Any change or innovation tends to beget unexpected consequences. One that Cisco Systems did not expect was that implementing mobile technologies alongside a novel workplace layout can significantly reduce a company’s paper usage.
When Cisco Systems created a new concept workplace for its general administrative division, they sought to improve collaboration, not reduce the amount of paper their printers churned through. But that’s exactly what happened.
As mentioned last week, Cisco knew that employees were only at their assigned office or cubicle 35% of the time - an indication that this workplace style wasn’t really suiting the work being done.
To design more appropriate space, the workplace resource team (WPR) interviewed and studied the 140 people involved to understand how they work. They concluded that people needed the flexibility and mobility to work wherever it made sense - collaborating in teams or pairs, or working individually in silent areas or arenas that invited more informal chats. A variety of workplaces were created and employees can move from one to the next as their work needs chance. Moveable furniture in open areas, rooms for head-down silent work, conference rooms with speaker phones and video conferencing were all made available.
As Mark Golan of Cisco explains:
In many cases, this results in a flexible environment that focuses on collaborative space with little assigned seating. Employees are given a broad choice of work spaces and the technology to do their jobs. They choose where they work, based on the requirements of the tasks on which they are working.
The Connected Workplace is primarily a wireless environment…It also has wired jacks for high-speed communications needs, such as PC backups and video streaming, and technology for audio- and video-conferencing, e-mail, instant messaging, and voicemail.
Armed with the latest mobile computing and telephone technology, most people gained mobility and flexibility in organizing their workdays, but lost their assigned spaces (although the majority reported liking the new arrangement and Cisco measurements suggest that productivity improved).
One consequence is that workers cannot let paper pile up on a desk. Instead they have to file it, recycle it or take it home. Having to do this with every piece of paper printed every day caused most employees to re-think their printing habits.
And if they are just going to throw it out, people start to question why they are printing a document in the first place. This leads to behaviors that eliminate paper - conducting meetings solely with projectors or collaborative software…. Not only does this reduce paper consumption, but information is usually easier to find when digitally stored- instead of searching through paper files.
Could the paperless office talked about decades ago when the personal computer first emerged actually be around the corner? Hands up, who works in a paperless office?
Even if the paperless office is more dream than reality, perhaps the workplace is gradually trending toward something that involves slaughtering far fewer trees than typically occurs today. I’m a bad culprit for printing more than I need and letting it pile up on my desk. However, if I had to file it formally or discard it at the end of each day, this would be a powerful incentive for changing my ways.
Can anyone report on strategies that have worked for your workplace to cut down significantly on paper waste?
Tags: environment, technology
August 25th, 2008 at 8:42 am
One company I used to work for had the “open” layout system. Having worked in that environment and also in cubicles, I have to say I actually would have preferred a cubicle at that job. My desk “flowed” into a coworker’s desk and there was always a slight tussle for ownership of the common desk space between us. It was convenient for chatting but the space also led to a little too much chatting at times. I never truly felt as though my space was my own — at least in my cubicle I could work without people looking over my shoulder and keep my papers and books and whatnot to myself. Personal preference.
August 25th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Elizabeth,
So did you have an assigned desk then? or could you choose to sit where you needed?
It sounds like you were assigned to that space. Your comment raises a good point about the hazards of assigned open concept spaces if people cannot separate themselves from co-workers when they need to do so.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I was assigned a desk… right in the middle of a room with five other people and right by the doorway so all visitors and coworkers from other departments assumed I was the one who would know the whereabouts of every other person in my department. Not exactly a good spot for a writer!
August 25th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Working from home has certainly cut down the paper-flow! Now the “paper” is PDF attachments which will remain attached until my hard disk crashes …. No trees. And an automatic filing system …
August 25th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I can go for a less-paper office, but I think that paperless is problematic with confidential records. Leave a laptop in a cab, expose all your clients to the risk of identity theft. Allow online access to confidential info, take it on faith that no one will gain (or allow) inappropriate access. Delete a file, a computer expert still can find it somewhere on the disk or in the network. Systems for protecting privacy have improved, but the weak point continues to be human error: the forgetful, gullible, or careless employee. Confidential paper records also can be left about or inappropriately copied, but only by someone who is physically present. That makes it a little more difficult to violate confidentiality, especially in bulk. That said, I much prefer the emailed memo. You can access it anywhere you can get on the net.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Mike L - hmmm… I’ll have to think about and do some research on that one; whether people working at home print less. Do you use one screen or two? Many people I speak with, particularly those who do a lot of writing, comment that they could print less if they had two big screens so they could display multiple documents at once.
Zoe B - Confidentiality is certainly an issue with mobile workers. I’ll talk about technology in a subsequent post, but will mention here that keeping confidential info off lap tops and on a secure intranet site is one solution often used. As you say, there is still the problem of human error or human malice to overcome.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:08 am
I also work from home and have the same experience as Mike — when my printer died, I didn’t bother replacing it for about a year. I’m sure it depends partly on what kind of work you do.
Where I used to work almost everyone had laptops, so some document review meetings went paperless by requiring everyone to bring a laptop. The other tech shift that will help is wide (and large) LCD monitors — a single 24″ wide screen has enough space to comfortably look at two docs side-by-side.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Thanks for the comment Matt L. I wonder if lap tops and mobility also inherently result in less printing. If the printer isn’t right there, laziness (or efficiency, your choice of word) kicks in and rather than print and go walk upstairs or across the office to retrieve a document, you try working without a hard copy and discover that it can be done.
Where do I get a 24″ screen. I want one. How much? Years ago I had a 20″ monitor on my desk where I worked. It was heaven. Huge but heaven.