Reinventing the Workplace

At the beginning of the 1990s over 60 per cent of the working population was in 'white collar' employment and approximately two thirds of this number were direct users of information technology to enhance their working practices. The 'salaried clerk' working in a routine, repetitive nine to five job, has been succeeded by the flexible, independent, innovative 'knowledge worker'. The place of work, its location, use, character, quality and management are changing but can and will the property, management, and design professions reappraise themselves to meet the challenge? Reinventing the Workplace stems from a seminar held at the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, The University of York, on trends in workplace organization, design and utilization. The book articulates the organizational and technological developments that are influencing the procurement, layout, and management of the workplace, through case studies and reflections on practice by leading corporations and consultants in the field. It provides an invaluable background of the key issues for workplace users, their professional advisers, external consultants, and suppliers. Essential reference for all those involved in the design of the workplaceDescribes methods of analysing work processes to match them to appropriate design solutionsIncludes case studies