The Floorplan with Dr Libby Sander Libby Sander & Matt Webber

The view from Japan this week!

Freshly returned from a Bond University Business School Japan Study Tour, Dr Libby Sander reports on the dream Tokyo workspaces occupied by clothing giant Uniqlo (Fast Retailing) and real estate group JLL, ponders some of the big questions being faced in the landscape of work in Japan, and with a little help from a new book by author Cal Newport, discusses the scourge that is 'pseudo-productivity'. Libby and Matt also discuss how libraries and cafes within workspaces can inspire creativity and ignite our imagination. They cover new research from the WHO that finds 60% of people are too busy to enjoy their life. Why is this happening more and more and how can we break the cycle? Tips on what individuals and companies can do to create change and end hustle culture at work.

What does your office kitchenette say about your workplace?

This and other organisational mysteries unlocked by Dr Libby Sander and Matt Webber this week in addition to an extended interview with Ben Hamley from real estate giant, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

Ben is a work futurist and collaboration designer with a specific interest in culture, technology and design. He heads up JLL's 'Work Science' program, one designed to get the best of of people by understanding the science of great working environments.

You can find out more about Ben’s work here: https://www.jll.com.sg/en/campaign/workscience

Is a four-day working week feasible?

This week Libby and Matt ponder why despite a quantum leap in workplace and technological efficiencies we seem to have become stuck on the idea of a 5-day working week.

Their special guest is Dr. Dale Whelehan, CEO of 4 Day Week Global. He's a behavioural scientist with diverse experience comprising human capital, culture, change management, performance consulting, organisational behaviour, and representation and rights. Considered an expert in the field of wellbeing, Dale is passionate about the intrinsic role of work in fatigue and performance - and how shorter working hours can radically transform people's health and happiness. And he comes bearing research from the global trials on the four-day week being conducted worldwide.

Would you like to work a 4 day week?

You can find more on the research from the 4 Day Week research trials here: https://www.4dayweek.com

Are you thriving at work? What does it mean to thrive? And how can thriving at work help you thrive in life?

In this episode, Libby speaks to Professor Gretchen Spreitzer about the value of thriving at work. And, Libby and Matt explore why we might not be thriving at work and in our lives and explore strategies to make it better.

Professor Spreitzer is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration,
Professor of Management and Organizations, Associate Dean for Executive and Corporate Relations at the University of Michigan, and one of the world's leading authorities on employee empowerment and leadership development, particularly within the context of organisational change and decline.

She is the co-author of several books including How to be a Positive Leader (2014) with Jane Dutton, Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship with Kim Cameron, The Leader's Change Handbook: An Essential Guide to Setting Direction and Taking Action (1999) with Jay Conger and Edward Lawler, The Future of Leadership: Speaking to the Next Generation (2001) with Warren Bennis and Thomas Cummings, and A Company of Leaders: Five Disciplines for Unleashing the Power in Your Workforce (2001) with Robert Quinn.

Find out more about Gretchen's work here: https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/gretchen-spreitzer

Welcome back!

A brand new year, a fresh start, a brand new outlook. Sort of...

Research suggests worker bees are dragging their heels, particularly early this year.

Why?

Libby and Matt also have a look at the merits of legalizing a right to switch off from work and gaze into the organizational behavior crystal ball to ponder the issues most likely to emerge in the next twelve months.

In the final episode of Season 1 of The Floorplan Libby and Matt discuss 2023's recurrent organisational behavioural themes - shifting work/life balance priorities, drivers of meaning and happiness in a post-pandemic world of work, and divergent managerial perspectives on the return to office environments post-pandemic. They take a look at what all this means for the city of the future and what a distributed world of work looks like in cities from New York to Tokyo.

They also have a stab at predicting the issues that will dominate in 2024 with a little help from special guest, trend researcher Chloe de Ruffray (www.chloederuffray.com).

Libby and Matt will be back in February with Season 2 of The Floorplan!