accomplish.
In the workplace, a positive sense of control can be satisfied by variety — the ability to choose the right space for the task at hand. Productivity requires access to spaces designed for focus and concentration, as well as building relationships which is key to innovation. Comfort is addressed by rejuvenation spaces — employees who can work at home expect the comforts of home when they go to the office. Belonging is the sense of community provided by spaces designed for collaboration, socializing and learning. Safety, of course, should be a given. From clean offices or effective air filtration to practices like distancing, depending on the current state of public health.
A great workplace is a key part of the overall value equation. However, it is only one aspect of an exceptional work experience. Ideally, organizations will also evaluate other drivers, such as their culture, process, and tools. Culture implies organizational norms and values, process is the way work gets done and tools encompass technology and other work aids.
The graphic below illustrates the relationship between these four attributes — all of which must be present to attract, engage and retain top talent, the kind of people who could choose to work anywhere.
Steelcase research shows that people who like working from their workspace are 33% more engaged. They are 30% more connected with their culture, 9% more productive and 20% less likely to leave their company. Better still, a properly designed workplace can provide the stimulation, connection and choice that makes it a welcome alternative to working from home.
Employees are watching for fairness
Across multiple societies and cultures, fairness is a fundamental human need. A lack of fairness is one of the reasons people will leave an organization. Steelcase research has found fairness is critical—and it must be both real and perceived. Without it, engagement, morale and retention will be negatively affected.
Fairness can be a challenging area to navigate when developing a hybrid work policy. Employees recognize that job roles differ. They understand that everyone likely will not enjoy identical flexibility regarding when and where they work. Even so, it’s important to tread carefully.
Employers must take care to avoid any perception of haves and have nots. The difference being the amount of time different groups of people are required to be in the office.
Be mindful of fairness by establishing overall principles for decisions about hybrid work and by being transparent about how decisions have been made with the principles in mind. Trust grows when employees understand how and why decisions are made.
Be willing to make changes. The notion of hybrid work is new enough that nothing needs to be set in stone. Employees will be more accepting of work-at-home boundaries if they sense an openness toward expanding them if experience merits.
Finally, make accountability part of your culture. Fairness is less likely to be questioned if office workers sense that those with greater freedom are held accountable for performance and results.
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Tips for maintaining engagement
Engagement has always been important for organizations. How best to build engagement has always been a tough question for leaders to answer. That was true when employees were in the office every day. Now, with employees spending more time working remotely, it’s an even greater challenge.
One strategy that can help is to carve out time for teams to focus on the future. Research suggests that employees who look forward to the future are likely to perform better. They also experience a boost in wellbeing. This could be simply asking team members to articulate their plans for the week or month during a meeting. Leaders might also consider dedicated visioning sessions. They can encourage team members to imagine their ideal organizational future and brainstorm ways to get there.
Leaders can also influence engagement by inviting discussion about things that did not go well. Vulnerability helps bring people together. When teams admit mistakes, they can better identify lessons learned and generate ideas for improvement.
In a culture that includes hybrid work, leaders also need to be intentional about providing shared experiences. When people share common goals and work together, the bonds between co-workers grow. It is important to consider engagement in terms of shared and assigned work. While not as powerful, social events also help people get to know each other. Just be judicious in scheduling. Some teams welcome social activities with colleagues while others perceive them as yet another work commitment.
It’s also helpful to look beyond the team, to expand viewpoints and avoid silos. Invite presenters from other teams who can share key, relevant projects with the team, and encourage people to create connections with outside associations or groups which will add value to them or their roles.
People instinctively crave connection. Envisioning the future, being vulnerable, volunteering as a team, and spending informal time together can all help create an environment conducive to engagement.
Tips for building trust
Trust is the cornerstone of strong relationships, but it’s harder to maintain from a distance. Leaders should be mindful of ways to nurture trust when greater acceptance of remote work means less in-person interaction.
Connect with purpose. When employees are not in the office every day, leaders must be intentional about connecting with them when they are. Impromptu connections breed the familiarity that produces trust.
Be predictable. People crave certainty. Accountable leaders build trust. Consistent follow-through is one way this happens. Small things can be big, too. Every greeting, smile and kind query is like making a deposit in a trust bank.
Be easy to read. Employees tend to trust leaders who are easy to read. Consequently, leaders might want to make an extra effort to articulate their thoughts and be open with their expressions.
Praise liberally. Be public with praise for team members and celebrate and recognize great work. In addition, lobby for employees when it is appropriate. Leaders who go to bat for their people tend to foster loyalty in return.
Assume good intentions. If leaders don’t trust certain employees to do their utmost while working remotely, those people probably should not be working for them anyway. Start each relationship with a full tank of trust and hold people accountable for performance. Reassess the relationship if it turns out that complete trust is not warranted.
Unless leaders stay vigilant, hybrid work policies can take a toll on organizational trust over time. Simply being aware of the possibility can help leaders keep trust-building behavior on the radar. They can also be intentional about building trust throughout their work and relationships.
How managers can maintain accessibility
Responsiveness and accessibility are especially important leadership qualities in a hybrid work environment with reduced face-to face interaction. Here are some ideas for helping team members feel close to your organization despite their occasional distance.
When leaders empower people and trust them to their tasks, they can spend more time coaching and making decisions. Resolve to set people free within appropriate boundaries. Leaders have better accessibility when they stay out of the weeds.
Leaders can also increase their responsiveness by providing input and direction in the moment. When a team member asks for guidance, try to provide it right away. Don’t put it off for another meeting. Of course, if the decision making requires more careful assessment, take the necessary time. When it’s possible, more immediate processing helps ensure leaders are not a bottleneck.
In a hybrid environment, small courtesies and interactions can help ensure team members don’t feel distant despite lack of daily proximity.
A watershed opportunity
The widespread adoption of hybrid work is a watershed in the evolution of the workplace. Finding the right hybrid approach is a process for most organizations. The process involves employee input, a willingness to experiment and some trial and error. It’s important to ensure workplaces and work experiences are effective and energizing. You then must set expectations for hybrid work patterns which you can refine over time.
Approach the transition with enthusiasm. Help employees find a balance between working in the office and working remotely. The best work experience happens when employees have the ability to choose where they can be most effective. Ideally, that choice encompasses a destination workplace with enough spatial variety to accommodate every mode of work.
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At OEC, we go through a lot of cardboard waste. We are practically swimming in cardboard at the end of each job between the tables, chairs, workstations, and other products we install. As much as we would like to reduce the amount of cardboard used, it serves the important job of getting quality furniture safely from one place to another. While we can’t reduce our cardboard use, we can recycle it.
Keeping Cardboard Out Of The Landfill
To create sustainability as a business model, OEC recently acquired a cardboard compacter to help deal with jobsite waste. The compactor works by compressing cardboard so tight that you get bales weighing 600-900 pounds each. Over the last month alone, we have produced five bales of cardboard totaling 3,000 – 4,500 pounds of recyclable materials. What would have gone to the landfill is now being recycled in a manner that we can easily handle and transport.
Enlisting The Help Of Western Recycling
This decision came to fruition as the OEC leadership team discussed a long-term, sustainable solution to waste. We previously relied on a single individual to take cardboard in small amounts to the recycling plant. While this helped deal with the waste, it was not a long-term solution. That is when we connected with Western Recycling to support our sustainability goals. Since 1979 Western Recycling has diverted over 5 billion pounds of material from Idaho landfills. With locations throughout the Treasure Valley and Eastern Idaho, they recycle approximately 20 million pounds of recyclables per month. They are an excellent partner in our quest for sustainability with an incredible service of picking up the bales and delivering them on our behalf.
Team Buy-In
While sustainability is a great goal, it is only achievable through intentionality. It takes our team longer to process the cardboard now than to throw it into the trash. But as our Director of Operations, Bryan Spencer, says, “The team buy-in has been phenomenal. Everyone stands behind it. Once you tell someone that over the course of a year, you will keep 36,000 pounds of cardboard out of the landfill, it is an easy initiative to get behind.”
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The Treasure Valley housing market is growing like crazy, and land master-planned community developer M3 Companies is doing its best to help keep up with demand. Founded in Arizona and based out of Phoenix, M3 has recently focused its time and energy on Idaho. “Boise is like Phoenix 20 years ago when Phoenix was growing really fast,” says M3 Companies Executive Director of Finance, Tom Cervino. As red tape and prices increased on land in Arizona, the company began to focus its energy on the Treasure Valley. With land readily available and infrastructure already supporting it, all M3 had to do was negotiate with the farmers.
Collaboration Space
Communities & Builders
Now M3 Companies is responsible for developing local communities, including RedHawk Ridge in Nampa, SpurWing Heights in Meridian, Valor in Kuna, Riverstone in Star, and Boulder Point in the East Boise Foothills to name a few. Many of these communities include amenities like pools, clubhouses, and excellent golf courses. With so many projects going on at once, working closely with local builders is essential. The builders will often choose a specific number of lots they want to buy. Once all the interested builders have chosen their lots M3 sells the lots through a lottery system to keep the process fair.
The New Office
M3 can manage their properties with a much smaller team by selling to the builders rather than the end customer. When the company first started developing land in Idaho, most of the staff lived in Arizona. Now things have shifted, with Boise becoming the hub while a few stragglers remain in Arizona. To accommodate the growth, M3 has moved into a larger office. Now they have private offices, a central collaborative space, and a conference room where they can have their lottery meetings with builders. It was also important that their new space is along the Boise Greenbelt. “When the bosses come into town, they usually stay in a condo nearby and like to ride their bikes along the Greenbelt. It is also a really convenient location for meeting with builders, engineers, designers, and those flying in.”
Conference Room
Staying Mobile
As a land developer, it is essential to stay mobile. While many industries shut down for the pandemic, the housing market continued full steam ahead, so the staff needed workstations that could support their needs in both the office and the field. “With our new desks we can plug our laptops or taking them home with us. We have also been putting our height-adjustable desks to good use by standing more. Other than the conference room, the desks are my favorite things in the office.”
Growth
With a new office and great communities underway throughout the valley, M3 Companies is determined to keep growing. They plan to follow the same model they started in Arizona, stay on the edges of growth and build there. Together with local builders, they will continue to develop quality communities where people are excited to live.
Sustainability is one of Lombard Conrad Architect’s (LCA) five tenants. How they achieve sustainability comes in a few different forms that fall into three categories. Efficiency, Resiliency, and the Health and Safety of occupants. Each project begins with a discussion between LCA and the client to discover the client’s sustainability goals. While only a few can achieve LEED certification, others can still find ways to improve their building’s sustainability. LCA starts by looking at how the building will operate as a unit rather than individual parts. Part of that includes bringing in experts who know the goals and requirements of the project.
“It is important to get as many opinions as possible. There will always be more issues than one person, or our design team can consider. When you have a project team where everyone cares, is invested, and is excited about bringing their opportunities to the table, you can check those boxes exponentially faster.”- Ryker Belnap, Architect
Ryker Belnap | Lombard Conrad Architect
Efficiency
LCA often utilizeds the U of I’s Integrated Design Lab (IDL). LCA will send an initial floor plan concept to IDL, who will then run a year-long location and weather simulations on the building. That gives IDL a baseline number of how the building will perform. Then, LCA can try rotating the structure, shifting the windows to the south side, adding shade, etc. to improve that baseline efficiency number. The goal is to balance the initial investment cost with long-term payback.
Resiliency
With an efficient design in place, the next step is sourcing materials for a resilient building. LCA looks for high-performance and innovative materials that are sourced locally and will stretch the lifespan of the building. After considering the mantra, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” LCA chose to “Reduce and Reuse” within their new office by moving into an existing building. Reusing a building is perhaps the most sustainable choice they could have made. Then they reduced the amount of material used to define and isolate rooms by creating a much more minimalistic and flexible environment including movable walls and easily reconfigurable furniture systems.
Health & Safety
The final part of sustainability is providing for human comfort. This encompasses everything from finding the perfect temperature for productivity, creating green spaces within an office, sourcing non-toxic materials, and providing natural views. Employers want efficient and resilient buildings. They also want healthy employees, and LCA is helping employers create both create sustainable buildings and improve the health of employees.
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TreanorHL has many offices scattered throughout the United States, but their dedication to sustainable practices unites them all. Whether in their own buildings, or their client’s projects, TreanorHL introduces sustainability through WELL building practices focusing on community, mind, and comfort.
Sustainability Through Community
What is the best way to help your team invest in the community? Give them specific days to go out and serve. Every Valentine’s Day and Juneteenth, TreanorHL gives every employee the day to serve a local charity of their choice. TreanorHL has discovered the vital lesson that where your time and money go, your heart follows. So, by getting to know their community, they can design better, more accessible, and sustainable buildings to serve it.
TreanorHL Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity
Sustainability Through Mind
When it comes to sustainability, “mind” can represent a couple of different things. First, it means the ability to think through problems during design. A recent example of this was the Jasper County Courthouse in Joplin, MO, where TreanorHL conducted a life cycle cost analysis on a geothermal heating and cooling system to discover if the system made economic and long-term sense in the building. The analysis considered all the costs and surmised that while it would cost more, the system would pay for itself in 10-12 years, have minimal maintenance costs, and have a longer life span.
Mind also represents the importance of providing spaces that consider the mental health of occupants to reduce stress, encourage productivity, and contribute socially. Some examples of this include providing restorative spaces easily accessible throughout a building that lend well to social activity, offering great views of nature, and optimizing daylighting. These spaces help keep people connected to nature and one another.
TreanorHL Volunteer
Sustainability Through Comfort
The final piece of sustainability has to do with comfort, specifically how spaces contribute to the users’ overall happiness and mental health. TreanorHL is currently working on these principles by designing for thermal comfort with optimized passive solar heating with a double glass façade. They are also creating open work environments with controlled acoustics, wood timber structures to create warmer, more visually comfortable spaces, and exposing the majority of spaces to daylight to assist the body’s circadian rhythm.
By following WELL practices, TreanorHL designs longer-lasting buildings where occupants can thrive.
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How do you turn a city dump into a place that positively impacts the lives of millions of people and animals? You turn it into the Idaho Department of Fish & Game headquarters. In 1960, the first Idaho Fish & Game building was built to help preserve, protect, perpetuate, and manage wildlife resources in Idaho. Today a brand-new building sets in its predecessor’s place, continuing that mission.
Workstations
The Idaho Fish & Game Mission
Since 2008 there has been conversation around rebuilding the outdated Fish & Game Building. While it had served its purpose for many years, the Department quickly outgrew the building and needed more space. It wasn’t until 2019 that the Foundation issued tax-exempt bonds for the building so construction could begin in September of 2020. The project was not only completed early, but it also came in under budget. Overseeing the successful project was Hilarie Engle, the Executive Director of the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation that partners with the department to protect, preserve, perpetuate and manage Idaho’s wildlife resources. Along with overseeing the foundation’s activities, Hilarie acts as the project manager for constructing new buildings. Thanks to her efforts, the new building houses 170 department staff members once to the four winds. “This building is huge for Fish & Game. It brings all the bureaus back together again (some of which were separated for 25 years), and the collaboration from meeting one-on-one is so different than having to do a zoom call or phone call. Seeing everybody come together is one of the coolest parts of this project.”
Lobby
The New Building
Not only is the building bringing everyone together, it is also beautiful. Between the colors, animal mounts, and murals, it is a highly welcoming and energizing environment. “I see employees walk into the building, and they are excited about it. They tell me how they love walking into the building knowing they get to come work here.” Some spaces the employees especially enjoy are the breakrooms. Coworkers will join each other in the break rooms whereas they used to eat alone at their desks. Others utilize the nearby greenbelt or visit the MK nature center when they need a break and some fresh air before returning to store their items in the bike room or take a shower. Another space making a difference is the large auditorium that the commission uses to formally hold its meetings.
Documentation Room
Working With OEC
With so many different bureaus under one roof, each floor looks a little different. Some are workstation heavy while others enjoy private offices with great views over Municipal Park. Helping with the furniture installation, move, and animal mounts were the OEC team. With three floors to fill, it was a big project. “OEC’s design and install team really shined on this project. They were phenomenal. They worked their tails off and were wonderful to work with. Wendy (OEC designer) showed me things I never would have thought about, and the install team met every single deadline. It was unbelievable everything that they moved, and they were honest about their timelines and really pleasant to work with.”
With everyone in and loving the new building, the department is excited to continue working toward its mission of preserving species so that everyone can enjoy them.
The other day my wife had a hard day at work. When she got home, she announced, “We aren’t making dinner tonight, we are going out”. We quickly rounded up the kids and headed over to Costa Vida, our favorite “go to” restaurant around the corner. While in line we caught up on the day with the kids. The kids told stories of what is happening in school, and my wife and I shared what was happening in our lives at work. We laughed, joked, listened to one another, it was a very normal family dinner conversation for us. During the family catch up, an older gentleman behind us in line leaned in and asked if he could share something. After a slight hesitation I said sure, and to go ahead. He told us he lived in Eastern Idaho and was a District Court Magistrate Judge. He told us what was happening in our family waiting in line—laughing, sharing, listening—was a joy to hear. He said he oftentimes hears family and marriage-related cases that involve all kinds of unimaginable vitriol, violence, and unkindness. He admonished our teens how lucky they were to have parents who liked each other and were kind and friendly. We enjoyed conversing with him in line and when we got to the register he insisted on buying our family dinner. As I have reflected on this experience during the past week a few things have come to my mind I was hoping to share. 1) Be nice to each other—especially your family. 2) Have fun and laugh, it’s contagious and can uplift others. 3) Be sure to take time to get out of the house and the office and connect with others—it’s an important part of the human experience we are all sharing.
Scott Galloway
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Work looks different than it did a few years ago when employees were practically nailed to their desks at the office. That is not the case anymore. Today we are experiencing a radical change in how we work, and it all has to do with flexibility. Woven tightly into the fabric of this newfound flexibility is technology. Our ability to incorporate technology into our private and professional lives has given us incredible freedom. Lets dive into some of the ways Pivot North Architecture is doing just that.
Allison Furlan Senior Interior Designer Pivot North Architecture
Communal Spaces
Senior Designer at Pivot North Architecture, Allison Furlan, has seen many changes in how her firm designs multifamily, condos, and apartment buildings, and a lot of it revolves around technology.
“With more remote workers and “digital nomads” than ever, creating co-working or communal spaces in residential buildings has increased.”
Allison Furlan
They are even starting to design built-in desks in individual units. However, no co-working environment is complete without plugins. “We are seeing a lot more outlets in general and convenience outlets. They are no longer your standard duplex outlets; they have USB ports and more.” There is also an increase in outlets floating on the floor and built into furniture because people plug in multiple devices to work.
Wi-Fi & Smart Systems
Fiber high-speed internet is making its way into these buildings to support all the devices. However, laptops and phones are not the only devices coming online. Wi-Fi-enabled appliances and security systems are also new to these buildings. “We are seeing a trend toward controlling your fridge, lights, even door access with your phone. We are trying to predict and then design for what life is going to look like in five or ten years.”
Mailrooms, Lockers, Fitness & Parking
Other notable changes to these buildings include requests for larger mailrooms. People are ordering so many items online that there isn’t enough room to receive everything. New offerings like Amazon and Tide lockers are becoming sought-after amenities where residents can pick up all their packages and even their freshly dry-cleaned clothes without stepping a foot outside. Expanded fitness centers with on-demand services, bike parking, and Evie charging stations for electric cars are growing in popularity. “I feel like there has been a shift with technology and sustainability, and it is good to see developers using these efficient products even though they are more expensive upfront.”
Trends In Space
Many organizations are experiencing a hybrid model in their offices, while others are learning they no longer need to occupy a physical workspace to be successful. This new trend is something that Office Evolution has seen coming for years. Lets hear what they have to say about these unique workspaces.
Melissa Brodt Business Center Manager Office Evolution
Office Memberships
Three-year-old Office Evolution in downtown Boise knows something about flexibility as well. The company lives and breathes creating exceptional office spaces for hybrid or small business clients. Startups that don’t want to sign a long-term lease in a building or companies with hybrid or remote employees can get a membership with Office Evolution (OE). Companies can get customizable spaces, access to co-working spaces, conference rooms, and more through the different membership options. The key to the membership is flexibility.
Wi-Fi & Power
Creating an office for a flexible workplace is not easy without great technology. That is why OE started by getting one gigabyte of symmetric Wi-F to make their connection nothing but fast.
Privacy, Ergonomics, & Large Gathering Spaces
Another highly used item in their space is a soundproof phone booth. In a co-working business lounge, members get Another highly used item in their space is a soundproof phone booth. In a co-working business lounge, members get important calls, but they don’t have a confidential space to talk. With the soundproof booth, clients have the privacy they need when they need it. That space is now being used not only for calls but also for virtual meetings. Additionally, with a new workspace center coming soon in Eagle, OE will be incorporating larger gathering spaces, micro-offices, and dedicated workspaces into the floorplan. By adding these high demand spaces into the Eagle location, it will allow OE to serve remote workers, business owners on a budget, and the growing need for individual workspaces and ever-changing needs for teams and companies looking for ways to collaborate and work more effectively.
Staying Flexible
As Boise grows, startups are popping up, big businesses are moving into town, employees are traveling, and companies are hiring for remote positions. Each of these clients can utilize a flexible office environment. One place Business Center Manager, Mellissa Brodt, has seen a particular need for flexibility is in remote work.
“I’ve seen employers hiring remote positions more frequently, and while the job is great, people are finding out that the home doesn’t suit their needs. Here, a company can secure a space for a team gathering, away from home client meeting, or remote employee.”
Melissa Brodt
No matter the company’s situation, the most important thing for them to do is remain flexible. That will allow them to meet the needs of their employees and grow where they need to go.
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