Month: July 2019

By Dorothy Rogers-Bullis

Your business’s physical space says a lot about you, speaking volumes about your company culture and priorities. If you strive to attract and retain top talent within your organization, you must ensure your workplace is designed to meet those employees’ needs—offering an attractive, ergonomic, efficient space that is tailored to each person’s job function and personal work style.

If you are interested in updating your workspace, but you don’t know where to begin, here are a few of the top new trends we are seeing in the office design industry.

Standing to work

With more research coming out about the health issues associated with prolonged sitting—from neck and back problems to higher rates of obesity—the sit-to-stand desk is a top trend in the workplace. These adjustable-height work surfaces offer the flexibility to perform work in either a sitting or standing position, improving ergonomics.

By Rose Miller

While in Pennsylvania on business, my husband and I stayed at a “pet friendly” hotel. Second day in, my husband commented that he feels his life has gone to the dogs because we found ourselves eating and sleeping with dogs.

Instead of waking to a crying baby, we awoke to a whining and barking dog needing to be let out. There is a pervasive trend in American society to place the same importance on pets as they do for a human family member. In fact, we hear people instantly complain when young children are in the room, yet there seems to be a greater tolerance for animals.

There is a growing demand for pet-friendly policies in today’s workplace. Companies are dealing with mandated leaves for family caregivers and “pet parents” desire the same type of leaves for their pet responsibilities. A study conducted by the American Pet Products Associations found that 17 percent of employers had pet-friendly policies.

They include: bringing pets to work; furternity (leave for the birth or adoption of a pet); and pet bereavement leave.