From the Editor: Not your parents’ workspace anymore — or even your former workspace
Like many Americans of a certain generation, I was conditioned to my dad leaving for work at 8 a.m. and returning at 6 p.m. Every day.
For many of us prior to the pandemic, that was also our routine.
As we’re now seeing, even as cities and towns are lifting mask mandates, the workplace has changed. What may have been in the works before the pandemic has taken hold now.
Employees want more flexibility — in the hours they work, the times they work, the places where they work. And, with the ever-tightening labor shortage, employers are offering flexibility as a perk alongside health benefits, 401(k) plans, paid time off and other incentives.
All of this has meant major changes in how we work but also in the physical workspace.
As one designer told Jessica Hall, employees need a reason to come back to the office. For many, the hybrid workplace is becoming the new norm, as she reports in “Office space redux,” which starts on Page 18.
Another way the workplace has changed is in the way we communicate. It’s been well-documented that Zoom and text messages have their limitations. But Renee Cordes reports on the new ways people are effectively communicating. See “‘Water cooler talk’ takes a new turn,” which starts on Page 10.
The changing workplace has also forced change in manufacturing and production. A seafood company that in the past might have relied on a crew of people has now shifted production to automated means. As Laurie Schreiber reports, “automation eliminates tasks that just aren’t satisfying.” See “Rise of the robots,” which starts on Page 16.
Our list in this issue is Maine’s largest architecture firms, which is on Page 26.
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