The gig economy, where independent consultants, contractors, and freelancers create portfolios of work in lieu of one full-time job, is transforming the way we work by disconnecting work from an office. In the traditional jobs economy, employers often require employee attendance in the office five days a week, eight hours a day. Gig economy employers, in contrast, focus entirely on performance, not attendance in the office. It doesn’t matter if the idea for how to solve a problem or the insight to craft a new strategy is generated in the middle of the night, or while showering, or in yoga class. The gig economy employer values the quality of worker results, not the process by which they are created.

Via hbr.org 

Human beings are social creatures. We have an instinctive need to belong to a group and feel included, accepted, and respected. While a part of this need is fulfilled by our social circles outside of the workplace, it’s important to recognize that majority of us spend most of our time at work —whether that be in an office, at home, a coffee shop, or in a coworking space. Work is not just a thing you do, it’s also a place where the things you do are carried out. It doesn’t matter how you work or what you do for a living; everyone needs a space.

Via workdesign.com 

Millennials hear a lot about how their personality traits from other people. At least that’s how it often feels to this millennial (whose job involves getting pitched many drafts of articles on that subject every week) but also to plenty of others in my generation.

The whole idea of generational cohorts, after all, is tenuous from a sociological point of view and worthless from a practical one. If you’re trying to understand what a given employee wants or why she’s acting a certain way, you can’t expect characteristics that supposedly apply to everybody born within a 15 to 22–year timespan to be all that precise.

Via fastcompany.com 

Office workers spend most of their week sat at a desk - but many people probably don't realize how dirty they can get. Even though it might not look it, your work station could be 400 times filthier than a toilet seat. Despite this gruesome fact many of us will still sit and happily eat at lunch at our desk - which only adds to the germ count.

Via southportvisiter.co.uk

If you work as, say, a professional athlete, the link between good health and good work is pretty clear. For the rest of us, however, it might not be so obvious.

After all, who among us hasn’t hauled ourselves to the office when we’d have been better off in bed. If you think about those days (staring blankly at your computer screen while wiping your nose), they probably weren’t among your most productive on the job.

Indeed, a recent CBRE report on Wellness in the Workplace finds that every year up to $227 billion is lost to employee absenteeism (when you’re out sick) or presenteeism (when you’re in the office, but not feeling well enough to work at your typical clip).

Via cbre.com