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The Elemental Workplace: The 12 elements for creating a fantastic workplace for everyone
You may well be reading this at work. Look around you—I am sure you will agree your workplace could be significantly better. Do you tolerate a mediocre, uninspiring and dysfunctional environment, because that’s the way it’s always been? It doesn’t have to be. Everyone deserves a fantastic workplace—a positive environment in which to live, learn, grow, share and contribute. Yet it need not be difficult to create if you follow this simple and intuitive framework. An Elemental Workplace is a standard that everyone can attain, not an elite pipedream for the privileged few. This book is intended for all, whether managing a property portfolio or a project, managing people, owning or running a business, or just taking an interest in the workplace in which you are treated. Free of corporate bullsh*t, buzzwords and excuses for inaction, it offers a practical and accessible approach that will stand the test of time. It is sharp, funny, and gets to the point… your workplace can be fantastic.
128 pages, Paperback
Published January 29, 2018
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 29, 2018
I picked up this book thinking it was about how to create a great work environment on an interpersonal level, but it actually focuses more on workplace design elements. I immediately liked the author’s sensible, straightforward way of speaking. Even so, I got a little distracted in the places where he discussed abstract concepts or included mathematical equations to illustrate his points.
A bit more editing would be helpful since the text contains a scattering of typos, including an entire chart that had no periods at the end of the sentences. There are also some British phrases (catering offer, for instance) and concepts (temperatures given in Celsius) that may confuse American readers. On the other hand, the quiz at the end was fun, even though it seemed geared more towards people in traditional office settings.
The Elemental Workspace would ultimately make a good text for business students or company managers, since it’s basically a summary of what the author has learned after working in the design field for several decades. However, aside from the inclusion chapter, the book focuses more on a company as a whole rather than on the individuals it comprises.
Although the author is very knowledgeable in his field and makes a good deal of sense in most respects, I don’t believe that simply being alive makes people elements of change and I clearly hold some opposing views on what constitutes an ideal work environment. I prefer quiet, secluded spaces and don’t work very effectively if I’m constantly being interrupted with inconsequential chatter or ambient noise.
On the other hand, the author seems to favor open environments that encourage conversation, including those that are not related to the tasks at hand. He also appears to view private offices as an ineffective use of space and decries the use of noise canceling headphones as a sign of design failure. However, even he acknowledges some people’s need for quiet work spaces.
In addition, the book regularly addresses the subject of neighborliness and the milder ramifications of its absence but doesn’t go into any further detail about the problems that toxic people can cause. Granted, these individuals aren’t a design element, but they can still make an otherwise excellent work environment a miserable place to be.
**Kindle Books Only**
I’d once again like to point out that not everyone finds it easy to read materials that have sections already underlined with dots. Nor does everyone highlight their books, for the aforementioned reasons. However, this is a problem that I’m pretty sure is specific only to Kindle and it is only problematic in the first few chapters.
A bit more editing would be helpful since the text contains a scattering of typos, including an entire chart that had no periods at the end of the sentences. There are also some British phrases (catering offer, for instance) and concepts (temperatures given in Celsius) that may confuse American readers. On the other hand, the quiz at the end was fun, even though it seemed geared more towards people in traditional office settings.
The Elemental Workspace would ultimately make a good text for business students or company managers, since it’s basically a summary of what the author has learned after working in the design field for several decades. However, aside from the inclusion chapter, the book focuses more on a company as a whole rather than on the individuals it comprises.
Although the author is very knowledgeable in his field and makes a good deal of sense in most respects, I don’t believe that simply being alive makes people elements of change and I clearly hold some opposing views on what constitutes an ideal work environment. I prefer quiet, secluded spaces and don’t work very effectively if I’m constantly being interrupted with inconsequential chatter or ambient noise.
On the other hand, the author seems to favor open environments that encourage conversation, including those that are not related to the tasks at hand. He also appears to view private offices as an ineffective use of space and decries the use of noise canceling headphones as a sign of design failure. However, even he acknowledges some people’s need for quiet work spaces.
In addition, the book regularly addresses the subject of neighborliness and the milder ramifications of its absence but doesn’t go into any further detail about the problems that toxic people can cause. Granted, these individuals aren’t a design element, but they can still make an otherwise excellent work environment a miserable place to be.
**Kindle Books Only**
I’d once again like to point out that not everyone finds it easy to read materials that have sections already underlined with dots. Nor does everyone highlight their books, for the aforementioned reasons. However, this is a problem that I’m pretty sure is specific only to Kindle and it is only problematic in the first few chapters.
August 27, 2018
Author Neil Usher says it best when he offers the idea that "Everyone deserves a fantastic workplace." His book covers his 12 "elements" of a healthy, productive, supportive workplace for employees doing a variety of office jobs. The Elemental Workplace is a niche book, filled with acronyms, models, and ideas for the workplace of the future we all seem to want. Though the book is well-researched and cited, a lot of the references go back many decades. Some of his writing is abstract and we could benefit from more concrete examples of what companies did or didn't do to make their spaces better. He accurately suggests that "work" is no longer where we go to be inside a building, but can take place anywhere and as such employees have a reasonable expectation that the place where they work is clean, comfortable, quiet when necessary, and gives them access to the technology and creature comforts they expect at home. He names a lot of stakeholders who need to work together to make these changes on behalf of employees, including facilities management professionals, architects, interior designers, and even lawyers. He discusses the elements of open workspaces, which are poorly-defined in the media as being intrusive and counterproductive. His 12 elements of a professionally-crafted workplace include access to daylight; connectivity, for all our personal and professional machines; control of space; choice; influence on designs; control over the environment; the ability to refresh ourselves; use of our senses in the space; comfort; inclusion; wash (access to clean bathrooms); and storage of our stuff. His assessment quiz for your own workspace is a useful part of the end of the book.
December 5, 2018
Loved The Elemental Workplace. A wholistic guide to creating a winning workplace. Awesome self assessment matrix in the back and resources list. Recommended it for anyone who influences their physical workplace.
June 13, 2021
Simple but interesting guide combining HR and architectural practices to create good workplaces.
Be interesting to review in light of the last year and blurring of home and work
Be interesting to review in light of the last year and blurring of home and work
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews