Workplace Library by Topic

Changing Nature of Work and Trends 

The nature of work is always changing, driven by societal influences, work dynamics, and emerging trends. Haworth monitors leading indicators of change to know what's next, and how trends might affect an organization's work environment.

Alternative Workplace Benchmark Study
Call Center Trends
Collaborative Spaces
Designing for Collaborative Learning
Designing for a Distributed Workforce
Does Place Still Matter
Environmental Sustainability Through New Ways of Working
From Knowledge Workers to Knowledge Athletes: Think About Baseball
How Our Prehistoric Past Influences Modern Office Environments
Knowledge in the Workplace
Metaphors for Office Design
Mindscapes: Design for the Mind
Office Environments to Support Future Organizations
Office Etiquette 101
Revisiting Office Space Standards
The Hoteling Experiment: Lessons and Questions
Team Workspaces
 

Change/Transition Management

An effective change/transition management program aligns an organization toward a common goal. We consider ways to overcome employee resistance to change, create shared understanding, and increase the probability of success.

Facilities Strategies Shifting the Focus from Space Performance to Human Performance
Facilities Strategies to Support Corporate Change and Flexibility
Should your Company Transition to an Open Office Plan
Strategic Blueprint Balancing Cost Effectiveness with Support for Corporate Change and Flexibility
The Dogma of Moving Minds Managing Transition

Collaboration

Workplaces that enable and enhance collaboration also foster innovation. Haworth studies group effectiveness and group dynamics in the workplace to make the most of opportunities for greater collaboration.

Collaborative Spaces
Ethnographic Assessment of Individual and Group Privacy Needs
Intercultural Collaboration
Impact of the Physical Environment on Knowledge Worker Performance
Physical Space and Social Interaction

Daylight and Views 

Our research into daylight and views confirms their tremendous importance within a work environment. When properly incorporated into the workplace, natural light and views can enhance psychological factors (such as stress reduction) that can influence job satisfaction. 

An Easy, Effective, and Useful Measure of External View
Bio-Inspired Design
Biophilia
Effects of Control Over Office Workspace
Why Daylight and Views Matter

Employee Engagement

Employees who are engaged feel more connected to the company's goals, which can lead to improved execution and performance. Employee engagement research identifies ways to keep the best workers and make them more productive by considering their expectations, competence and fit, resources, and motivation.

Bio-Inspired Design
Biophilia
Designing for a Distributed Workforce
Economics of Ergonomics
Ethnographic Assessment of Individual and Group Privacy Needs
From Knowledge Workers to Knowledge Athletes: Think About Baseball
How Our Prehistoric Past Influences Modern Office Environments
Investing in People
In Search of Measuring Workplace Productivity-Summary
Knowledge in the Workplace
Linking Indoor Environment Conditions
Mindscapes: Design for the Mind
Privacy Matters
Rewarding Knowledge Worker Productivity Beyond the Corner Office
The Hoteling Experiment: Lessons and Questions
The Importance of User Control

Ergonomics

Our research into ergonomics, or designing for human needs, allows us to improve occupant comfort, increase productivity, and help reduce injuries in the work environment. Haworth puts a great deal of effort into creating products that adapt to individual users' needs.

Anatomy of a Chair
Anatomy of a Planes Height-Adjustable Table
Cognitive Ergonomics: A Definition
Economics of Ergonomics
Effects of Office Layout and Sit-Stand Adjustable Furniture: A Field Study
Effects of Sit-Stand Schedule on Spinal Shrinkage in VDT Operators
Ergonomic Checklist for Computer (VDT) Workstations
Ergonomic Features and Benefits of the Improv H.E.
Ergonomic Seating Evaluation Form
Ergonomic Seating Guide
Every Back is Different
Facilities Strategies Shifting the Focus from Space Performance to Human Performance
Laptop/Notebook Computers and Ergonomics
Motion in the Office: Proactive Ergonomics
Objectively Determining Comfortable Lumbar Support in Task Seating
Office Ergonomics: A Review of Pertinent Research
Preventative Measures for Common Musculoskeletal Disorders
Prevention of Mouse Related Pain
The Haworth Ergonomic Design Process
The Importance of User Control
The Research Behind Zody
Zody's Ergonomic Features and Adjustments
Zody's Research Summary

Generations 

Right now, there are four generations working side-by-side in the work force. It's important to understand their varying attitudes and expectations, and how this impacts workspace design. We've learned that many issues cut across age groups, and a flexible, adaptable workspace can serve all workers and workstyles.

Are Gen-Y's Brains "Modular" or "Unconscious"
Designing Across Generations
Office Design Challenges
The Moral of The Element and The Scion
The Myth of Multi-Tasking

One Haworth Center

One Haworth Center responds to the shift in how people work, learn, and grow. It gives us the opportunity to lead by example – to comprehensively demonstrate sustainability and adaptability. One Haworth Center delivers an intelligent and harmonious workspace solution to our entire organization; a place of work and inspiration that is healthy, stimulating, true to our spirit, and reflects the design language and beauty of our products.

A Celebration of Design
Advanced Technology Showcase - High-Efficiency Workplace
Chassis Floorplan at One Haworth Center
Every Idea Has a Material Solution
How the Right Building Management System can Grow and Save at the Same Time
How Research Informed Design
Integrating Architecture into the Landscape
Smarter, More Sustainable Workspaces are Built on Access Flooring
The GreenRoof Expands our Sustainability Commitment
The Research Behind the Renovation
The Timeless Timber Wall at One Haworth Center
The Why Behind One Haworth Center

Organizational Culture

Assessing organizational culture provides designers with a foundation to create environments that support the way an organization functions and expresses itself. When the environment is aligned with an organization's culture, brand, and goals, the result can be more effective facilities, employees, and the organization as a whole.

An Introduction to the Competing Values Framework
Collaborative Spaces
Defining Culture and Organizational Culture
Diagnosing Organizational Culture
Four-Organizational-Culture-Types
Office Environments to Support Future Organizations

Privacy

The number 1 desire in the workplace is privacy — the ability to perform distraction-free, individual work when necessary. Our privacy research focuses on how visual and acoustical privacy affect job performance and satisfaction, and how to balance individual and group work in an open plan environment.

Ethnographic Assessment of Individual and Group Privacy Needs
 Maintaining Productive Privacy in an Open Workplace
Privacy Matters
Speech Privacy: Exploring Improved Solutions
The Impact of Architectural Privacy Features on Performance Stress and Informal Learning

Strategic Alignment or Branding

An organization's performance can be enhanced by connecting strategy with physcial environments.

The Why Behind One Haworth Center

Sustainability

Sustainable products and practices can positively affect people, the environment, and the bottom line. For Haworth, this is played out in every way possible — from processes and materials that minimize our impact on the environment to adaptable Organic Workspaces that can be reconfigured to reduce waste and expense.

Bio-Inspired Design
Biophilia
Chassis Floorplan at One Haworth Center
Environmental Sustainability Through New Ways of Working
How the Right Building Management System can Grow and Save at the Same Time
Investing in People
Sustainability by Design: Deconstruction
Smarter, More Sustainable Workspaces are Built on Access Flooring
The GreenRoof Expands our Sustainability Commitment

Technology

Advances in technology continually influence the way we work and how business is done. Our efforts in this area help determine which technologies best enhance individual, facility, and organizational performance.

Advanced Technology Showcase - High-Efficiency Workplace
Alternative Workplace Benchmark -Summary
Call Center Trends

Workstyles

Workspaces need to accommodate a wide range of individual workstyles. Our assessments create a framework for considering behavior, personality, comfort, distraction, and task complexity to improve workers' satisfaction with the environment. This can be linked to greater productivity, job satisfaction, and, ultimately, commitment to the organization.

Call Center Trends
Designing for a Distributed Workforce
Ethnographic Assessment of Individual and Group Privacy Needs
From Knowledge Workers to Knowledge Athletes: Think About Baseball
How Our Prehistoric Past Influences Modern Office Environments
In Search of Measuring Workplace Productivity-Summary
Knowledge in the Workplace
Office Etiquette 101
One In a Million Individual Work and Space
Privacy Matters
Strategic Blueprint Flexible Support for Dynamic Workstyles
Team Workspaces
The Hoteling Experiment: Lessons and Questions