We've all heard a lot about the future of work by now, and after a year+ of work model upheaval, we've learned a lot about the importance of choice and flexibility with today's workforce. Now, with many local ordinances and COVID-19 health guidelines beginning to relax, the discussion of in-person work is ramping up quickly, with the future of the office coming sharply into focus.
Read MoreThe Future of Work: Visualized
What does tomorrow's workplace actually look like? We've heard from leaders and read the research (including our own!) to help answer that question, but with greater technology coming every day and a better understanding of our current environment, we're doing the same thing that our workplaces of tomorrow must do: adapt.
Read MoreThe way your office looks and feels sends a powerful message. It’s your billboard in Times Square. It’s your Super Bowl commercial, and it broadcasts your story to everyone who walks through your door, especially your employees.
Do you have a blank canvas of an office that needs furnished? Are you starting to consider when and what furniture to purchase? Is budget a determining factor that will affect your overall design and space planning? If you answer "yes" to any of these, you're certainly not alone. We meet with local businesses just like you every day. What we've learned over the past 80 years is creating a truly great space that will provide an exceptional associate experience is critical. Selecting the right furniture plays a big role in that overall experience.
Read MoreExperiences have become the focal point for many organizations. Over the past 35 years at Continental, I've watched first-hand as the client experience has evolved. 35 years ago it was a big deal to have an actual showroom with a wide selection of productions on display. Clients could literally walk in and shop, often leaving with something tangible in hand that same day. Having a showroom is really a thing of the past for us now, at least in the traditional sense. Gone are the days of those large presentation boards too!
Read MoreHave you ever heard that change is inevitable but growth is optional? No matter how much we might sometimes try to avoid it, change will always come our way. It’s how we respond to that change that shows what we’re truly made of. This applies to every facet of our lives, including our workspaces. Herman Miller’s latest report, How to Catalyze Your Workplace for Growth, expresses the importance of utilizing research about your people and their work to inform your office design, as this becomes a powerful tool for organizational growth. Enter Living Office, a research-based placemaking approach that ignites powerful workplace transformations.
Read MoreBusinesses aren’t that different from people. They function much like humans do as a living, breathing place. They have needs to fulfill, like attracting and retaining top talent, stimulating innovation, increasing efficiency, and strengthening brand connection. Through global research and a robust study, Herman Miller found that the Living Office elevates the experience of work for people through a human-centered approach that helps organizations to define priorities, achieve strategic goals, and fulfill a greater purpose.
Read MoreAt NeoCon 2017, Herman Miller and designer Yves Béhar unveiled the future of office design with Live OS. It’s an app-based system that brings robotics into offices by connecting workspaces to people’s changing needs throughout the day, empowering them to work smarter and healthier. This customizable system consists of cloud-connected furnishings, an app, and a dashboard to gain an understanding of evolving humans that use it. The end goal is to make constant adjustments to ensure a happy, high-performing workforce. At its core, it’s designed to measure the effectiveness of a space and optimize it for workers.
Read MoreThat's a tough question to answer. As the world continues to change, so do our needs. No matter how hard we try to stay up-to-date with new forms of self-directed, creative, and collaborative work, old working styles remain in our lives and in our workspaces. Today, a work team may work in numerous locations across the globe with new and emerging tools and technology to support them. At the same time, those same locations may still have forms of directed, repetitive, and individual work. That's why new solutions for co-creation, display, remote connection, and nonlinear development are either replacing or being layered on existing systems.
Read MoreA recent global study confirms that successful, forward-thinking organizations and their design partners are planning space to a completely new set of benchmarks.
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