A room to work in
Today's Australian has an article, in the careers section, about the popularity of a third space. This is a place where people working from home can head to-a public location, library or business centre-where they can concentrate better and achieve a work life balance.
I haven't got too far into the article, but it just appears so blindingly obvious. People find it hard to stay motivated when working in isolation; people find the blurring between home duties and work duties difficult; people feel more stimulated when working in a library environment (or "learning space" as many libraries are called now); people need to be surrounded by other people who are working industriously but are not necessarily their colleagues. Sounds like to me, that if you were an organisation setting up a working space, you would set it up library style, with work stations and pod areas, and provide some breakout rooms where you can get small teams together. The temptation is to put together all the people from one division or sub area together, but perhaps that is not such a great idea-it might be better to have your groups mixed up, in their seating areas, but accessible to their immediate colleagues for decision making.
I'm most taken by the library-like environment, love the old fashioned libraries and how they are replicated in members clubs, or preserved in institutions like the state libraries, or even historic hotels like the Caledonian Hotel in Robe. I also remember saving a photograph from the Sex and the City website, a long time ago, that had Carrie Bradshaw seated in an old chair in a library like interior, for the inspiration it provided. I imagined a rainy day that is enhanced by a morning visit to a library, cups of tea, reading the paper, being lit up by lamp lights, browsing the books, walking along heritage corridors, leaving by stone stairs.
I haven't got too far into the article, but it just appears so blindingly obvious. People find it hard to stay motivated when working in isolation; people find the blurring between home duties and work duties difficult; people feel more stimulated when working in a library environment (or "learning space" as many libraries are called now); people need to be surrounded by other people who are working industriously but are not necessarily their colleagues. Sounds like to me, that if you were an organisation setting up a working space, you would set it up library style, with work stations and pod areas, and provide some breakout rooms where you can get small teams together. The temptation is to put together all the people from one division or sub area together, but perhaps that is not such a great idea-it might be better to have your groups mixed up, in their seating areas, but accessible to their immediate colleagues for decision making.
I'm most taken by the library-like environment, love the old fashioned libraries and how they are replicated in members clubs, or preserved in institutions like the state libraries, or even historic hotels like the Caledonian Hotel in Robe. I also remember saving a photograph from the Sex and the City website, a long time ago, that had Carrie Bradshaw seated in an old chair in a library like interior, for the inspiration it provided. I imagined a rainy day that is enhanced by a morning visit to a library, cups of tea, reading the paper, being lit up by lamp lights, browsing the books, walking along heritage corridors, leaving by stone stairs.
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