2 posts tagged “work”
Numerous blogs dedicated to these quirky building blocks called Bloxes have practically infiltrated my internet surfing. And honestly if we don’t talk about it now, they may vanish from interest into the vast space of superfluous inventions.
People have long had a peculiar affection for cardboard. I can even remember building an ER with friends in my backyard out of giant boxes from a new washer and dryer set. Unlike what you might consider a cardboard box; Bloxes are interlocking pieces of corrugated cardboard resembling cute snowflakes. It may go without saying then that fathers and 7 year-olds are not required. The people at Bloxes, however, say that putting these sound-softening, weight-withstanding geometric oddities together is easy enough for children and advantageous for even the creatively challenged adult. If that wasn’t enough, Bloxes can also connect with each other on all six sides to build walls, benches, tables and whatever your heart desires. Imagine the possibilities of transforming your work or living space.
Checking out images of the utilitarian designs people have created with Bloxes will leave you questioning why you didn’t think to start a business selling backyard cardboard pile creations, or even to contemplate what if it gets wet? I personally, was devastated when evacuating my ER patients as its walls mushed and crumbled beneath the pitter-patter of a midwestern drizzle. Now imagine what spilling your coffee might do to your new Blox desk! The company’s mission statement is (re) build and play, so perhaps you may be able to replace any wet or soiled parts of your new cardboard furniture.
One last note, Bloxes’ suggestion of getting a bunch of friends together with beer and pizza, to put hundreds of pieces together within a few hours, has to be way more interesting than a Jenga party.
- B. Juergens
OK, so the paperless office of the future turned out to be a total joke. And if someone were to tell you that the future of the 9 to 5 workday was on the verge of extinction, you’d probably laugh as you walk to the break room for your 10:30 coffee break. And maybe it’s not on the verge of extinction, but according to Best Buy, it’s not necessarily the direction of the future either.
Enter ROWE: a “Results Only Work Environment.” The idea is to smash the age old convention of a workplace run by schedules and time clocks—a system based off the assembly line factories of the Henry Ford era and therefore shockingly archaic in itself—to cultivate an innovative environment of optimum productivity.
Employee performance is judged, not on ones’ punctuality, adherence to a schedule or the number of hours spent in the office. Rather, an employee’s performance is judged on their output. This means that you can actually make that doctor’s appointment. You can even pick your kids up from school because a traditional nine to five clock does not govern your day. Your day is governed by your output—so as long as you get your work done on time and it’s done well; it’s entirely possible to discuss a weekly sales report over a phone call at the beach.
And it’s not just a concept. It’s a working reality for hundreds of Best Buy employees. This entirely new work culture that has been put into effect for over a year now and the results speak for themselves. According to Business Week, “[Best Buy’s] average voluntary turnover has fallen drastically, while productivity is up an average 35% in departments that have switched to ROWE.”
Granted, the very nature of some business makes such work ethics impossible (business like call centers where employee schedules are an integral role to the logistic success of the company, or even firms that are driven by demanding clients) but the fact that ROWE has met with such a high degree of success will (hopefully) pique interest in firms willing to give the unconventional a go.
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- Carley Johnson
