Many large countries — including the US, China, Japan, Germany and Italy — will face talent shortages as their workforces age and experience declining growth rates. In the United States, the labor force is expected to grow only 0.7 percent between 2010 and 2020. Skills predicted to be in demand include management, legal, sales/marketing, operations and technical computer proficiency.

This talent shortage will challenge organizations to find and keep the best people. They will need to engage employees with workplaces that support their wants and needs. 

Via hok.com 

When you think of a research lab, you might conjure images of sterile equipment and white lab coats—and there is some truth to that picture. Designing research labs requires meticulous attention to the details of equipment planning, environmental health and safety (EH&S) and the processes that support science. While most labs are designed to achieve that basic functionality, a transformational lab environment prioritizes a science organization’s most valuable assets: its people.

Via gensleron.com 

Mobile computing liberated the modern office worker from assigned seating and isolated cubicles. Employees have since embraced workspaces that allow them to sit, stand, roam and interact with co-workers throughout the day. Office managers have started to pay attention to these changing needs, making improvements that promote employee happiness.

Via bisnow.com 

Construction isn't the only industry dealing with a labor shortage. Across the U.S., businesses are facing a retiring baby boomer generation and are struggling to come up with ways to tap into a pool of potential employees.   

Via constructiondive.com 

As workforces become increasingly blended with a range of full-time, part-time, contract, and remote workers, many companies are looking to unassigned workstations to make the most of their office space.

To find out more about this trend, we talked to Robyn Baxter of HOK Canada, a global architecture firm with dozens of corporate offices and interiors worldwide in its portfolio.

Via hiring.workopolis.com 

ARRANGING EMPLOYEES IN an office is like creating a 13-dimensional matrix that triangulates human wants, corporate needs, and the cold hard laws of physics: Joe needs to be near Jane but Jane needs natural light, and Jim is sensitive to smells and can’t be near the kitchen but also needs to work with the product ideation and customer happiness team—oh, and Jane hates fans. Enter Autodesk’s Project Discover. Not only does the software apply the principles of generative design to a workspace, using algorithms to determine all possible paths to your #officegoals, but it was also the architect (so to speak) behind the firm’s newly opened space in Toronto.