THM: NWoW Edition

It's a process, not a project! - Gerard Dessing powered by "No Marissa Mayer wasn't wrong, she was just misunderstood. She actually put NWoW into practice!"- Henny Van Egmond Issue #04 | New Ways of Working the new way of working: does it exisT? The Habit Magazine 'Start from a really good storyline & dare to challenge the status quo'" - Sarah Cherif Creator of CUTESolutions A word from Sarah CHERIF Have a scroll! Hi readers, Any conversation on New Ways of Working always gets me really excited and this for so many reasons: I’m personally not fit for 'the old way of working' and would never survive a month of traditional corporate life. We’ve been involved in quite some NWOW projects with CUTESolutions the last few years (AXA Insurance, Belfius Insurance, Engie, CM, LPA or Antwerp Police,…). We like to test all kinds of NWOW approaches at CUTE – like ROWE - and have found it damn hard to practice what we preach. I’m currently looking to buy a new home for CUTESolutions, somewhere in Ghent, where we can live out our co-work dream with other like-minded professionals. But I guess the main reason is that New Ways of Working is all about the future. And I love dreams for a more happy, agile and productive future for all of us. But what that means and what it looks like is so different to many different people and organisations. So I guess that the best approach to crafting our future work space, is learning from others, seeking inspiration and test, test, test. This magazine’s issue is all about sharing what we’ve learned in the hope that we can help to inspire you in some way. We’ve talked to some really smart and inspiring experts and will share some of our favourite resources (books, apps, companies, videos,…). We look forward to hearing back from you and learning from your experiences and insights. Let’s all keep challenging the status quo in search of a better life for all of us, Warm wishes, Sarah Content 5 Habit AHA 6 The Smarter Worker 7 What's Your NWoW Type? 9 Habit Talks 13 To NWoW or Not To NWoW? 19 New Ways of Learning 23 Word Porn 26 Habit Project 31 Habit Event 34 NWoW Habits 36 Habit Tools 37 NWoW Inspiration Gallery 38 CUTE office goes NWoW 40 Let's have some fun! [yoo-ni-kawrn] excuse me! i'm looking for a unicorn... Time & Place Independend Working DAMN IT. OK, BUT IT EXISTED ONE DAY? HABIT AHA Free access to information Flexible Working Relations THE NEW WAY OF WORKING DOESN'T EXIST! Focus on results So it all started with Microsoft in 2005. They stated that NWoW is a different way of working and collaboration supported by the latest technology. But after a while, every company that adapted NWoW gave their own, slightly adjusted definition of this 'new way of working'... ! So, it's a scam? No, it just looks like there isn't only 1 new way of working, but that you can define it to your own taste & company... Once you ask the 'old way' of working into question, you start building a new, personalized way of working! But how do I know if I am working old or new? There is a way to know if you work in an NWoW environment or not...We searched, and found the basic building blocks that make an NWoW company! Check them out. --> Are you working NWoW or not? Is your working space working? Do a Leesman-survey to find out! Leesman helps organizations understand how their employees work and how well their spaces support productivity. It’s a great tool in preparing your organization to go NWoW! create your workplace! Enhance the success of the distributed leader & teams in your organization with ‘workevohlution’: specialized in assessments & consulting on ‘distributed work’. rate your workplace! Tips & tools for the smarter working professional install new habits! Once you know your needs, use buzzispace to bring silence & style to your new office! One thing every NWoW'er is doing, is activity-based working: a workplace strategy in which people vary their workplace according to the nature of their work. But even if you have the opportunity to work elsewhere, the question stays: when, where, and how do you work best? We asked Philip Vanhoutte ('smarter worker professional', in a previous life senior VP & managing director at Plantronix & co-author of the book ‘The smarter working manifesto’ ) his TOP tips for the smarter working professionals! Install new habits to create NWoW behaviors in your new environment! Click here for some habit-inspiration. enhance your success! Activity Based Working what's your nwow type? Integrators: These people blend personal life and work, both in time and space. These are the people who take personal calls during office hours, but then continue their work after they put the children to bed. They can work in front of the tv or for example in the living room while their partner is in the room- without compromising the quality of their work.  Separators: These are the people who prefer to have strict barriers between work and personal life. They really don’t like to take work outside of their working hours, but also don’t read personal mail or check Facebook during the time they focus on work. When separators work from home, they prefer to work in an separate room (with a physical barrier like a door to separate them from their house mates and personal living spaces).  Volleyers: These people switch between the two previous styles. They sometimes prefer to mix work and personal life (for example, during the most busy period of the year), to then install a tight barrier again at other times. Are you often tired? Do you feel like you’re constantly trying to keep up with work, your personal life, and yourself? Do you contemplate switching careers to circus artist because you’re a pro at keeping different balls in the air? It sounds like a cheap ad for vitamin supplements, but for most of us, it’s- at least at some point in our lives- painfully recognizable. Brenda Lautsch and Ellen Kossek address this issue in their book ‘CEO of Me: creating a life that works in the flexible job age’. The main idea is that you should be the CEO of your own life: you should (and can) organize your life in such a way that you can make flexibility work to your advantage, instead of against you. The solution to this is not a one-size-fits all: people differ in their flexstyles. A flexstyle describes how you prefer to divide your time between work and your personal life. In general, we can distinguish three main flexstyles... Review by Eva - CUTE consultant ceo of me Which style is the healthiest? Well, that actually was a bit of a trick question. You can be happy or unhappy in either of the three styles. The essential take-away is that you will be both happy and more productive when you invest your time and energy in the aspects of your life that you value the most. That means that people who work long hours at the office are not necessarily unhappy: it might be that they simply value their career more than their personal life. Now do the analysis yourself! STEP 1: Draw a pie chart and make a division of all the things that are important to you: work, your family, hobbies, … STEP 2:Now draw a second pie chart next to the first, and make the division again, this time according to how you divide your time in reality. STEP 3: Be totally honest! Are there large differences between the two charts? Adjust your balance if necessary! Habit Talks We talked with NWoW expert 'Henny van Egmond' on the 'dark side' of the new way of working. Is it working for everyone ? Or are we moving back to 'old ways of working'? henny? who the bleep is henny? What he was... Program & change manager for Rabo Unplugged (= NWoW project for Rabobank NL) What he is... NWoW adivsor & consultant for large companies that are changing into an NWoW environment. (Check his website!) Why we love him He confronts the big guys & their business politics while he searches for an NWoW vision that suits a certain company. Oh, and he keeps his deadlines. Always nice to work with someone who does... Is ‘the new way of working actually working according to you? Or are we moving back again to ‘older, more traditional ways of working?  Yes, there are organizations that are quite successful and have actually become even more successful after introducing the new way of working. The main requirement however is that there is a true change happening and you dare to question the status quo at three levels: - Organizational level: the beliefs and the context (like accommodation, procedures and rules).  - Team level: the current agreements and way of working together . - Individual level: your usual way of working and your current habits. -Quote Henny Marissa Mayer banned working from home at Yahoo. After receiving tons of criticism, Yahoo now says that things are working out just as planned: engagement & productivity are up. What are your thoughts on that as an NWoW expert? What Marissa Mayer did is just one big misunderstanding. She decided that 200 of the 12.000 employees were not allowed to work at home any longer. Why? Well, these 200 people were responsible for innovation at Yahoo. And Mayer, coming from Google, one of the most innovative companies in the world, realized as no other that the chance at successful innovations is that much bigger when you put teams and people together. The TU at Delft even scientifically supported that. People who are jointly solving complex matters (like innovation) will work more effectively when they actually work together in the same physical environment. And that is what NWoW is about: match your working place with the kind of work you need to perform as much as possible. "No Marissa Mayer wasn't wrong, she was just misunderstood. She actually put NWoW into practice!" Henny Van Egmond, NWoW expert Can everyone thrive, according to you in an NWoW environment? Yes, but not naturally. A group of people will need some guidance in drawing the line between work- and private life for example. Flexibility will otherwise lead to them continuously working. Others just feel like they need clear agreements on the minimum amount of time they see their colleagues, enabling them to share knowledge and exchange information. What is the 1 tip you would give HR professionals who want to install NWoW in their organization? Start with the ‘why’ of this new way of working. The why is always the logical consequence of the company’s goals and is based on the activities they do. So if the working style is a logical consequence of the goals that are set, then change will become easy. What are your TOP 3 habits you would recommend in an NWoW working environment? (for individuals/teams/…) 1. Take freedom and responsibility  2. Be result oriented  3. Work together The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, Not on fighting the old , but on building the new You have to admit, it does sound kind of cool: a new way of working, where you have the freedom to work whenever and wherever you want. But what are the pro’s & con’s of this new way of working? So we looked in some research and asked around! TO NWOW OR NOT TO NWOW? Nope, don't like it... +- 33% of NWoW professionals feel less connected to their colleagues. Only 1/3th of the managers actually adjust their management style. 50% of employees say that the main reason for moving towards NWoW is cost cutting. Some NWoW facts & figures I'm all for! 69% higher productivity 66% more fun at work 88% more freedom oh, ow, it's a risky business... it's ok, but not perfect! 1. Unbalanced work-life balance... One of the risks of NWoW is that people have the tendency of working too hard. In an NWoW environment there just isn't a perfect separation in 'work' & 'life'. Often this is a good thing, but some people have the tendency to keep working in the evenings, weekends, ... Definitely a risk to keep in mind! 2. More business, less connected +- 33% of people working in an NWoW environment have the feeling that their work relations became more 'business-like', and 50% of NWoW'ers say that this new way of working didn't stimulate an open & transparent culture. We wanted to know if the 'Shambho open office - workers' were experiencing these risks. So we just asked them & these are the results! How would you rate your work-life balance? Are you experiencing these risks? "With 2 small kids and wife who studies and has her own startup at the same time, it is difficult to put the time in that I really want to. After all, I love my family but I love my job as well ." Are you experiencing these pro's? How would you rate your quality of social interactions during the work-day? pretty good! A happy flow! Research shows that when you are feeling ‘empowered’ in your job, you will experience more flow at work. This positive feeling of flow (= the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.) will trigger happiness at work. At Microsoft, employee happiness went up from 5,5/10 to 8,3/10! So in theory, working in an NWoW environment boosts happiness & flow. Just note one striking fact about this: when empowerment at work is imposed top-down, this can have the opposite effect, and cause stress & anxiety! It's only when people actually experience more autonomy & a change in management style, that they report being more happy & 'in flow' at their job.  We wanted to know if the 'Shambho open office - workers' were experiencing more happiness than in a traditional working environment. Let's check out the results! "Due to different people with different interests it's interesting to conversate about daily things." state of optimal experience = flow yes, most of the time! Do you experience flow when you are working in the open office? Are you feeling more happy at work, than in a more traditional working environment? "I can work a lot better here than at home, where I am distracted all the time. An empty table, no clutter around me. Nice." The results? Some of them do, but most of them don't. Book tip on working from a distance: Remote: - Office Not Required yes = put your hands up in the air! The results? They feel like their employees aren't ready for this.  Book tip if you want to give your team more autonomy & responsibility: Extreme Ownership would you work any different if you had zero supervision? we asked engie.... is it realistic to manage your employees in an nwow environment? CUTESolutions helps the multinational electricity company 'Engie' develop new NWoW habits for their ‘dynamic at work’ project. Their focus: flexibility, autonomy, innovation, co-creation & working together. We trained them in new NWoW habits & we asked some of the managers their view on NWoW & working together with their team in this new environment. These are the results… The results? Most of them would work slightly different.  Book tip on changing your working environment:  Why work sucks, and how to fix it do you work harder at home than when you are at the office? do you think you will thrive more in an nwow environment? The results? Everybody thinks so! Book tip if you want to up your game:  Peak - Secrets From the New Science of Expertise To NWoW or not to NWoW new ways of working new ways of learning? but is it here to stay? Does a new way of working need a new way of learning?  Anneleen (= content manager at CUTESolutions) went to the ‘Learning Tech Day’ with this intriguing question in the back of her mind... it's hip, it's here Overall I definitely feel that ‘learning’ is a concept that is hard to grasp. On the one hand, we really don’t have a choice on how we are learning, because in the end it’s a combination of complex and age-old processes in our brain, driven by evolutionary biology. But on the other hand, I think that the way we will learn in the future, will change dramatically on 4 levels: 1. personalized learning The first big trend is that organizations are actually learning more about ‘the learner’. Companies are building data on how we learn, and are personalizing learning tracks. Right now this is done on a very basic level, but in the future, learning will become less ‘linear’ in design. People will have complete individualized training tracks, that are totally adjusted to their needs in their business as usual. Every individual will learn at their own pace, have more autonomy on what and how they are learning, and only experiment with exercises they truly need at this moment in time. strange stuff... so what did you find out? "You can't escape it, so embrace it!" say what? some people to google Donald Clark Julian Stodd 3. emersive learning Learning will be more ‘in the moment’. Training will almost be ‘hidden’ in your day to day environment. For example: a new colleague doesn’t know a certain program you are working with. Instead of following an intense training program on this (from which she will forget more than 50%, and really, she doesn’t need to know all the options of this tool…), she just has artificial intelligence on her computer that shows her what to do when she is getting stuck. 4. Creating Communities We are evolving towards a ‘social age’ and the learning will transform as well from ‘formal’ to ‘social learning’. Communities will pop up with a shared purpose and shared values. In those communities there won’t be strict rules or control. (Note that if you do have command & control, it isn’t a real community.) In those communities questions can be asked, stories will be collected, … It is a truly free form of learning with no supervision or from of control at all. hi new world! 2. From Training to Facilitating Classical trainings won’t exist anymore. These trainings will be ‘morphed into’ facilitating moments & get-togethers. People will gather to share their experiences, tips & best practices. This will all be supported by state of the art technology like ‘artificial intelligence’ & ‘virtual reality’. Anneleen, Content Manager some people to google I want to master a skill just beyond my current horizon! Human beings love challenges, but only if they are within the optimal zone of difficulty. WORD PORN THE GOLDILOCKS RULE One of the key components of an NWoW environment, is focusing on results! Just make sure you keep the Goldilocks rule in the back of your mind when delegating or discussing objectives: Tasks or responsibilities that are significantly below the current abilities of a team member = boring! Tasks or responsibilities that are significantly beyond the current abilities = discouraging! Tasks or responsibilities that aren't too easy, nor too hard = motivating! management tip! some habit inspiration! - Quote psychologist Gilbert Brim “One of the important sources of human happiness is working on tasks at a suitable level of difficulty, neither too hard nor too easy.” 1. Manage the 'what' & the 'why', but let go of the 'how'. Give your team more freedom & responsibilities by not treating them as little children. Most of them have children on their own, so they really don't need your input all the time! So what to do? 1) State a problem, 2) Clarify your expectations on the solution (without suggesting one!), 3) Let go, 4) Check afterwards if their solution meets your stated criteria.  2. set objectives without numbers! Discuss objectives, but don't use any arbitrary KPI's. Really, nobody gets that motivated by them... What do you want to achieve? That's the real goal behind the number! Your team needs to know why they have to accomplish something, in order to get excited!  3. dare to be a role model! Don't follow the 'old ways of working' just because it's tradition... You're a manager, not a fossil. Translate your input-oriented goals into output-oriented ones, be honest with your team about the required results, give freedom once the expectations are clarified, ... Result-oriented working... Euhms more interesting stuff coming up! but first... do us a favour and subscribe to our habitmagazine! approach 'Millions of NWoW hits on google? After two intensive days of working together we definitely know what NWoW is for 'Politie Antwerpen'... and what it isn't.   what's the program about? A program in order to 1) inspire the top of the organization on NWoW, 2) Align the expectations regarding the expected behavioral changes. (We worked together with NWoW expert Henny Van Egmond -> click here for an interview with him!) day 2 day 1 'Antwerp Police' 1 day alignment workshop with excom to formulate & discuss the NWoW vision of 'Politie Antwerpen'. 1 day of company visits in various NWoW organizations (Sanoma, MLOZ, Gemeente Den Bosch, Eneco ) Habit Project -Quote Serge Muyters (Chief of the Antwerp Police')  Why did you choose to go on NWoW business visits with LPA? The project team, consisting of a small group of people at LPA that initiated this NWoW exercise, had been putting a lot of thought, education and time investment themselves about learning more about NWoW and how other organizations apply it. They had read literature on the topic, visited companies that applied NWoW, followed the NWoW MasterClass with Henny Van Egmond,… So, we had a small group within the team that was convinced about the transformative power of NWoW and of course we as a L&D provider are too, but the challenge was how to align the whole team. And then it is always important to keep in mind, that it’s very difficult to convince people of an experience you had but they didn’t. Interview with Sarah (One of the facilitators in this habit project) 2. Ask the right questions. Get people to observe, reflect and challenge themselves by asking them the right questions upfront. So, already before the visits, you are influencing their mindset and helping them to see things they maybe otherwise wouldn't pay attention to during the visits. 3. Create in-depth dialogue. Achieving real dialogue, is about not avoiding the sensitive issues. And I promise you, there are many! Difficult questions are questions like: Do the directors still automatically get their own big office? Does overtime still get paid? Do they get the VIP parking spaces although they are empty quite often? Why are you introducing NWoW in the first place? Do you believe your organization can handle less control? I think about this quote a lot when designing training programs! And business visits are a much more effective way to provide people with a new experience than just by talking about it in a meeting room. Did you achieve a mindset-switch after only 2 days? & If yes, How did you do this? Yes, we definitely did. I think various factors helped here: 1. Get the right people in the companies that you visit to share their experiences. People need to hear from the CFO for example that NWoW had a positive impact on the bottom line, they need to hear from the HR director that NWoW positively impacted employee engagement and so on. ‘A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.’ - Oliver Wendell Holmes H -Quote Sarah 'Start from a really good storyline & dare to challenge the status quo' ow did you align the various expectations regarding an NWoW behavioural change? Upfront, our NWoW consultant Henny Van Egmond, held individual interviews within the organization, analyzed all their own strategic inputs and also we introduced the basic behavioural framework for NWoW. We introduced concepts such as: activity-based working, time and place independent working, autonomy and responsibility, steering on results not inputs and connectivity. During the 2-day program, we used a tool called Primoforum to manage the group discussions. This tool allowed us to cover a lot of different issues and challenges, have people vote and prioritize them. How to motivate the most critical people & be open minded towards a different way of working? Of course this is still a work in progress. Critical thinking is necessary in such a cultural change, the critical people help anticipate hurdles and difficulties that will inevitably rise. So key is to help a management team have a real dialogue and keep the dialogue going, even when sensitive, political and challenging topics are raised. If you can't take the heat, this exercise isn't for you! What is according to you the most crucial success-factor when you are having NWoW talks on the highest level of the organization? Wow, good and difficult question. I would say, start from a really good storyline and business case and dare to challenge the status quo. Without that focus on the ‘Why', you’re lost. And then challenge the status quo, because NWoW is not an abstract exercise, you’re not signing up for a program another company designed for you. You’re thinking about the challenges of your own organization and ways to fix current workarounds that make your organization less agile and productive. So keep the conversation real. start with the why habit event nwow congres Do you want to know more about NWoW? Only one place to be! The 'Over Het Nieuwe Werken' - congress in Veenendaal. Sarah & Bram Doolaege are regular speakers on the congres; last year we talked about NWoW habits, this year the theme is 'responsiblity, trust & change'. We talked to Gerard Dessing, one of the organizers of the event, and asked him some curious NWoW questions... Text The ‘OHNW’congress is organized on a yearly basis. Do you feel that there is a difference in mindset regarding NWoW now vs a couple of years ago? When we just got started with the congress, most people came to find out what NWoW actually was and how it works. I would say most know by now. Today people are drawn to it because they want to hear about experiences from other companies that already got started with NWoW and what the pitfalls are. -Quote Gerard Dessing gerard dessing, organizer ohnw congres What is the nr1 NWoW question that people who go to the ‘OHNW’ congress ask the most? And what is the answer to that question? Most people who visit the ‘OHNW’ congress are looking for an answer to the following question: “How do I mobilize people to start working differently?”. You can arrange practically everything from infrastructure, furniture and all other means but it is up to the people themselves (not only the employees but also the managers) to get up and do it. Changing habits, breaking patterns, giving more trust, giving people the freedom to decide where they will work etc. … it’s a real people’s job. In this article, Henny van Egmond explains in a few steps how to get to a successful NWoW change: StEp 1 Get started right (make sure you have a change story and explain the ‘why’ of the change) Step 2 It is a process, not a project! Step 3 Activate your network. Step 4 Challenge and facilitate. Step 5 Communicate! Do you have the feeling that NWoW is already a reality, or will it always be a work in progress? There is no such thing as 1 ‘NWoW’, it is tailor work for every organisation. In more and more companies, the ‘NWoW’ is already a reality but there is a fair amount where they still have to get started or even start giving shape to it. Which is normal, because a cultural change can’t be realized just like that. It is often a work in progress. "Just be honest if it really is just about cost cutting." You have followed dozens of workshops on nwow yourself. What is your TOP 3 of most interesting points of views (regarding NWoW) you heard during the various workshops? 1 Pay special attention to the fact that it involves many changes, that is a big part of the challenge. 2 When the real reason for going ahead with the NWoW finds its cause in budget cuts (less square meters) just be upfront about it and don’t sugarcoat it. 3 Get the higher echelon to participate (role models), otherwise you are set up for failure. When will the next ‘OHNW’ congress be organized? The next OHNW-congress will be on December the 8th at Veenendaal. Check the program at www.ohnw.nl/congres. freedom responsibility habits to let go & trust 3 stop the waiting! Take 1 new initiative on a daily basis! For example: propose something new during a meeting, take the lead on a project, suggest solutions for certain issues, ... habits to show responsibility 1 shoot the bears Help your colleagues with making progress in their work. Eliminate as many obstacles as you can, in order to let them achieve their goals faster. Put the 'progress principle' into practice! 2 focus on the results instead of your to do's... Aks yourself the following questions before you start a task: 1) What do I really want/need to accomplish? 2) What are my resources to accomplish this? When you ask yourself these kinds of questions you start thinking in terms of outcome/responsibilities. Focus on the outcome first, and the to do's later. 3 be explicit in the way you like to communicate Talk to your colleagues about it! Just tell them what kind of communication tools you like to use when working from home. For example: call me for something urgent, mail me for updates, skype me for meetings, ... 2 be predictable when you are working from home Just behave like you would do on a normal working day, and be explicit when you deviate from your normal working pattern. For example: keep a colleague in the loop when you are not available, keep your colleagues up to date on various projects, ... 1 use the 98% rule when you want to check if somebody is really working... Yes, some people can't resist to keep calling , or constantly send e-mails when working from a distance. But just keep in mind that 98% of your colleagues is trust-worthy & wants to do a good job, before you continue your stalking... working form home habits nl FREE click & try FR HABIT TOOLS Explore the insights activation studio when... You want to stimulate knowledge /idea-sharing. So what is it? It's a digital wall on a certain topic, on which everybody can post 'tiles' with questions, insights, ... regarding the topic. "It lets insights flow across the organization" - Annemiek Temming - Insight Head of Strategy, Insights cloud ninja's Check the 'Note to Self' podcast! Text Explore Slack when... You are in need of connecting with your team/customers/... from a distance. So what is it? It's a messaging app for teams. "Slack is like a WhatsApp for business. We love to use it to follow up on the habits of our participants. It's a channel that's great for fun conversations, but you can also share all sorts of documents!"  - Sarah, CEO CUTESolutions are you going nwow? some tools to look into... activation studio Explore cloud ninja's when... You want to teach digital software & certain business processes in a fun, cloudy way & adjusted to the individual. So what is it? It's a digital, gamified learning platform. It gives you some 'real time' challenges while you are working in a certain tool (for example: google spreadsheets), in order to learn 'on the job'. "The embedded exercises allow users to improve their knowledge by doing and apply on the job." Matthias Nauwelaers Learning & Development Expert - TriFinance slack Interested in more 2.0 tools? NWoW office inspiration - gallery "Steal like an artist" COMING SOON?...the walking desk! "because sitting is the new smoking" “We’ve become so sedentary that 30 minutes a day at the gym may not do enough to counteract the detrimental effects of eight, nine, or 10 hours of sitting,” says Genevieve Healy, Ph.D. & research fellow at the Cancer Prevention Research Centre CUTE office goes NWoW nope, not for us... Did you know that you can't eliminate the negative effects of sitting all day by going to the gym after working hours? It's a scary thought, so our project & financial manager Sofie did a 'walking desk' try out. Afterwards, we had one question for her: is it possible to work and walk at the same time? It’s a strange way of working, but I think we could get used to it. (Research shows that people do get used to it after a couple of weeks & that the quality of their performance on the treadmill rises after +- 20 weeks.) It’s great that you can adjust the desk in height, and that the treadmill doesn’t make any disturbing noise. One thing that bothered me was the noise of my own footsteps, but I guess I could just walk on it without any shoes in order to not disturb the other cuties… Definitely something to consider at the CUTE office! To Be Continued… high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar I couldn’t tell if it was working or not, until I worked 1 day at home and felt back- & neck pain, so it definitely must be doing something good ;-) anneleen the activity sitting pad - it's here! While we are still pondering on the walking desk, we did order some ‘activity sitting pads’! This ‘dynamic’ pillow strengthens the muscles of the back and therefore relieves the spine. At least, that’s what they promise us in their leaflet. But are the cuties feeling any up or downsides after a few weeks of trial? Sofie Because of my back pain my doctor advized me to buy a sissel pillow. And she’s right, it helps me to stay active while sitting at my desk all day. Thanks doc! “It feels like sitting on a waterbed at first, but it’s a great way to focus on my posture, both actively and passively.” liesbeth I have been having some hip pain lately and the cushion helped to avoid stressing the same pressure points. It forces you to stop slouching, although it is important you stay aware of you posture. It takes some getting used to but I’m sure it looks quite elegant already ;-) CUTE office goes NWoW sarah eva keyboard kitty let's have some fun! loved this habit magazine? soon there will be more! sign up & don't miss out! 555-555-5555 1234 5th Ave. NYC, NY 00000 Title Goes Here