In 20 years, what will the typical work day be like? That is the question the Working Worlds in 2030 project is trying to answer.
Architecture and design students at the Universities of Darmstadt and Detmold have been working on solutions for the working world of the future, and their concepts, based in part on products from Bayer MaterialScience, were presented by future_bizz at Orgatec in Cologne. Their creative approaches are based on scenarios that employees will face in the future: Working conditions, performance requirements, and responsibilities of employees.
Future_bizz recently presented creative solutions for tomorrow´s working world. (Source: Bayer MaterialScience)
The students were given fictitious descriptions of typical employees during a typical work day in the future. This allowed students to combine the factual information about the working world of 2030 with emotional aspects.
“Their concepts therefore reflect more accurately the daily work of the protagonists, their culture, and individuality,” said Dr. Lorenz Kramer, innovation manager in the new business unit at Bayer MaterialScience, in a press release.
An example concept is the "AdPack," which is a backpack that works as a mobile office by turning into a chair or lounger. A large, folding touchscreen, that can open over the user's head, is also integrated into the backpack. To manufacture the AdPack, polymer products, including rollable OLED films, could be used.
If privacy is something you need during the workday, you could opt for the Private Device option, which forms a closed tent with wings. This could be made with electroactive, switchable polycarbonate films, and would allow the worker to be completely secluded and have a quiet area to work in.
The "Sky Hangar" is another concept for use as a temporary workspace. The modular office container system is flexible, designed for sustainable assembly and disassembly for many different work situations. Once you use it for one work project and take it down, it can be reconfigured and transported to the next location. Materials recommended for this include polycarbonate for lightweight glazing, and lightweight, rigid PU foam composite systems for temperature insulation.
Some other questions asked were: How will IT devices influence the working environment in the future? How will the trend towards virtualization change offices and work tools? What will the workplace be like for people who primarily work in networks or projects?
What are some of your ideas and solutions to the proposed questions for the working day in 2030? Tell us in the comments section below.
I agree, Nancy--I'm a book person. For reading long documents, it's hard to beat print. OTOH, the way we use print pages is what's behind the multi-page PaperTab we wrote about here: http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=257520
Good point about the eye strain, Ann. I can't bring myself to buy a Kindle or a Nook. There is nothing like holding a good old-fashioned book or magazine in your hands for a good read and to get away from the computer screen!
I agree about paper catalogues, Nancy, and for a couple of other reasons as well. They come to me--I don't have to think about looking for something and then go look for it, so they save me a lot of time and energy. Plus they're not on a screen so I'm not getting yet more eyestrain.
Me too, Ann. I think we lose a lot by not conversing in person when the topic can lead to exploring different areas that just wouldn't happen via email. But then, I still prefer paper catalogues instead of CDs. While it is so much easier to plug what you are looking for in a search box, you don't get to see all the neat stuff that you would when you are flipping through a catalogue trying to find something...ideas come from different places and if we take away these types of interaction, then those places begin diminishing...
Excellent point in your second paragraph, Greg. Not only is the workday going to evolve, but the necessary skillsets and successful personality traits as well.
I agree with the trends listed below. With my smart phone, laptop and an internet connection I can set up my 'virtual', portable office at home, in the airport, at the coffee shop or just about anywhere else and do basic office work. I expect this trend to continue to grow.
On another note, I also see technology (and sometimes engineers) more and more being looked upon as a commodity resource in many areas. Instead of hiring and maintaining permanent, full-time domestic engineers, many companies now are trying to just hire contract engineers until the project is finished or farm out the simpler tasks to oversees engineers who will work for less. This will continue to push the evolution of our work day as this trend continues to grow.
Another thing that we didn't count on was the financial crunch of a sagging economy. When money gets tight, all the best intentions for better work-environments get squashed. Here's a true story of one CFO of multi-national corporate giant who compared his total available work space in Square Feet of facility (measured in the millions, across several states) compared to the headcount of his technical staff. His simple solution was to maximize SF to people; squeeze more people into common areas by reducing cubicle sizes down to 6'x7' and sell off the extra floor space saved. He reasoned that relocating families across the country was economically prudent and he sold-off entire plants while consolidating workers. This is a true story about an Electronics Giant you've all heard of, and the bottom line was not a happy one for them.
The more you mention it--I think you are probably correct. We see evidence of "creeping" technology in these areas. I suppose the one that really concerns me most is the privacy issue. Some months ago I decided to join Face Book to communicate with my granddaughters in Atlanta. BAD IDEA. I discovered quickly, there are just some things a grandfather does NOT need to know. With that out of the way, my fall-back position was text messaging. They will respond to a text message when a phone call won't get the job accomplished. I am amazed at how social media has taken hold and seems to occupy huge chunks of time--certainly wilth the teens and 20-somethings. Blows my mind.
Chuck, I also remember that supposed trend--four 10-hour days a week--a bit later, during the 80s. That was another wave of the future that didn't happen, except in a few cases. In some places, everyone went back to normal after awhile, but I knew other people whose work week expanded from 40 to 50 hours. Seems like that happened to lots of jobs filled by exempt employees.
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