cover of episode Office Hell: the Demise of the Playful Workspace

Office Hell: the Demise of the Playful Workspace

2023/3/17
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Tim Harford: 本期节目探讨了多个案例，说明了办公空间设计中，员工的自主权比设计本身更为重要。Chiat/Day 公司的开放式办公空间实验，以及Le Corbusier 为工人设计的极简主义住宅，都因为忽视了员工的自主性而失败。实验表明，赋予员工对办公空间的控制权，能显著提高工作效率和满意度。 Chiat/Day 的失败，除了执行不力外，更重要的是忽略了员工对空间的控制权和对安静工作的需求。开放式办公空间虽然旨在促进交流与协作，但缺乏私密空间和对个人需求的考虑，导致员工感到不适和效率低下。 即使是像乔布斯这样注重设计美感的人，在 Pixar 总部设计上也犯了类似的错误。最初的单一卫生间设计，虽然意图促进员工交流，但最终因为忽视员工需求而不得不妥协。Pixar 的成功，不仅在于其美丽的办公空间，更在于员工拥有对空间的自主权。 总而言之，成功的办公空间设计需要尊重员工的自主权，而不是强加设计理念。只有当员工能够自由选择和掌控自己的工作环境时，才能最大限度地发挥创造力和工作效率。 Jay Chiat: 我坚信开放式办公空间能够激发创造力和团队合作，让员工在充满活力的环境中工作。虽然初期出现了一些问题，但这只是执行上的不足，并非理念本身的错误。 Gaetano Pesce: 我的设计理念是创造一个能够促进交流和协作的开放式空间，让员工在舒适的环境中工作。我相信，办公空间应该是一个充满活力和创意的地方。 Frank Gehry: 我的设计目标是创造一个独特而富有创意的办公空间，让员工感到舒适和灵感迸发。 Henri Frugès: 我希望为工人提供现代化、舒适的住宅，但显然我的想法与工人的需求存在差异。 Le Corbusier: 我的设计理念是极简主义，追求形式与功能的完美统一。我相信，简洁的办公空间能够提升工作效率和创造力。 Steve Jobs: 我相信合适的建筑能够提升企业文化，促进团队合作。Pixar 总部旨在创造一个能够激发创造力和交流的场所。 Alex Haslam & Craig Knight: 我们的研究表明，办公空间的设计远不如员工对空间的自主权重要。赋予员工自主权能显著提高工作效率和满意度。

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Chiat/Day, a leading advertising agency, underwent a radical office redesign in the 1990s, aiming for a more creative and open workspace. The design, featuring Frank Gehry's and Gaetano Pesce's innovative concepts, was intended to foster collaboration and creativity.

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In the early 90s, cutting-edge advertising agency Chiat/Day announced a radical plan, aimed at giving the company a jolt of creative renewal. They would sweep away corner offices and cubicles and replace them with zany open spaces, as well as innovative portable computers and phones. A brand new era of “hot-desking” had arrived.

Problems quickly began. Disgruntled employees found themselves hauling temperamental, clunky laptops and armfuls of paperwork all over the office; some even had to use the trunks of their cars as filing cabinets. Soon, the unhappy nomads had had enough. Bad execution was to blame for the failure of this “playful” workspace. But Chiat/Day had made another mistake here, too – one that was more serious, more fundamental and altogether more common.

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