Offices and women's design

[sillysmiles]

Having read invisible women and becoming more and more aware of design for men and men as default it got me thinking. As a consequence of covid our women place is embracing hybrid working and we are moving to hot desking.

I haven't carried a handbag for 18mths and use my office drawers for period products, snacks and extra cardi.

So the question is are there things that could be incorporated into hotdesking in larger open plan offices* that would include womens needs at the design stage?

(*walls being knocked and offices being made bigger) that

Warmer would be a start. Even though I'm menopausal I don't need air con apart from 1 week a year. Window ventilated toilets would be nice too.

The toilets wouldn't change, just the offices I think.

Ensuring that chairs, monitor arms, desks if applicable, etc are easily adjustable, easily replaceable when broken and all have a wide range of positions that will suit as high a percentage of women as men. (Being fairly short I have frequently had to have some adjustments made to my work environment).

If desks aren't height adjustable to a low enough position then footrests at every desk.

Somewhere to hang coats.

Panels on the front of all desks (so people can't see up your skirt if it's on the shorter side).

If it's going to be a large space with lots of desks, some form of differentiation so that it is easier to find the desk you have when you return to the room, like unique colour/pattern combination markers (women, generally, find it harder to navigate undifferentiated spaces).

Mor personalised heating/cooling would be ideal, but not sure how you'd do that effectively in an open plan office.

Also, from the other side but probably still welcomed by women, generally men have worse immune systems so probably need upgraded cleaning and better ventilation.

Hot desking was always a nightmare for me because I needed a footstool. Try carting one of those around with you. And there are never lockers big enough to store them

On the stuff in pedestal front men have loads as well though.

I don't see that as a woman problem tbh!

Temperature is though.

Fascinating!

Thanks everyone,
It's been really helpful.
I think heating is going to be the biggest one because to be fair to the company, ever station will have footstools and dual monitors to attach your laptop to and all spaces will ergonomically adjustable (is the plan anyway)

Lockers to put personal things in?

I have a problem working at desks with my back to people or with people working behind me. I just can’t concentrate and am on edge (it a sensory thing) I know I’m not unusual in this but I particularly hate it. In younger days I’d suffer it, but now I am upfront about it. Some women might find it difficult to speak up about stuff like that.

Yes, lockers!

The toilets in my office were very clearly designed without a second thought for women’s needs:

• Nowhere you can put your handbag to keep it clean and dry while you wash your hands- it either has to go on the floor, or balance precariously on the side of the sink
• No bins other than sanitary bins, so nowhere for used tissues etc
• Taps only turn on when you hold your hands directly underneath them, making it difficult to use them for anything other than hand washing (very hard to brush your teeth, for example)
• No ability to change the water temperature in the sinks

In theory some of these should be annoying and inconvenient for men as well, but whenever we’ve mentioned them all the men are clearly mystified by the idea that you might use the toilets for anything other than going to the toilet and leaving as quickly as possible.

@NiceGerbil

On the stuff in pedestal front men have loads as well though.

I don't see that as a woman problem tbh!

Temperature is though.

Temperature is always an interesting one. My personal experience (in a couple of offices both 9-5 and shift working).

Offices tend to have a set temp & stay at it all year round.

Men tend to wear the same things in (suits, shirts, ties, jackets etc.) whether it's summer or winter.

A lot of women tend to wear "summery" clothes in the warmer weather - thinner, sleeveless etc.

But the temperature in the air conditioned office is the same in December as it is in July - so they feel colder.

I used to work shifts & people would come in to work in shorts & T-Shirts at 7 on a summer evening, by 3 in the morning they'd be shivering as the internal temp bears no relation to outside.

(not all offices are like this )

Glass walls. Don't use them.

I once worked in an office that was entirely glass walls, even the catwalk walls. Anyone wearing a skirt - anyone below them in the office, or passing by in a train (the office was at Paddington) got an upskirt view.

@Girlwhowearsglasses

I have a problem working at desks with my back to people or with people working behind me. I just can’t concentrate and am on edge (it a sensory thing) I know I’m not unusual in this but I particularly hate it. In younger days I’d suffer it, but now I am upfront about it. Some women might find it difficult to speak up about stuff like that.

Not saying that this aplies directly to you

It's can also be a side effect of living with a violent home life as people are subconsciously doing threat assessment based on the movement and sounds around them.
In a large open office "aggressive" sounds travel above the general buzz.

For someone with hearing problems sound management is also about sound sources.
I was on the phone to a supplier and could hardly distinguish the speaker' voice due to the office sounds from their office.

DecadentlyDecisive
Offices tend to have a set temp & stay at it all year round.

I worked in an office which had split the floor into 2 different companies.
On Monday morning our office was freezing as the system dumped all the cold air at the end of the ducting, the far end of our office. While next door was roasting by 10 as they got all "our" hot air and the building manger would not change the temperature. We both ended up installing independent systems.

Lighter weight technology. The combined weight of my brick of a laptop plus power cord/ transformer (needed cos the battery won't last the length of a meeting) is non-trivial for me. I commute by bus : this is more typical of women than of men. I need to eat during the day and drink something. Even if I keep personal effects to a bare minimum it is a HEAVY load. We don't have lockers so this is a daily thing.

I try to look professional but lugging it all in a rucksack undermines that. I've had to choose between smart and back-healthy.

Agree with all the comments about adjustable work spaces too, but for me I think carrying and commuting is made unnecessarily harder for women by the open desk approach.

Spaces to park the business trolleys, that hold the equipment rather than a desk draw.