#they solve several issues with new equipment that have had everyone stumped for a while

[whatsfourteenupto]

Fourteen follows Donna to work one day, “Not to do any world-saving, just to look around! Check out the archives, see how Kate’s getting on, the like!” It lasts until about 11:00, at which point he’s become such a distraction that Kate calls Shirley and tells her that her schedule for the rest of the day has been cleared, and to “For the love of God take him down to the lab, show them the projects, goof off for all I care, just don’t cause any structural damage and get him out of my hair.”

[mrsteveecook]

can we make hot-desking work in our office?

Before we get into this letter, a definition. Hot desking = an office design that eliminates assigned desks, instead having people find a new work space each day. It’s sometimes used in offices where people are frequently out (on the road, working from home, or at another site), rather than having lots of desks sitting vacant.

A reader writes:

I have a query for you regarding hot desking, and if there is a way to make it actually work that is suitable for everyone.

I work in a large department of a large civil service. We have a department of 130 employees and occupy one of the most densely occupied buildings in our branch. It is open plan and we are crammed in like battery hens. We have no funding for more office space and nowhere else to expand into, and any office move would be at least two years in the future (if at all).

We currently have the issue that we only have 110 desks but 130 staff, which will likely rise to 150 in the next few months. We had a survey of desk usage done, and on any given day we have about 35% of our available desks empty (due to annual leave, sickness, training, etc.). Currently a handful of people hot desk already, but there has been a suggestion that if the majority of teams began to hot desk it would solve our space issues. A few teams would still need to have assigned seats due to their roles (which is likely to cause tension and resentment from those who have to hot desk). If the plan did go ahead, we’d be standardizing the equipment with docking units/dual monitors.

I can see a couple of big road blocks, first with equipment. We have several employees who need special chairs and keyboards. We could potential replace all the “standard” chairs with the “special chairs,” but one user of a specific chair said it’s taken them 30 minutes a day to adjust their chair correctly. It becomes trickier with users of special keyboards or “handshake” mice – is it reasonable to ask these users to carry them in their bag and swap them out for the standard one?

Secondly, I can see this being a big hit to morale and I know some people feel very strongly about hot desking being terrible. It’ll limit users on how much they can personalize desks, and they might not be able to sit next to who they would like. We have staggered start times, so those starting later would get a limited pick of desks. I also think we’re likely to have issues with people coming in early to snag up the “best” desks, who won’t do work till their start time (our culture is you work you paid for hours and nothing more). I say “best,” as none of them are great.

At the end of the day, we have too many people and not enough desks, and we have lots of empty desks on a daily basis. I’m very pragmatic and while hot desking wouldn’t be my first choice, I’d understand. However, I know a lot of my coworkers would feel differently. Any advice on how to carry out this change with minimal disruption and as much sensitivity as possible would be massively appreciated!

I am no fan of hot desking in most cases, and particularly when it’s done just to save money, because it means you can’t store things at your desk or personalize your workspace in any meaningful way, and it can feel like you don’t have a real “home” at your office.

But in some cases it does make sense, and certainly your situation — with a third of your staff out on any given day, limited space, and no hope in the near future for changing that — sounds like one of them.

I think there are a few things you can do to ease the burden on people:

* Hot desking offices usually have lockers or rolling storage cabinets so that people have somewhere to store their materials overnight. People who have special keyboards or mice could store their equipment in there.

* Consider letting people whose jobs rarely take them out of the office have permanent space. Hot desking is usually an easier sell for staff who know they’re out of the office much of the time anyway. (That may not be doable with the math you’re working with, but it’s worth looking at your numbers. And it might become more doable if you decide the trade-off for someone having permanent space is that they’ve got to be okay with someone else sitting there when they’re out.)

* Consider whether it makes sense to limit people from coming in early to snag the best desks, unless they’re going to start working then. (I am somewhat skeptical that this will turn out to be a huge problem, unless we are talking about truly magnificent desks … or the other desks being truly terrible … but who knows.)

* You’ve stumped me on your chair issue, but I bet that if you ask your group for input, you’ll get ideas specific to your particular space. For example, maybe there are only three special chair users and it would be easiest to just give them permanent desks (although you’d have to watch out for the number of special chair users suddenly increasing once people realize that gets you a permanent desk).

* Most importantly, make sure you communicate really well about the reason for the change. You’re likely to have less discontent if people understand the facts of the situation, and the other options you’ve considered and why you rejected them — and if they have the opportunity to give input about exactly how the change will be implemented. And ultimately you do have a pretty logical case here for doing it, which I suspect people will recognize, even if only begrudgingly.

You may also like:

how to ask for a treadmill desk or standing desk at work

5 trends that are making your work life harder

I share a desk set-up with an engaged couple

can we make hot-desking work in our office? was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

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[itsartworkbylem-blog]

Japanese Film: Blog #13

Reaction to “My Grandpa” story

 I really enjoyed listening to your grandpa’s story and the visuals you used in class. It’s really fascinating to listen to actual family member’s recounts of what happened before and after the bombing. It’s one thing to read about it in a book, and another when you can have first-hand narratives from people who were there. I think it’s interesting that anyone who could prove their medical problems were caused by the bombings got free medical care. I also thought that your grandpa was very brave or going back knowing that there was nothing left because he wanted to help others.

 I think one thing that could make the story more effective when you tell in class is to make the visuals bigger. I couldn’t really see the pictures you painted and wanted to see more. Maybe use poster boards or create something in Power Point so you could show it on the projector. I think you should definitely keep telling the story in your classes though. It gives a new perspective for American kids to hear and see about Hiroshima.

Nemawashi: Laying the Groundwork in Japan

 “in addition, since he and the designing chief did not get along well, he should have asked the latter to go out drinking together, a common business practice in Japan, to talk about the plan with him beforehand.” (pg. 159)

 If someone I didn’t get along with at work asked me to go out for drinks I would wonder if they had ulterior motives for doing so. Since we don’t get along, I wouldn’t consider spending time with them outside of the workplace. So, I would wonder what they were trying to gain from this meeting. These thoughts would be because we do not have nemawashi in America. If a coworker tried to gain my favor on a subject by taking me out after work I think I would be less inclined to try and listen to them because doing it in that way feels shady.  

 In western business circles, it is common to “schmooze” your clients to gain their support in whatever business dealings you are working on. However, if you go out drinking with someone you don’t generally get along with in your company, then the other person may see this as an underhanded tactic to get them to agree with you. A couple decades ago, drinking with your coworkers was more accepted. However, in modern times it is less common as drinking during work matters is considered inappropriate.

 In Japan, nemawashi is a normal occurrence of the business world. Because of the Japanese ideas of groupism and maintaining harmonious social relationships, they use nemawashi to maneuver behind the scenes before making decisions as a group. They do this to avoid conflict, which would upset the balance of harmony within the group. One way they do this is by taking someone they might disagree with out for drinks to try and convince them to understand their point of view. Drinking together while discussing business matters is a normal practice in Japan, and many people get deals done in this way because it can loosen up the person to view more sides of the point.  

 “…meetings in Japan are more like ceremonies, and often, important decisions have been made well in advance through the process of newawashi.” (pg. 161)

 In America, making decisions well in advance for businesses would be seen as wildly inappropriate. Meetings are a place to discuss matters, listen and address concerns, and generally work as a team to come to a consensus. If I showed up to a meeting thinking that I was going to be a part of a team that worked together to solve a problem only to find out that others had met separately and beforehand to discuss it without me I would be really angry. I would wonder why they even asked me to join if they didn’t care about my ideas or thoughts on the matter. For most western societies, this would seem extremely backhanded and shady, and would cause a lot of issues within the company. It would sever relationships and probably cost some people their jobs.

 However, this is a really common practice in Japan. Japanese people do not like to cause a scene or feel like they are speaking out of turn because it can disrupt the social harmony of the group. This is no different in business settings, and many will not speak up during meetings because of these reasons. Conclusions in business meetings are based on unanimous decisions, meaning everyone must agree, so disagreeing with the group could result in someone being ostracized. Nemawashi prevents this because the discussion and disagreement part that happens in American meetings is already done before the meeting, resolving anyone from having to make themselves feel uncomfortable.

 Sempai-Kohai: Seniority Rules in Japanese Relations

 “...terms of respect or titles of honor such as -san, -sama, and –sensei are added to people’s family names or occupational titles in sonkeigo.” (pg. 189)

 When I want to show respect to someone I add a title like “Mr.” or “Miss” before his or her name. For example, when I talk about my friend’s parents, I call them “Mr./Mrs. Stump” not their first names. Growing up I was taught that this was the most respectful way to address someone older than myself, which is common in western culture. We also use words like “sir” and ma’am” when addressing someone with respect. You can find this a lot in the relationships between older and younger people. Typicall, these titles are enough to indicate the level of respect towards the other person in America and other western cultures.

 In Japan, however, vertical relationships based on seniority dominate. If talking to a superior, then Japanese people use keigo, or honorific language. Keigo involves three types of language including sonkeigo (respectful or honorific language). In sonkeigo, -san is similar to titles like “Mr.” or “Miss” and viewed as neutral for everyone. If they use –sama in replacement of –san, then they are giving raising the title of the person higher as the translation is more formal and polite. Sensei is used for professionals like teachers, doctors, or lawyers. In this way the Japanese are separating those they place at a higher hierarchical level than others.

 “It is common in sports clubs for kohai to clean the rooms, collect balls, and manage the equipment for sempai. They must also give a small bow or say hello respectfully to their sempai when greeting them.” (pg. 190)

 Kohai and sempai relationships remind me of relationships between team sports in America. In high school and college sports, like football and baseball, the teams are based on experience level. They are freshman, sophomore, junior varsity, and varsity – varsity being the highest rank. In most cases, the freshmen are not only the youngest, but also the least experienced. They are considered “lowest on the totem pole” and are given the least fun jobs after practice like cleaning up. Usually, they are expected to give the higher level teams, especially varsity, respect because they are older. This is similar to the Japanese kohai/sempai relationship. However, the freshmen in American schools are not expected to show such formal respect as Japanese students.

 In Japan, relationships are based on seniority and these rules are very important to students whose school life is separated based on age. Those who are older are considered to be superior in sports clubs, even if their skill doesn’t match. Younger students are expected to show their respect through politeness and communication. One way they do this is by greeting their sempai with a small bow or hello. Kohai always clean up after practice because it is considered their job as someone lower on the hierarchy.  

 Iitoko Dori: Adopting Elements of Foreign Cultures

 “Iitoko dori, then, refers specifically to this process of accepting convenient parts of different, and sometimes contradictory, religious value systems…” (pg. 129)

 There is a similarity between the religious definition of iitoko dori and how some religious people in the US accept many values and morals from multiple religions and sciences. Many people who regularly practice a religion like Christianity also believe in science principles. Personally, I grew up learning Catholic principles, but as I got older, I adapted values I learned from it along with other values and ideas from other religions and sciences. I no longer believe in the religious aspects of Catholicism, but I still believe in some of the morals and values I learned from it, mixing them with the new philosophies I have learned over the years.  

 The Japanese often believe in more than one religion, adopting certain practices and beliefs based on what is the most useful. In the past, Japan has gone through many cultural and religious changes, altering the way its people viewed the world. As a result, they do not have religious prejudices because they have been given the chance to experience the good values of many religions. In the seventh century, prince Shotoku, who was the nephew of the emperor, helped this ideology by stating that “Shinto is the trunk, Buddhism is the branches, and Confucianism is the leaves.” By following this approach, Japanese people were able to place aside their theoretical contradictions and accpe the new religions and philosophies.

 “But in Japan, the sense of ethical values is relative, and it varies with changes in people’s opinions and the context in which decisions have to be made. As a result of a long history of iitoko dori, the Japanese are able to change their sense of values in a short time and with little difficulty…” (pg. 130)

 My personal values and sense of ethical values is very similar to the Japanese. I do not conform to a set of ethical views based in the belief of God and absolute values. Instead, I try to focus on the individual situation and decide the right ethical answer from there. In America, Christian values are considered the nation’s core values, and many decisions are based on them. Unfortunately, there are millions of people who have a different set of absolute values so this creates a lot of friction, especially between individuals and the government. This is different than in Japan, because people are so resolute in their beliefs, that they are often unwilling to see the other sides of the ethical problem.

 In Japan, people do not have this problem because their ethical ideals change with the situation. Because Japanese people have been exposed to many different viewpoints, they are willing to not reject them outright. Instead, they use iitoko dori to adopt and use the best parts. This helps with ethical dilemmas as well because it helps Japanese people to change their views based on the situation and use the different viewpoints they have used.