Author: chase

Video: The Disappearing Dining Table Office

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Always cool to see innovative office tricks making the mainstream news.

The CBS Early Show had a segment today featuring interior designer Kristan Cunningham, who shared some innovative tricks for turning one of the most-seen but least-used areas of your home, the dining room table, into a go-to disappearing home office.

The video is the star of the show here, but some excerpts from the accompanying article set the tone:

  • Fax Machine:
    The multifunction printer/fax/copier/phone ID can be covered with a bottomless basket that is simply lifted off when you need it. It rests on a serving table which can be used to store linens and also office supplies.
  • The Hutch:
    The hutch has part of the glass front covered with frosted contact paper, leaving the top part clear to display dishes and serving ware. Behind the glass door are files, books and all the desk top supplies. The desk supplies are on a tray and blotter and simply lifted out an put on the dining table. Cunningham suggests putting a desk blotter under it to protect the wood.

Click the link and check the video clips for more on this cool project.

Blurb: Office Depot now under investigation in Colorado

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From the Denver Post:

The Colorado Attorney General’s office is investigating Office Depot’s pricing practices through its U.S. Communities contract program, which allows public agencies to join already negotiated low-bid contracts, according to an Office Depot spokesman.

Colorado is the fourth state to launch an investigation into Office Depot’s pricing policies.

The Cherry Creek School District, which was contacted by the attorney general’s office, said it audited its purchases of 21,549 items over two years, finding that it was overcharged about $2,000.

Just another in the long line of investigations piling up behind our favorite big-box superstore. And by “favorite” I mean…well, you know.

How to set up a home office space

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article-create-your-own-office-space

The Indianapolis arm of Examiner.com has posted a neat little article that gives a crash course in designing a home office.

In addition to helpful tips like placing your office away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the house (avoid the kitchen or bedroom office; these are places you’re meant to be thinking about your home, not your work), there is one section I of course find particularly noteworthy:

Furniture:  Start with the basics, a desk, a small filing cabinet, a book shelf, and a comfortable computer chair, then personalize your space depending on your working needs.  Place the desk in an area where you can see the door.  Also, if you are easily distracted, avoid placing your desk directly in front of a window.

Add items to your office that compliments your work.  A reading corner, with a comfy chair and an end table, a conference or work table and chairs, a credenza, storage/supply cabinet, small table and chairs for your kids, a dog bed, anything that makes your space its own.

None of these tips are necessarily earth-shattering, but it’s nice to see them collected in one place. I think too often people setting up a home office take pieces from the existing house and rearrange them into a place where they feel they can get some work done. The flaw in this is that you feel like you’re “working from home”, and not owning “a home office.” There is, in fact, a difference.

A home office ought to feel like an entirely separate entity from your house itself. Sure, it’s nice that you can go to work in your PJs and slippers, but the fact is: you’re at work when you’re in your office, no matter where it is. Purchase office furniture and office supplies rather than co-opting things from the rest of the house. Make sure it’s comfortable, of course, but make sure it is distinctly “your office.” And as always, when you’re out constructing your perfect workplace-away-from-home, be sure you use a reputable office supplier who can help you meet your needs.

Punch the Clock…In the Mouth

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Over at Alibi.com’s blog, I found a really interesting piece about an artist’s collaboration in Houston called Sisyphus Office.

The goal was for local artists to visit offices and leave behind humorous and interesting art created entirely from office supplies.

On the whole, this is something I can completely get behind. No one likes a boring office, and all the paperclips in the world aren’t going to make a humdrum day any more fun, until you put some creativity behind them.

According to the project’s website and its organizer, David Fullarton:

Sisyphus Office is an exhibition organized by San Francisco based artist, curator, and co-founder of The Thing Quarterly, Jonn Herschend and based out of Skydive, a Houston, Texas gallery.

The artists involved in the project are collaborating with businesses and offices in and around Houston in order to highlight art as an integral and necessary distraction in our day to day life. The artists and offices involved in Sisyphus Office are working physically and conceptually with the notions of existentialism, capitalism, artistic romanticism and deadpan slapstickism as a means to examine the artifice that keeps us clinging to reality and distracted from the void.

Sisyphus Office is about punching the clock, and then punching it again…but harder the second time.

It’s about transcending the mundane through the beauty and absurdity of distraction. It’s about recognizing the comedy in the tragedy of the day to day… and then waking up again to do the same thing all over again the next morning.

I encourage more people to take a stab at making their office a little more surreal. Hopefully this project can be an inspiration.

Interior designer likes uplifting office spaces

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Found this interesting blurb over at the ArgusLeader. In it, Marcia Young, a commercial interior designer, talks about office design and what it means to have a well-designed workplace. When asked about some essentials that should be included in any office design, she had this to say:

The workplace is constantly changing, and one way to easily adapt is by designing with modularity in mind. This allows the customer to change the configuration with minimal cost and downtime. Other key essentials are good task lighting and ergonomic accessories, such as keyboard trays and storage solutions that fit the needs of the user.

Makes sense to me. The main reason I find this article interesting is that I personally had no idea there was such a thing as a commercial interior designer. I can certainly see the need for such an occupation; most of the offices I have worked in seem very much slapped together on a whim, cramming the furniture and items they already had into whatever space they could wrangle up.

Young also says that the trend seems to be going more toward open-plan design, with a tendency to shy away from the traditional “cubicle farm”. They want something that promotes collaboration while still offering some privacy. This means lower heights on cube panels, more modularity, and so on. Again, I find myself in agreement, and wonder why so many businesses lack the wherewithal to make these kinds of decisions on their own.

Still, if it means more work for Marcia Young, I’m all for it. Adding to the list of things I didn’t know existed, she’s a National Council for Interior Design Qualification Certified Designer. Quite a mouthful, but it’s great that there’s someone out there making sure standards are upheld in the design arena. Check out the NCIDQ here.

Working from Home: What to Ask Your Broadband Provider

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IT-director.com has an interesting piece from David Heyes, COO of TFM Networks, about some of the less-often-considered aspects of working from home. Namely: is it as simple as plugging your employees into a broadband connection and letting them go?

In the article, Heyes covers five key points you may not have thought of, and that your broadband provider might not like you to think of. Since these points imply something a little more involved than the plug-and-play aspect of working from home that a lot of companies (that want to sell you a “business broadband package”), it’s important to take a look before you dive in:

1. Service: What happens if the broadband connection fails?
2. Performance: What about speed, bandwidth and prioritizing key applications over your network?
3. Security: How important is this to you, including data protection?
4. Health & Safety: What are the regulations for home workers?
5. Maintenance and Procurement: Who provides the home office supplies and equipment?

All in all, the article is a decent breakdown of letting employees work from home. I personally had never considered, for example, how a from-home employee would still be covered by a business’s insurance plan, and how they might have to conduct site visits to make sure someone’s home office was up to spec.

Basically, this is an interesting read for anyone looking to pitch the idea of working from home, or any employers looking to expand into that area. As much as we’d like it to be as simple as throwing together a desk, a chair, a filing cabinet, some computers and a broadband connection, the reality is a little more complicated.

Article: Web and Marketing Firm Exists Sans Offices

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PR Newswire has a really cool update about Web and Marketing firm Synergema, which is embracing the idea of a “Green” offce by having no office to speak of:

“Working from their homes, our employees aren’t using many of the resources than they would if they were out at an office for the day,” Steiger says. “By not making them come into an office and effectively double the use of the various resources, we’re saving money and also impacting the environment.”

From there, the ripples flow outward. The absence of a central office eliminates the need for trucks to deliver office supplies, which saves fuel. Meetings are conducted via videoconference, reducing the need for airline flights or auto trips to headquarters.

Perhaps the ones who benefit the most, though, are Synergema’s employees, Steiger says. “Our people don’t have to get in cars to come to work, so it’s not necessary for them to be stuck in long traffic tie-ups to get here,” he says.

And since the average American worker spends around 100 hours a year commuting — more than the 80 hours many get for vacation — giving that time back to the employee makes a huge difference. “That keeps them happier, and happier employees are more productive. Because they are driving less, they save money on fuel, insurance and auto maintenance,” Steiger says.

This, to me, is insanely cool. I’ve always loved working from home, and it’s boggled my mind how many companies are resistant to the idea of their employees saving time, money, supplies, and overall angst by being able to do their job in the comfort of their own home. Obviously the approach doesn’t work for everyone, but Synergema seems to have hit on a format that works for them, and I say congratulations.

One of the reasons we’re in the web-based office supply business is because the concept is green all around. We offer quality supplies shipped using existing methods to get them to your door faster. No getting in the car and going to some big-box store, which itself has to be built, maintained, powered, have their waste dealt with…to say nothing of THOSE employees who have to shlep themselves into work every day. If everyone kept an eye to the environment the way some companies are starting to, we’d not only have a happier workforce, but a happier planet as well. Corny, perhaps, but true.

Big Box News: Office Depot Gets a Lifeline

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Bloggingstocks.com is reporting that long-foundering big-box dinosaur Office Depot is receving a cash injection from private investers to the tune of $350 million. According to the article:

With the recession and stiff competition — especially from behemoths like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) — the fortunes of the company have been rough. So, Office Depot has worked aggressively to restructure the operations, such as by closing down stores and slashing headcount. So, the cash infusion will certainly be helpful.

Stiff competition, eh? Yeah, I’m pretty proud to be a part of that. As much as it makes me smile a little on the inside to see a dastardly company reap what it sows, I do feel a little bad for the employees who are out of work whenever a big-box store shuts down. Hopefully soon the companies behind these outdated relics will realize the easier, cheaper, greener way to go and transfer to an online format. Though by then it will probably be too late. Sorry, Office Depot. We were here first.

Blurb: Manage Expenses Strategically

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As part of a larger Reuters article on ways in which businesses can better manage their funds, I came across this useful tidbit:

Office supplies. Cancel unnecessary subscriptions and services. When re-ordering supplies, look for discounts and consider items that do the job without the frills. Perhaps you can reduce costs on items such as paper with the efficient use of e-mail.

Not the most mind-blowing of observations, but it highlights an important element of what we do: find people the best office supplies at a price that works for them. If you’re flush with cash and want only the highest name-brand items, we’ve got them. If you’re trying to trim your budget and just want something no-frills that can do the job, we’ve got that too. By not being propped up by huge vendors the way some big-box stores are, we can afford to be flexible and meet your needs, rather than just trying to sell you the priciest widget we can.

Just another reason I love my job.

It’s official: Georgia ends contract with Office Depot

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According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, after a back-and-forth legal dilemma lasting many months, state officials in Georgia have made it official: the state is ending its relationship with Office Depot over deliberate mispricing.

State officials recently terminated a multimillion-dollar contract with Office Depot after the company repeatedly overcharged and mispriced items for state employees, the head of purchasing confirmed Tuesday.

The company does about $40 million a year with the state and had been Georgia’s sole office supplier since March. Employees at the state’s 129 agencies used purchasing cards to buy everything from printers to desks on the company’s state of Georgia Web site.

Brad Douglas, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, said he found mismarked items on the site months after the company was notified there were problems.

“This supplier simply failed to perform,” he said.

Officials at Office Depot refused to answer questions, instead providing a brief statement saying the company has “worked continuously, and in good faith, with the State of Georgia.”

Good faith, Office Depot? That’s not how I remember it. Filter this blog by “Big Box News” and see how many articles are about Office Depot doing something shady. Oh wait, I did it for you. And that number is 10 stories in the past 3 months. That’s a lot of time to be in the news for something most people consider boring. (I personally find the sale and discussion of office supplies quite thrilling, thank you very much.)

Regardless, this is a step in the right direction. The more people who cease to deal with a dishonest corporation, the less likely that corporation is to stay in business. Simple economics, but apparently too far over the heads of Office Depot. I still don’t understand what’s so hard about “treat people the way you want to be treated” as a rule for a business. Some people never learn, I suppose.