Is this the Office of the Future?

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All About America explores American culture, politics, trends, history, ideals and places of interest.

While the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically transformed the way Americans work, with millions of people now working a hybrid schedule, the office itself remains stuck in pre-pandemic times.

“The offices that we have have largely been designed as a place that people need to come. Many of them are cube farms that are really boring, unexciting, and nobody wants to be there,” says Aditya Sanghvi, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, who leads the management consulting firm’s real estate practice. “The office has suddenly become a choice. It’s an option. And the office has to be better for someone than working from home and enduring the commute to come into the office.”

More Americans than ever have a hybrid schedule, splitting time between working from home and going into the office. A spring 2022 survey of 25,000 Americans by McKinsey & Company found that 58% of respondents were able to work from home at least one day a week. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that more than one-third of Americans, 34%, worked from home at least some of the time in 2022.

Despite these changes in how Americans work, the workplace has largely remained the same.

“If you’re going to be working in a cubicle, you might as well be working from home. You won’t have to engage in the commute, which is a productivity killer,” says Ryan Luby, an associate partner at McKinsey & Company who co-authored the report. “And then when you get to the office, if you’re not engaging with anyone else, you might as well not be there.”

Enter the U.S. federal government. Even though the government is often perceived as an unwieldy bureaucracy where little changes, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the agency that oversees federal buildings, is among those taking the lead to determine what the office of the future will look like.

“What we’re trying to do is create a workplace and an environment that allows you to be as productive as you can be without getting in the way. And that means a variety of spaces for a variety of the people that work for us,” says Chuck Hardy, GSA’s chief architect.

Hardy is overseeing GSA’s Workplace Innovation Lab, a 25,000-square-foot space, located inside the organization’s Washington headquarters, where federal workers can try out the latest in workplace furnishings and technology, supplied by private vendors. During the yearlong experiment, federal workers from across the government can sign up to work in the lab, testing out the different layouts and latest innovations. In return, they are asked to provide feedback on their experience.

“The office should be a magnet not a mandate. We’re looking to have an office that brings people back to it purposefully,” Hardy says. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all. And in certain agencies and certain offices, it can be multiple solutions. And so, we’re looking at what is that mix of a solution?”

Some spaces in the lab feature comfortable chairs and sofas. Others look more like traditional workspaces. Almost everything can be moved around. The air quality is monitored, and sustainable technology solutions are being tested. Hardy says the office of the future also needs to have advanced acoustics and technology.

Sanghvi foresees more seamless meeting spaces.

“There needs to be immersive conference rooms where it almost feels like there’s no difference between whether or not someone’s sitting with you in the office or somebody’s by video,” he says. “And I assume over the next 10 years, we’ll get a great evolution in that.”

The office needs to change because the role of the workplace has changed, according to Luby.

“The office should be a place where you’re doing group work, where you’re doing community-oriented collaborative activities,” Luby says. “That space should be suited for collaboration, community gathering and facilitating those moments that matter. It’s going to be much more group oriented. It’s going to be a more flexible space, more modular.”

The office of the future might even help workers with their errands.

“One of the reasons that a lot of people work from home is that they have to pick up the kids or do dry cleaning. They have to take care of the dog,” Sanghvi says. “And so, what if there were pet care in the building? What if there was child care in the building?”

Sanghvi believes landlords have to take a more active role in transforming workspaces for the new post-pandemic reality.

“We all trust our hotels to help us with services when we stay in a hotel,” he says. “Many retailers trust the shopping mall owners with doing marketing on behalf of everyone and driving traffic. So, it’s just a different motion for offices, but it’s pretty well-established elsewhere.”

Office planners of the future will likely try to address three main criteria, according to Hardy at the GSA.

“It has to be quality, has to be serving a purpose, but it still has to be beautiful,” he says. “And so, that’s what we’re looking for here — you don’t want to go into a building that looks like you’re in a basement. … You’re seeing office settings that have similarities to a living room setting or have similarities to a den. You’re seeing furniture that’s a little more comfortable.”

Which means the office of the future could feel a little bit more like home.
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Here’s How the Office of the Future Could Look

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The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way Americans work. With millions of people now working from home at least part of the time, experts say offices must evolve to meet their needs. The U.S. General Services Administration, the agency that oversees federal buildings, is trying to determine what that means. VOA’s Dora Mekouar visited its Workplace Innovation Lab to learn more. Camera: Adam Greenbaum.
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Апеляційний суд зобов’язав демонтувати «храм-МАФ» УПЦ (МП) на території Музею історії України – Мінкультури

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Північний апеляційний господарський суд Києва зобов’язав демонтувати Десятинний храм Української православної церкви (Московського патріархату) на території Національного музею історії України.

«14 вересня 2023 року Північний апеляційний господарський суд підтвердив зобов’язання звільнити ділянку від незаконно збудованого «храму-МАФу» на території Національного музею історії України, розглянувши апеляційну скаргу Релігійної громади УПЦ МП Десятинний Храм на рішення Господарського суду міста Києва», – йдеться в повідомленні пресслужби Міністерства культури та інформаційної політики.

У відомстві зазначають, що розміщення цієї споруди на земельній ділянці музею суперечить її цільовому використанню.

«Храм-МАФ» побудували без жодних дозволів. Він знаходиться в буферній зоні пам’яток ЮНЕСКО, де заборонене нове будівництво. Крім того, незаконна забудова порушує ансамбль історичного археологічного комплексу «Десятинна церква». Розміщення цієї споруди на земельній ділянці музею суперечить її цільовому використанню», – йдеться в повідомленні.

Зазначається, що земельна ділянка має бути приведена у попередній стан, а роботи повинні відбутися коштом релігійної громади.

З сайту УПЦ (МП) видно, що її представники поінформовані про рішення суду, на ресурсі називають зобов’язання звільнити ділянку – «знесенням».

15 лютого Господарський суд міста Києва у рамках розгляду справи щодо «храму-мафу» УПЦ (МП) на території Національного музею історії України постановив звільнити займану територію.

Споруду, яка належить УПЦ (МП), біля фундаменту Десятинної церкви у Києві збудували в 2012 році. Судова тяганина щодо незаконності зведення будівлі триває кілька років. А тим часом «каплиця» продовжує стояти на території історичної пам’ятки та в охоронній зоні ЮНЕСКО.
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«Корабель – не голка, його не сховаєш» – ВМС про ймовірне переміщення суден РФ із Севастополя для захисту від атак

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Росія може відновити пошкоджені у Севастополі кораблі, однак це коштуватиме дорожче, ніж побудувати їх заново. А переміщення суден в інші місця особливо не убезпечить їх від потенційних атак. Про це заявив в ефірі Радіо Свобода (проєкт Свобода.Ранок) речник Військово-морських сил ЗСУ Дмитро Плетенчук.

Він каже: попри те, що на території Криму є ще багато заводів, куди можна перемістити кораблі, вберегти їх від обстрілів не так просто.

«Їх можна навіть в Казань відігнати, умовно. Там є й інші заводи, дійсно. Той самий «Лиман» в Керчі або «Феодосія». Заводів вистачає. Але ж корабель – це не голка, його не сховаєш. Ніяк. Тому тут без варіантів. Але ми можемо очікувати чого завгодно. Це Росія», – сказав речник Військово-морських сил.

Також, за його словами, якщо морські шляхи стануть єдиним логістичним коридором для російської армії, щоб постачати ресурси на південь України, то тут для військ РФ можуть виникнути проблеми.  

«Вони можуть опинитися у такому стані, що в них може залишитися лише морська логістика. І для них це буде проблемою. Тому що там не дуже легка навігація. Це, по-перше. Ну, і, по-друге, навіть, якщо вони будуть використовувати ті самі порти Бердянська або Маріуполя, хочу нагадати, що в Бердянську вони так само втратили великий десантний корабель. Просто в порту. І ще два було пошкоджено, суттєво пошкоджено. Вони досі перебувають у ремонті», – каже Плетенчук. 

У Севастополі в ніч на 13 вересня пролунала серія гучних вибухів, звуки супроводжувалися яскравими спалахами та задимленням. Було зафіксовано три епіцентри займання, зокрема на території Севастопольського морського заводу: два в Південній бухті та один – у Корабельній. Ці дані підтверджуються супутниковими даними на спеціалізованому ресурсі firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov.

Міністерство оборони Росії заявило, що удару завдали Збройні сили України нібито 10 крилатими ракетами та безпілотними катерами. Також відомство підтвердило пошкодження двох російських військових кораблів. Місцева влада Севастополя повідомляла про 24 постраждалих.

В українській розвідці заявили, що пошкоджено великий десантний корабель і підводний човен РФ, і зауважили, що ці судна, найімовірніше, не зможуть відновити.
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Vietnam, US Upgrade Partnership; Activists Critique Silence on Human Rights

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Hanoi and Washington have announced an upgrade in bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the top designation in Vietnam’s diplomatic hierarchy. A U.S. strategy of noninterference into Vietnam’s domestic politics has been crucial to Hanoi agreeing to the deal, experts say, but activists and rights groups are frustrated by the lack of focus on human rights as the crackdown on civil society worsens in the Southeast Asian country.

U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Hanoi on Sunday to meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. That afternoon, Trong and Biden announced they had agreed to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development. In a lengthy joint statement, a paragraph was dedicated to the “promotion and protection of human rights.”

Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch Phil Robertson said human rights were treated as an “afterthought” during the visit.

“The White House statement afterwards was pathetic, flagging an ongoing U.S. – Vietnam human rights ‘dialogue’ that conveniently sequesters human rights issues to a symbolic, once a year meeting with mid-level officials who talk but don’t get anything concrete done,” Robertson wrote over email.

Singer and activist Do Nguyen Mai Khoi fled Vietnam for the United States in 2019 after being threatened with arrest. She is disappointed with Washington’s standpoint as she has seen authorities jail all of the country’s activists “who didn’t want to stay quiet or live in hiding” and the government has begun arresting environmentalists and NGO leaders, she told VOA.

There are currently 191 activists in prison in Vietnam, according to the U.S.-based human rights group The 88 Project.

“Human rights and activism in Vietnam has gotten worse and worse since I left,” Mai Khoi wrote over the messaging app Signal. “[The U.S.] thinks they already have done enough for human rights by announcing some statements every time a famous activist gets arrested or giving a prize to a famous political prisoner. I think the U.S. could do better than that.”

Non-interference

Persuading Hanoi that the United States will steer clear of domestic politics has been a yearslong project.

In the past, Vietnamese leaders have been wary that an upgraded partnership with the U.S. would come with the agenda of shifting the country’s communist political system, said Le Hong Hiep, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. By putting democratic values to the side, he said, Washington was able to persuade Hanoi to upgrade ties.

“There’s a kind of commitment on the U.S. side not to interfere in Vietnam’s politics,” Hiep said. “In recent years they also have become less critical of Vietnam’s human rights record and that also helped to ease the concern of Vietnam’s leadership.”

To quell anti-American resistance, the Biden administration softened its language regarding promoting democracy and made a distinction between “good communists and bad communists” in their National Security Strategy, said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“When you look at the National Security Strategy, the language that was included was not that authoritarian states are a danger to the United States. It says that the administration will focus on opposing authoritarian states who export their authoritarianism,” Poling stated. “What the Biden administration did was steadily soften that language not exclusively for Vietnam, but for Vietnam more than any other country.”

General Secretary Trong spoke to the importance of noninterference while announcing the upgraded partnership Sunday.

“We value America’s stance of supporting a strong, independent, and self-reliant Vietnam,” Trong stated, as reported in the Vietnamese daily newspaper, Thanh Nien. “We also want to emphasize that the understanding of noninterference in each other’s internal affairs are basic principles that are very important.”

Civil society

Duy Hoang, executive director of Viet Tan, an unsanctioned pro-democracy political party in Vietnam, said there’s been a wave of activist arrests since 2017 and authorities are now cracking down on NGOs and environmentalists.

While he sees the potential benefits the upgraded U.S. partnership could have, he’d like Washington to speak more publicly on human rights.

“It’s important for the people of Vietnam to know that the United States is a friend of the people of Vietnam, not just the government,” he told VOA. “I want to see the U.S. government to be a little bit stronger on human rights.”

Further, he is concerned about how stated aims of the partnership, including addressing climate change, will be addressed considering the active crackdown on civil society.

Five prominent environmentalists have been jailed on tax evasion charges in the last two years, a charge Hoang describes as “trumped up financial charges.” Most recently, Hoang Thi Minh Hong, the former CEO of the environment-focused NGO Change, was arrested for tax evasion and remains in pre-trial detention.

“How can we talk about environmental protection without environmental activists,” Hoang said.

Mai Khoi is still hopeful the U.S. partnership could help human rights conditions in Vietnam but said she’d be disappointed if the deal goes through without the release of leading climate activists, including Hong.

“I will be very disappointed if the climate activists … are still in jail and the upgrade to the partnership still happens,” Mai Khoi said, noting activists she’d liked to see released but who remain jailed.
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US House’s Bipartisan Measures Target Iran Over Woman’s Death, Missile Program

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The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved measures Tuesday targeting Iran for its human rights record and placing restrictions on the country’s ability to import or export its expanding arsenal of weapons.

The measures would impose a series of sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader, president and other individuals as Washington seeks to further punish the Islamic Republic ahead of the one-year anniversary of nationwide protests. The resolutions will now go to the Senate, where it is unclear if the Democratic-controlled chamber will take them up.

The first bill takes aim at Iran’s production and exports of missiles and drones by sanctioning individuals involved in the process, while the second imposes sanctions on high-ranking government officials for “human rights abuses and support for terrorism.” The third resolution specifically condemns the government’s persecution of the Baha’i minority.

The near-unanimous passage of all three represents a renewed condemnation by Congress against Iran’s government, which engaged in a brutal crackdown of its citizenry after the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, the co-sponsor of the second bill, posted on social media that it was past time “to sanction those responsible for Mahsa’s murder and the repression of brave Iranian protestors.”

Amini had been detained for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely in violation of strictures demanding women in public wear the Islamic headscarves. The 22-year-old died three days later in police custody. Authorities said she had a heart attack but hadn’t been harmed. Her family has disputed that, leading to the public outcry.

The protests that ensued represented one of the largest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A security force crackdown that followed saw over 500 people killed and more than 22,000 people detained.

The unrest only further complicated any attempt by the Biden administration to restart negotiations between Washington and Tehran — after former President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.

And it has remained a point of contention for Republicans in Congress, who have sought to use the power of their majority in the House over the past several months to introduce or pass a series of binding and nonbinding resolutions related to the country’s abuse of human rights as well as its nuclear and missile programs.

The passage of the resolutions also comes a day after the Biden administration cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money without fear of U.S. sanctions.

In response, Rep, Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said while he was relieved to see the hostages released, the deal sets a bad precedent.

“I remain deeply concerned that the administration’s decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America’s adversaries to conduct future hostage-taking,” he said.
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US Consumer Prices Accelerated in August

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U.S. consumer prices jumped by the most in more than a year in August, mostly riding higher on an increase in gasoline prices, the government said Wednesday. However, analysts say underlying price pressures were tame enough that the country’s central bank may not see the need to increase its benchmark interest rate at next week’s meeting.

The country’s consumer price index edged higher last month by 3.7% on an annualized basis, after a 3.2% increase in July, the Labor Department said. Prices were up six-tenths of a percentage point in August over July after increasing by 0.2% for two straight months.

Even with the higher prices, analysts said policymakers at the central bank, the Federal Reserve, could refrain from increasing their benchmark interest borrowing rate at next week’s meeting as they wait for further evidence of the country’s inflation track.

The Fed has raised the rate 11 times in the last year and a half to curb borrowing and spending to tame inflation, which reached a recent peak of 9.1% in June 2022. The Fed’s key borrowing rate courses through the U.S. economy, helping establish interest rates for business and consumer loans.

Greg McBride, the chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, said in a statement, “The Federal Reserve is poised to hold interest rates steady at their meeting next week but there are still some concerns within this [consumer price] report — gasoline prices, motor vehicle insurance, maintenance and repair — that the Fed won’t dispel the idea of an additional interest rate hike before year-end.”

The key culprit in the August inflation increase was the rising price of gasoline for motorists at service stations, where prices peaked at nearly $4 a gallon (3.8 liters) in the third week of the month.

U.S. President Joe Biden, campaigning for reelection in 2024, took note of the economic trends in a statement, “Overall inflation has also fallen substantially over the last year, but I know last month’s increase in gas prices put a strain on family budgets.”

In national polling, Americans who are particularly conscious of their household expenses have given Biden poor marks for his handling of the economy. Biden in turn noted in his statement, “Unemployment has remained below 4% for 19 months in a row, the share of working-age Americans with a job is the highest in 20 years, and real wages are higher now than they were before the pandemic.”

The Federal Reserve attempts to adopt policies that keep the increase in U.S. consumer prices at an annualized rate of 2%.

With the rate currently higher than that, U.S. economic fortunes are certain to be a key factor in next year’s presidential contest, with Biden’s Republican opponents blaming him for higher inflation because of increased government spending that he supported. Biden said the money for infrastructure repairs helped create thousands of new jobs and was needed to fix deteriorating roads and bridges.
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Справа в тому, яка ціна, якщо Україна програє: Курт Волкер про вартість одного дня війни

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«Найефективнішим, що можна зробити, було б швидко дати Україні стільки ресурсів, скільки ми можемо, тому що це прискорить завершення конфлікту»
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Із липня через атаки РФ пошкоджено та частково знищено 105 об’єктів портової інфраструктури – Кубраков

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З 18 липня через атаки армії РФ на порти України пошкоджено та частково знищено 105 об’єктів портової інфраструктури. Внаслідок ударів по портах Дунайского кластеру та блокування морських портів скорочено експорт зернових вантажів до країн Азії, Африки та Європи на майже три мільйони тонн на місяць. Про це у фейсбуці повідомив очільник Міністерства розвитку громад, територій та інфраструктури Олександр Кубраков.

Він уточнив, що через нічний удар по портах Дунайського регіону (Рені та Ізмаїл в Одеській області) пошкоджено адміністративні будівлі, склади для зернових вантажів, ємності для зберігання олії та автотранспорт. Семеро водіїв постраждали.

«Порти Дунайського кластеру наразі – єдиний водний шлях для українського агроекспорту. Якщо не захистити його потужними системами протиповітряної оборони, то наслідки будуть більшими. Перш за все, для тих країн, які залежать від української агропродукції», – застеріг Кубраков.

Попри намагання РФ знизити експортний потенціал України, порти продовжують працювати, додав міністр.

За даними Повітряних сил, під час нічної атаки в Одеській області було збито понад три десятки ударних дронів, запущених армією РФ. Як повідомив  голова Одеської ОВА Олег Кіпер, через удари по Ізмаїльському району постраждали семеро цивільних – шість чоловіків у Рені та один – в Ізмаїлі. Кіпер каже, що двоє чоловіків з Рені у тяжкому стані, четверо інших – в стані середньої тяжкості. Постраждалому з Ізмаїлу була надана медична допомога в лікарні, він вже вдома.
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З початку вторгнення РФ 650 дітей евакуювали до закордонних клінік на лікування та реабілітацію – МОЗ

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Евакуюють українських дітей з онкологічними та онкогематологічними хворобами на лікування в США, Канаду та європейські країни
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