Recently, our Boston group moved to a new space – our Boston WorkLife Center. It was a pretty big transition, not only did we reduce our footprint by half but for 90% of us, we began the new year without an “owned” resident workstation. Was that hard? Yes. Did we adjust? Absolutely!

The reality is that we are so much more mobile than we were even 10 years ago, devices are getting smaller and very few of us need to print, file and store hard copies of anything. So, the concept behind the new space was actually more in tune with how we were already working. We just needed to adjust and plan our day differently. The goal of the new space was to increase engagement and break down silos by allowing people to have choice and control over where (and with whom) they work. The postures throughout the space are varied. You can stand, sit, lounge – even walk. You can choose open spaces at benching applications, work in the café or find spots in the quiet zone that are acoustically and visually private.

At first I tried a lot of different spaces just to see what worked best for me. But I soon realized that because of the work I do (lots of writing) and my curious nature, I was much more productive when I had visual privacy. Eventually, I discovered a few places that I gravitated towards – the Brody Lounge for instance – but the place I love in the office is the Regard Lounge. That’s it to the left in the picture below.

Red Thread Steelcase Boston

Remarkably comfortable for all day sitting (and I have a bad back), it provides just the right visual privacy and a sense of enclosure without closing you off to the community around you – and if you like to work with someone it’s perfectly comfortable and roomy for two! Not only that, the mounted screens make it easy to have a quick impromptu technology enabled meeting with a colleague. I love it! It’s the place I gravitate to whenever I’m lucky enough to find it open!

These types of spaces are incredibly functional in today’s workplaces and really serve to maximize real estate, providing key privacy space in the open plan setting for people like me who crave it!