A case for active workplaces: Half of cancers linked to obesity, inactivity, and nutrition
“In polls taken by the ACS, only about one percent of those asked believed that obesity had any effect on cancer. Few seemed to be aware of the significant possibility of preventing cancer by making lifestyle changes.”
Kate Lister’s insight:
Nearly 70% of are officially overweight and it’s costing them their lives. Smart employers are taking steps to get their people moving. http://bit.ly/1bSIAhX
Design Trend from Perkins + Will: Healthy Workplaces
Communal workspace is not only a great way for work teams to better collaborate and share ideas, but can save organizations money when it comes time t …
Kate Lister’s insight:
More and more we’re seeing the trend toward buildings designed to get people moving. It’s not just about standing desks, it’s about making the staircase open and inviting, putting the printers on every other floor, and more. http://bit.ly/1fZbqZP
Workplace 2.0 could reduce Ottawa Public Works property needs by over 20%
The year 2013 may be remembered as the year in which all the things that Public Works had said would start happening did indeed start happening.
Kate Lister’s insight:
Fiscal restraint may put over 3 million square feet of office space on the market in Ottawa, but the Government’s move toward smaller, more agile use of space could take an even bigger toll.
This 46-Floor Living High-Rise Is Covered In A Forest | Co.Exist | ideas + impact
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/">
<a href="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fastcodesign-dark.svg">http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fastcodesign-dark.svg</a>
Design
</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/">
<a href="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fastcoexist-dark.svg">http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fastcoexist-dark.svg</a>
Exist
</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcocreate.com/">
<a href="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fastcocreate-dark.svg">http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fastcocreate-dark.svg</a>
Create
</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcolabs.com/">
<a href="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fastcolabs-dark.svg">http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fastcolabs-dark.svg</a>
Labs
</a>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026724/this-46-floor-living-high-rise-is-covered-in-a-forest?partner=rss#megadrop-brands">
</a>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026724/this-46-floor-living-high-rise-is-covered-in-a-forest?partner=rss#megadrop-features"></a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/newsletters">Emails</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026724/this-46-floor-living-high-rise-is-covered-in-a-forest?partner=rss#megadrop-issues"></a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://magazine.fastcompany.com/loc/FST/2014MICCoExist" target="_blank">Subscribe</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026724/this-46-floor-living-high-rise-is-covered-in-a-forest?partner=rss#search">
</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/rss.xml" rel="feed">
</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026724/this-46-floor-living-high-rise-is-covered-in-a-forest?partner=rss#" rel="share">
</a>
<ul>
<li>Editions</li>
<li></li>
<li></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026724/this-46-floor-living-high-rise-is-covered-in-a-forest?partner=rss#" rel="share">
</a>
<ul>
<li>Find Us</li>
<li></li>
<li></a></li>
<li></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026724/this-46-floor-living-high-rise-is-covered-in-a-forest?partner=rss#" rel="login">
</a>
<ul>
<li></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<img src="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3026724-slide-image-06.jpg" />
+
Some 13,000 square feet of solar panels on the roof of the building will generate much of its energy, and the building will reuse residents' bath and toilet water to drip-irrigate plants shading each terrace.
<img src="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3026724-slide-image-01.jpg" />
Vertical gardens aren't just architectural fantasies.
<img src="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3026724-slide-image-04.jpg" />
A striking new high-rise in the Sri Lankan city of Colombo is green-lit for 2016.
<img src="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3026724-slide-image-05.jpg" />
It will feature 46 stories of external terraces jam-packed with 33,000 trees and shrubs.
<img src="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3026724-slide-image-07.jpg" />
The building will double as a conservation effort for rare species of mango trees.
<img src="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3026724-slide-image-09.jpg" />
+
The Kandalama Hotel, designed in 1991, served as one of the main inspirations for Perera's current creation.
<img src="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3026724-slide-image-06.jpg" />
+
Some 13,000 square feet of solar panels on the roof of the building will generate much of its energy, and the building will reuse residents' bath and toilet water to drip-irrigate plants shading each terrace.
<img src="http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3026724-slide-image-01.jpg" />
Vertical gardens aren't just architectural fantasies.
AON Survey shows companies with strong wellness cultures do translate into healthier people
Aon plc Global Media Relations
Kate Lister’s insight:
Employees at companies with a commitment to wellness are twice as happy and half as stressed.
Wellness Incentive Spending Doubles over Four Years
Corporate employers plan to spend an average of $521 per employee on wellness-based incentives in 2013,up 13 percent from the average of $460 per employee reported in 2011.
Kate Lister’s insight:
The most popular wellness incentives include: a decrease in premiums and cash or gift cards.
For Telecommuters, It’s Not About Going To Work – Telework Hawaii
All 40 people who work for Fuentek are required to telecommute. Schoppe calls Fuentek a “virtual company,” with no traditional office at all.
Flex Friendly Employer |
LOOK WHO IS FLEX-FRIENDLY
| Click on the logo and learn more about the company and their use of flex.Each company has some form of flexibility within their organization that we have verified through surveying both the employer and employee’s. Some of these companies have actual policies on the books and others simply offer flexibility on an indivdual basis. Our goal in The Flex Pages is to show that workplace flexibility is happening within large and small companies and across all sectors. |
press | crayon, a new marketing company
featured on good morning america
press
The following are some of the recent stories and articles written about crayon. If you are interested in speaking with us, please contact Greg Verdino at greg at crayonville dot com.
ADWEEK: Silence is Golden
2010 Sun Micro Smart 2020 Report: Global ICT Solution Case Studies
Sun Microsystems’ employee Open Work telecommuting program
Key Facts
- For over 14 years, Sun has had an employee telecommuting policy that allows 19,000 employees worldwide (56% of their workforce) to work away from the office at least one day per week, and the average U.S. teleworker spent 2.5 days per week out of the office.
-
Components of the solution include:
- “Thin client” hardware/software solution allows employees to access full desktop and file system from any location with secure encrypted 2-way transmission, and no physical storage of data on the employee device
- Flexible telephony system (provided by Access Line) allows routing of phone calls to any location desired
The project is long-term (it began 15 years ago), built up gradually but has been stable for last 8 or so years
- The project took 24 months to implement
-
Additional benefits to carbon savings include:
- the average employee saves 107 hrs./yr (i.e nearly 3 weeks vacation!)
- time flexibility is very valuable to employees, who prefer to work expanded hours at home with breaks than a typical 8-hr. workday
- the ability of managers to source the best team members globally, rather than rely on physically proximate but less experienced employees
- The actual (or likely) cost of the project is Sun reimburses employees for high speed internet and phone service in their homes, with amounts that vary by Open Work category.
- The actual (or projected) savings from the project are $64M/yr in avoided real estate costs; $2.5M in electricity using thin clients (vs desktop PCs); $20M in desktop administration costs based on thin client vs. desktop PC, plus employee commuting savings of $44M/yr ($2,335/yr per employee)
- The primary sponsor for the project was Ann Bamesberger, VP of Open Work, has been a long-time champion of the open work policy and program
What was the impact?
-
Did you use a specific methodology or third party to calculate CO2e or KWh savings?
A 2006 study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection documented 173,000 vehicle trips per year savings resulting from flexible or work-from-home employees based on Sun’s Burlington, Massachusetts, campus. Results were very similar to Sun’s own findings. Carbon savings were estimated by combining annual commute miles avoided with employee vehicle economy estimates, then converting fuel savings to tons of CO2. kWh savings were estimated based on measurements of electrical consumption by office equipment in the home and Sun offices. -
Comments on energy savings
120-180 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per year saved per employee (80 to 140 kWh/yr working at home, compared to about 260 kWh of energy working in one of Sun’s offices). This included estimated energy from home heating and cooling systems, as well as all the electrical and electronic equipment required to do their jobs. Energy cost of employee home offices is negligible compared to energy savings of avoided commute: about 50-100x - 52,000 t CO2e has been saved on this project , over a period of 12 months
-
Notes about Carbon savings/calculations
Approximately 52,000 metric tons CO2/yr are saved in US alone -
Comments on fuel savings
Savings equate to 151 gallons/yr and 3700 mi/yr per employee in U.S. Savings are therefore stimated at 126,000 gallons/yr in the U.S. (1.2% of U.S. employees). - The project has internal verification for results
Making it Happen
-
The following regulations or incentives allowed the business case to be more attractive
There was no regulatory incentive for the project. Initially the open work program was borne out of a need to expand the workforce more rapidly than real estate could be acquired, but once begun, the financial advantages were so great that it became self-sustaining - Barriers experienced during the initiation of the project
-
Comments regarding barriers
- Main concern was among managers concerned about how they would effectively manage employees they never see
- Cultural concern about loss of productivity
- Cultural concern about taking employee’s data away from them, e.g. migrating from standalone computer to central server
-
How were they overcome?
- Modern management style is based on long-term performance goals, so little need to manage employees daily, provided they call into meetings!
- Loss of productivity is real, but is more than compensated for by voluntary expansion of employee work hours, which they don’t mind because of the flexible work hours it affords – Managers reserve the right to rescind telecommuting privileges for underperforming employees, or when project needs require physical proximity (typically only done for short periods of time, during the initial phase of a project).
- Thin client solution has become accepted by workforce as a superior alternative to standalone computer, due to protection against data loss (through central server backup) and ability to collaborate remotely (through shared data)
http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/
Highlights
Project Type
Project
Solution Type
Other
Carbon Saved
52,000 t CO2e
“Face-to-face is overrated; I care more about the frequency and fidelity of the communication.” Jonathan Schwartz, CEO and President, Sun Microsystems; Quoted in Andreas Kluth, “The New Nomadism,” The Economist, April 2008
Download More Info
Who
Company Name
Sun Microsystems
http://www.workplace-evolutionaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/
Other
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) provides network computing infrastructure solutions that include computer systems, software, storage and services. Its core brands include the Java technology platform, the Solaris operating system, MySQL, StorageTek and the UltraSPARC processor.
-
Access Line (part of Telenetix)
The company’s hosted telecom Voice services, marketed under the “AccessLine™” brand, give companies flexible calling solutions, a simpler installation experience, and a greater range of support options than traditional telecom providers. With a history of serving over 100,000 business customers, including Sun Microsystems, American Express and IBM, we’ve scaled our award-winning technologies to meet the needs of entrepreneurial-minded small businesses.
800 Gessner Rd., Suite 725 • Houston, TX • 77024-4257 USA
Phone: +1-713-623-4362 • Fax: +1-713-623-6124 • Contact Us
