IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2012 - 10

2012 iiDA inDustrY rounDtAbLe recAp

OR, HOW I LEaRNED TO STOp WORRyING aND LOvE THE HIGH-TECH, MOBILE, SOCIaLLy MEDIaTED WORKpLaCE

it’s a severe understatement to say that how and where we work has changed radically over the past few decades. nowadays, we telecommute from home, partake in video conferences from hotel rooms via laptops, and sketch designs via iphone apps while waiting to meet friends at a bar. in the course of the average workweek, we are more likely to be doing any of the above than hunkering down in our cubicles— the happy consequence of ipads, WiFi, smart phones, paper thin computers, and other such digital detritus that have liberated work from the workplace. “office” once referred to a physical location; now it is a mindset, a state of being. Any minute of the day, any day of the week, and anywhere in the world presents an opportunity to work—and the socially mediated portable technology to execute it. this is something of a catch22 for designers, for whom “work” has always been a 24/7 lifestyle. the diaspora of the office and the technology that enables it was the topic of the 15th annual iiDA industry roundtable, “Work: Who, Where, How.” As is tradition, the event connected iiDA corporate members with leading interior designers, providing a forum for manufacturers to discover how the design community is using social media, and how its use has changed the culture and physicality of the contemporary workplace. both parties have a stake in understanding those implications, whether they are designing the nextgeneration office or conceiving products to furnish it and support new ways of working. Although social media has been floated as a potential round table topic in the last few years, it finally seemed the right time to broach the subject. courtesy of social media’s trickleup effect, most senior designers have by now adopted it. indeed, every attendee was exploiting it in some capacity—even skeptics (of which there were a few). in a surprise twist, the event broke with tradition by including a guest panel: After lunch on saturday, four socialmedia savants arrived to share how they are using Facebook, twitter, blogs, gadgets, etc.

their insight proved an eyeopener for the participants, who were still talking about “those girls” as the roundtable wrapped on sunday. in the words of moderator cheryl s. Durst, Hon. FiiDA, LeeD Ap, “Four millennial females with internet access can change the world and disrupt traditional thinking.” or, at the very least, help us understand how and why the workplace is being transformed. a summary of the weekend’s talking points:
1. TECHNOLOGy HaS fREED uS fROM OuR DESKS…

by 2013, there will be nearly 120 million mobile workers in the u.s. Fewer people working in offices means that spaces can be leaner and more versatile. but it also challenges clients to cultivate their corporate identity without relying on physical space alone, and—given the transient population—to find new ways of fostering community.
2. …BuT OvERTaKEN OuR pERSONaL LIvES.

courtesy of ubiquitous technology, work has completely infiltrated our personal time. Although liberated from our desks, we’re now yoked to a workrelated gadget 24/7. As a tradeoff for giving up our personal lives, employees— especially millennials—want more freedom and flexibility and to be valued for their productivity now matter how, where, or when their work is completed.
3. SOME Of uS STILL WaNT DESKS, THOuGH.

Mobile working requires a mobile mindset, which not every employee—or employer—shares. some staffers are most productive on a laptop in a coffee shop, while others prefer to focus in a private office. And not all who champion mobility walk the talk; paying lip service to mobility is not the same as creating the infrastructure to support it. interestingly, mobility seems not to have made employees any less invested in the physical plant of their office; they’re still inherently territorial and want to personalize and have ownership of their work space, even if they aren’t there as often.
4. THE OffICE IS GETTING yOuNGER…

the majority of the workforce now comprises 20somethings. As millennials become more influential in the workplace, clients and designers must respond to their microculture and methodologies. For the under35 set, work is the social network: they go to the office to see people they like and to exchange ideas in person.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2012