Page 15 - i-Enjoy

The pursuit of happiness at work, in all its forms and perspectives, is always one of the core objectives of an ideal workplace. What role does technology have in this regard?
D.A. _ The quest for wellbeing in the workplace has very old roots, much longer than people might commonly suppose. In 1924, the Hawthorne Works at Cicero in Illinois commissioned a study to determine the link between levels of lighting in the workplace and personal productivity. This in turn led to the discovery of the human factor among the many variables that shape productivity, something that until then had been overlooked.
Technology performs an important role in the pursuit of happiness, but it is not a core issue in my opinion. The focus should always be on the individual. Technology is a critical tool to support that individual, either in a passive role for example to offer more comfort in an environment or an active role, mostly informatics these days, which makes working on specific tasks easier and more effective. This human factor and the technology we use are at the heart of the Plantronics approach, both in the development of products and the design of the working environment.
Plantronics was a pioneer of smart working more than ten years ago, and has designed its workplaces and working practices to maintain a focus on wellness. We do so by coordinating the human resources, IT and workplace management teams, implementing the most appropriate working policies, offering the best technology – including Plantronics products – to make work, including mobile work, as agile and efficient as possible and creating offices and research facilities that foster collaboration, concentration, communication and contemplation.
Our most recent offices in Vimercate, Italy are named for the principle of Home Sweet Office Home and represent the most up to date version of a Plantronic Smart Office and so demonstrate how an environment that embodies wellness and technology is important for both the body and the soul.
What are the advantages and risks when technology gets more and more pervasive and ubiquitous?
D.A. _ The advantages are primarily the better organised management of tasks and time and freedom for more knowledge work. We can leave the machines to the drudgery, allowing us to focus on creativity.
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