Humanising The Workplace

A great deal of attention is focused on the problem of improving the working environment. The research involved is not merely a question of improving industrial relations but rather it forms part of the entire inter-disciplinary search for ways of improving the quality of working life. This volume, first published in 1977, presents a range of views from researchers in a variety of disciplines to illustrate what has already been achieved and what goals and objectives ought to be set. This title will be of interest to students of business studies and human resource management.

This book begins by outlining the common design mistakes with the modern open plan office and the industry focus on cost that has resulted in the ill-fated Workplace Zoo. The requirements of office-based workers according to psychological theory and research are then explained. Dr Oseland references historical studies in psychophysics to describe how to design environmental conditions (acoustics, lighting, temperature, indoor air quality) that enhance performance by supporting basic physiological needs. More contemporary research in environmental psychology investigates how cognition affects our interpretation and response to physical stimuli depending on personality, context, attitude and other personal factors. This in turn informs individual requirements for the environmental conditions as well as group needs. Studies in evolutionary psychology and biophilia are also referenced. The latter part of the book turns to workplace solutions and focuses on how to plan, design and manage offices to accommodate our innate human needs now and in the future. The importance of designing for inclusivity is also recognised, including accommodating cultural, gender and generational differences along with designing spaces for neurodiversity. Dr Oseland’s proposed workplace solution the Landscaped Office is a revived and revised version of Bürolandschaft with a contemporary twist. The impact of workplace trends, such as agile working and hot-desking, is also explored and found to complement the workplace solution, resulting in the Agile Landscaped Office. This book is key reading for professionals, and post-graduate students, in business, interior design, architecture, surveying, facilities management, building services engineering, HR and organisational or environmental psychology.

A brilliant counter-narrative for restoring humanity to the bottom-line, numbers-obsessed culture of the modern, 21st century workplace. In a time of unusual stress, with a pandemic raging and economic insecurity and dislocation increasing, we need to rediscover the values that make us human, that give us a sense of meaning in order to increase our potential for productivity and success. What stands in the way, however, is a professional culture where human connectedness is a lost art: the frenzied numbers-obsessed, bottom-line thinking, the "scratch and claw" workplace, and organizations where the boss can literally be an algorithm. Through moving stories and a modern spin on the ancient framework of Socratic dialogue, David Brendel and Ryan Stelzer show how to move forward and build workplaces fit for humans through what uniquely defines us as human beings: our ability to think, talk, and create. By thinking carefully about a challenge, engaging peers in dialogue via open-ended questioning, and building a strategy collaboratively. Think Talk Create enables us to cultivate trust and define collective values, seemingly "soft" attributes that nonetheless markedly increase innovation and, ultimately, financial performance. Think: Step back, slow down, avoid impulsive, short-sighted decision making. Talk: Ask non-judgmental, open ended questions, with your mind as a blank slate, pursuing the problem like an empirical scientist or a judge presiding in court. Create: Bring something new and meaningful into play, a novel solution to a pesky problem that can move the world in surprising, positive directions.

USA. Monograph of essays on the occupational sociology of worker alienation and the quality of working life - addresses issues relating to human relations, job satisfaction, workers participation, the management of innovation, motivation, job enrichment, work ethics, the woman worker, working conditions, labour relations, etc., and includes case studies of trend-making experiments. References.

What if the best workplace we've experienced is just a fraction of what is possible? Dare we dream of something so far beyond 'business as usual' that it feels like a fantasy? In this book, we aim to venture past the workplaces of the past and into the unknown, to imagine and create something recognisably different. To create truly human work at workplaces that support everyone to be their best. In this book we look at the many ways that leaders around the world are making work more human. What we've found is that there doesn't seem to be a simple recipe for success, and that it is more important to understand the mindsets behind the strategies. The five leadership mindsets for humanising the workplace describe powerful lenses through which we may see our organisations differently. We expand our awareness of human dynamics and find ourselves transforming into a more human leader. These mindsets are: Learning and growth: I have a desire to learn, grow and deepen my self-expression. Everyone is a leader: I strive to empower the leadership of those around me. Belonging: I believe belonging is important for both the individual and the group. Love and care: I believe that everyone is worthy of love and care. Human systems: I understand that human workplaces are not possible without human systems. This is a book for leaders. Both leaders with positional authority and those who create influence from anywhere in the organisation. However and wherever you lead, we invite you to be inspired by the stories the leaders we've interviewed tell about humanising workplaces. Notice your own mindsets and try on some new ones. Together we can make work more human. Praise for the book: "Human Work: Five Leadership Mindsets for Humanising Workplaces illustrates the extraordinary possibilities when you create workplaces centered on care, connection and collaboration: your team members and your business thrive! And that ripples out into the communities in which we work and live. Time to get intentional, leaders, about creating organizations where people matter. This quick read will provide ideas and inspiration for your journey!" -BOB CHAPMAN, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller and co-author of Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family "If you are willing to face into the uncertainty of the road ahead with curiosity and lean into the process of building skills and practices to live brave and be a leader others want to follow, this book is a powerful and practical application guide." -DALE HEROLD, CEO of Tidewater Fleet Supply, a Falcon Affiliates company "Human Work is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the difference between surviving and thriving at work. The power of humanity in the workplace reinforces why belonging, esteem and purpose are so very important." -HAROLD HILLMAN, Ph.D., author of The Impostor Syndrome and Empathy: The Human Side of Leadership "As someone who dreams about what is possible for the future of work, I am thrilled that Human Work: Five Leadership Mindsets for Humanising Workplaces exists. It is a practical, actionable guide that will help leaders and readers of all kinds build workplaces that are more compassionate, empathetic, supportive, and empowering. From the helpful mindsets to the leaders' stories, this book demonstrates the ways in which we all have the power to make our workplaces more human" -KRISTEN HADEED, thought leader, speaker, and author of Permission To Screw Up: How I Learned To Lead By Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong

At long last a guidebook for employers that discusses workplace bullying from America's unrivaled leaders and creators of the workplace bullying consulting institute. Managers will learn how and why to stop bullying; prepare executives to lead the campaign and to resist undermining efforts of subordinates; and create a new, positive role for human resources. Outlining the required steps, The Bullying-Free Workplace includes information on how to create a preventive policy that brings consequences, like never before, when violated. The authors discourage half-hearted, short-term fixes that are prevalent today, and present their signature Blueprint methodology to successfully protect employee health and eradicate the psychological violence from organizations.

The Factory System left us with a top-down way of doing business that centralized all decision-making, leaving everyone else just to perform tasks. In the emerging work world of the Participation Age, great companies are pushing decision-making out to those who have to carry out the decisions. This speeds up growth, increases productivity and profitability, and motivates people to stay with the company. Rehumanizing the Workplace shares the twelve tools of Distributed Decision-making that helps everyone across the entire organization lead, take ownership, make team-based decisions and build a successful organization, not for you, but with you.The 12 Tools of Distributed Decision-making are designed to move us away from a codependent vertical hierarchy to a horizontal network of teams making decisions where they will have to be carried out, eliminating the Management Tax, the Disengagement Tax, and the Restaffing Tax that is are a constant burden to most organizations.