It’s been just over a year since we moved into our new offices at 125 Broad Street – (have you not visited us yet, what are you waiting for?!).
Now that we have truly settled into our space, it is time for us to give ourselves a 1-year checkup. How is our space working out? Our goal with our office space, as with every project we design, is to create a space where people are happy, healthy, productive, and supported – these are key elements of “wellness”. Wellness is a concept that is gaining increasing visibility, with good reason, but for STA, creating a space around wellness that considers human factors and personal experience, health and well-being, has always been a universal goal paramount to all of our projects.
So what are the healthy elements of our new space? It begins with selecting the location, in the middle of downtown, with easy access to public transportation, walking distance to our clients, access right out the door to the awesome Greenway. We have one person that rides her bike to work every day, even in the horrendous weather (go Andrea!)
Once inside our space, there are a few key moves that we made around the idea of personal wellness. One move was to use all adjustable height desks. The use of adjustable height desks (aka sit-stand desks) has grown immensely in popularity over the last few years. We certainly have specified them for many clients, and as they have become more mainstream, the cost has become more attainable. But do they really get used to their full potential?
When we first moved in, I noticed the desks were up and down every day, multiple times. At any time during the day you would see a varied terrain of desk heights across our landscape. But as the months passed on, this seemed to flatten, literally. Some days the desks did not move at all. I recently sent out a brief survey, to see how much the desks are being used in the standing position. 73% said they use it in the standing position 0-1 hour per day. About 20% use it more than that, and one person admits to using it once only. (I asked for honesty and I got it!).
There is a lot of research on the benefits of standing and dangers of sitting (“sitting is the new smoking”); and there are varying recommendations on the amount of time you are supposed to stand. I’ve read you should stand 2-4 hours per day; or for every 30 minutes you should sit for 20, stand for 8, then move around for 2. There is also research that says sit-stand desks are not as effective as once believed.
Diving further into the 0-1 hour range at STA, I too would question their effectiveness! So, we are going to conduct a little experiment on ourselves. We will start by looking further into the research and recommendations on sit/stand use, make an effort over a defined period to meet those recommendations, and then review the impact (or lack thereof) on our overall wellness. After all, we need to “walk the walk”, in order to “talk the talk”!
Personal wellness is obviously important, and leads to team wellness. None of us work in a vacuum, we are all working together, whether on the same project, or collaborating on advice / tips. We have noticed a greater level of collaboration in this new space, and feel that the adjustable height desks might be one factor, despite their minimal use. Instead of settling in for hours at your desk, people are a bit more mobile, and therefore more likely to get up and move across the office to another team member’s desk, or a collaborative working space.
The collaborative working spaces were also a very deliberate decision in the design of the new space. At one end of our space is a stunning view of the Greenway and harbor. Instead of giving this spot to one individual, this is, and will always be a shared space. This “Living Lab”, our living room, is a place for staff meetings, group lunches, client meetings, project team meetings, alternative workspace (with your laptop or the code books or a set of drawings), or just a place to look out the window for a change scenery / mind reset! There are other collaboration areas sprinkled throughout the space – the conference room, multiple stand-up counters, and the library meeting area. Choice of workspace is an important factor in wellness and productivity, and within our small footprint, we have been able to offer a variety of choice. I was pleased that our survey confirmed the use of collaborative spaces, and that most felt that there was more collaboration in this office than the last!
Reduced clutter / storage
As part of our move, we made a concerted effort to re-evaluate what we save – what do we need to keep on our desks, what do we need to file? We set up a new digital filing system, and set protocols for scanning and digital filing instead of saving a hard copy. With this, we greatly reduced the amount of file cabinets in our space. Our office survey did reveal that there are some things that do need some space – project submittals, samples – and we need to ensure that we are dedicating space for them. But for the most part, this system is working. Not only is the clutter reduced, but with everything digitally filed, everyone has access to information in an efficient and organized way. No more wasting time with “do you have this drawing on your desk” to get in the way of an efficient workflow. Of course, during intense deadline times, things can get out of control (my desk was a horror show over the last few weeks…). But we take the time for quick cleanups when needed, and as a whole we are looking good!
Snacks and healthy eating
One of the benefits of being downtown is that there are lots and lots of places to eat – and lots of healthy choices. But one must snack as well! Our survey took a look at what office provided snacks are most popular. Kind bars are the most popular, with fruit and wine/beer tying for second! The Boston Organics fruit bowl is empty every week, and Brix is a very convenient downstairs neighbor for provisions for our Friday afternoon Living Lab!
We’ll continue this discussion at one our next Living Labs (over wine and beer, and maybe some fruit), and will dive into our adjustable height desks research study. This is one way we will continue to evaluate our own office, in an effort not only to make STA a better place to work, but to learn how we can make spaces better for our clients. To be continued!
– Felice
