sounds. weird. when your family scattered across the globe. that's a big city to. turn to the birds remember the. family from somalia live around the world. needed urgent assistance to. the family starts october 8th on t w. well some of us and joy the solitude of the good old single office all those love to communicate directly with dozens of colleagues in an open plan workspace but

both are falling out of fashion the future of work will look radically different we're told with collaboration spaces hot desking home office is that really the future the next gen workplace that's all topic today on maze how and where we will work. now when i'm not here in the studio talking to you why i sit like millions of others at my desk in an open plan office the wus room is a beehive 40 journalists squeezed into an old factory old researching editing video discussing ideas for stories it's pretty lively there as you can imagine that i enjoy that but sometimes when i need to focus on writing like this script that i'm reading off the teleprompter to you right now i miss the peace and quiet of a single office but open plan ones are not just slightly annoying at times research is suggesting that they can be downright unhealthy but those forced to work in them it's time to think about those 100 tips. this is an open plan

office like many others across germany. it's often noisy so it can be hard to concentrate. this is also one but of a new and trendy a kind it looks more like a hipster café can anyone actually get any work done here i think that if you are allowed to go back and reflect on them if you reflect by sitting in a so for reading a magazine or if you do the postle if you go to the gym and do some exercising or if you. do some downstream i think that helps to. increase the quality of our decisions and delivers. the standard regimented open plan offices giving way to a more fluid and flexible work space this open space design concept has been implemented here in stockholm by the scandinavian subsidiary of the 2 we travel group. the $500.00 employees don't have

a scientist they work what they like there are more and less private areas and a range of meeting rooms. i am kind of flexible in my way of working usually work at different places because i i have a hard time focusing and since i have a lot of different places and spaces to sit around or i can just stand up i think it's super good. design an open plan offices for clerical staff was a way to save space and money they're cheaper to build than individual offices an estimated 20 percent cheaper on average but a study from sweden found that people who work in standard open plan offices call in sick twice as often as others. another study found that it can take up to 23 minutes for an employee to regain full concentration after being distracted. to the

evening things quiet down obviously there are some benefits it's nice to see the colleagues here and there are many nice people working here and you get a lot of feedback and import from your colleagues working here. the new style open space design can lend itself to new ways of working for example 3 computer programmers are working together yet while one writes the other to offer advice this collaborative approach is meant to help the team catch coding mistakes you get the corporation you need anyway but now you get it immediately. the cycle of communication it's much shorter when you sit together from the start it's clear for me personally very fun way of working. the rule is that they change roles every 8 minutes so they take turns writing code is important that the team you're working in wants to work this way. you can't have any prestige like i want to be the best

developer that's not the point the point is we need to get out there are going to believe we're the best solution. so it's not like a competition who is going to write both codes. i don't like noisy offices so i try to work from home whenever i can. the open space doctrine also aims to count to certain workplace problems such as room and mongering and the development of fiefdoms and clique's. we build our way of working here around the fi very important aspects one is transparency when you walk around here you'll see that we've got no car very few close through said cetera me as the managing director is sit in the open spaces like anyone else and if you want to listen to what i talk about you can sit next to jimmy and i think building on that there's a big degree of trust. if you get to work early you can choose where to sit.

but you can't choose who sits next to you. well even though you're just seeing me right now this show is made by dozens of people reporters camera women editors sound engineers technicians graphic designers video editors team what is he without it you can't do television or make most products the work is just too complex and that holds for research and technological development as well the innovation lab and heidelberg brings together scores of scientists from universities and companies to work on advanced technology with commercial potential the focus is on organic electronics that sounds difficult and it is precisely why so many clever people have to work together. i love my job. i get tired about different cultures and working methods different

social classes and mentalities we bring everything together on one platform for. you and when's job is to coordinate collaboration among 150 scientists from 3 universities and between research groups from different fields of study as well as between researches and industry. the innovation lab in heidelberg does research into areas that have commercial potential. that's it's my job yeah i thought it's my job to make the scientists aware of gaps in the market and stead of doing research that's not relevant to the market they examine what people need many things that end consumers can later use. production takes place next to the laboratory and involves 3 major companies. one of them is heidelberg or took. the company faces

a major problem it's printing machines are optimized for paper but demand for newspapers and books is on the decline. it means to find a new gross market like digital printing instead of newspapers in the future the machinery will print senses is that a nation or a business of the future. by its effect on this infinity of foresight and a little imagination new technologies trying to be hyped in the beginning but it takes a bit longer for them to really come to life of collaboration with the universities is very good for you we understand each other specific interests and so far that has always gone smoothly and at this hearing from about. how much is he. already invested i'd rather not say. the cooperation at innovation lab has been more expensive and more difficult than

originally anticipated for all parties i know we have different cultures time doesn't play a role it was university if i need to 5 or 10 years to develop something that doesn't matter to me as a public servant. just kind of want to listen to this my god it's clearly a balancing act on the one hand we have tax listed companies as stakeholders on the other hand universities aren't profit oriented it's just an attribute these are spike up that's my balancing act i have to reconcile the interests of both sides. but he believes the collaboration has put them far ahead in the global research race digital printing is ready to be launched on the market the next step is to find a market and customers. the automotive industry

in his homeland of vietnam has shown interest could the census be used in car seats asian rivals are intrigued by the new technology what. does it mean that we're proud to have found a technology that we produce in germany an expensive location a technology that we deliver to the entire world. through her and we have a lot of inquiries from china asking to visit our companies. if there's no intention to do business with us then we say no right away so what are. you what glenn doesn't want to reveal how much the product costs the price is negotiable but he will say that the digital sensors are much less expensive than conventional systems. now teamwork is great as long as you have enough true team players but there are also problems employees who refused to speak to each other denounced colleagues to the boss to create

a toxic atmosphere in the workplace conflicts between workers drive down productivity and cost companies time energy and money sometimes only professional mediation and help. say you have a feeling that someone is looking to point a finger at you. everything they do is designed to make you look bad. in situations like this you're interacting the other person's behavior and almost creating your own reality. i don't know what to say i can't work with the i can't talk to him. because they feel that it's not easy for you to be here because things have already gone so far do you feel the same yes i do so you don't want to be here you'd rather be back in the office working hour and my boss told me i had to take part. of the

managers get in touch when they see it as a bad feeling some sort of conflict in a team and something has to change in the body on all we might get a call because some colleagues have been at loggerheads for 2 years that people are leaving because they're affected by the conflict and they just can't take it anymore. you know of others were also. put so why not my role here is to support you both equally if you have i'm not here to take signs that i'm here to help both of you reach an agreement that you're both happy with i'm a professional does it by that means. get on the upside for we encourage people to take responsibility and we trust that they can sort the problem out we try to get to the root of the problem and figure out how the working relationship can be restored and people come here with intractable positions that you know when a conflict has been dragging on for months or even years we're not going to be able

to appeal for their better natures and resolve it in 10 minutes we all want to be appreciated we want relationships based on mutual trust the respect. of if when your colleague says i just like him to listen sometimes what's your response to that. cop it's the 1st time she said that whatever i say just gets ignored. part is the solemn word empathy is crucial i try to tease out their feelings and expectations while the other person is listening sometimes you get these magic moments where one of them says a right that's what you meant and that's the moment where they can see the situation from a different point of view and that's when i get goosebumps because i can tell that the mood is shifting things start to come down communication becomes more measured

less hostile they can look at one another in the i. begin with the perspective they leave with a plan they've agreed on a specific new approach for example and there's a positive side effect they also learn new ways to cope with conflict and take that with them they're more likely to seek one another out and talk things through than before they came to mediation. or whatever gets all the time. or some of us those kinds of conflicts are a thing of the past anyway when you're sitting in your home office in your pajamas working in the clouds conflicts with colleagues don't even arise that easily all kinds of new categories of worker have emerged in recent years the names may sound jolly but if you are a giggle click oclock crowd work or the daily grind can be brutal.

digitalization is changing how we work and what our jobs are called. vera is a crowd worker she's a programmer but instead of working for one company on contract she takes assignments from an on line platform to freelance for a fee. she's part of the crowd a huge pool of coders around the world with whom she competes for assignments. that also makes her a cloud worker she uploads her finished programs into the cloud for her customers she can work any time and anywhere she wants but she has no job protection or social security. neither does tim he's a good worker as a self-employed trains men he works in a traditional profession totally analog but he gets his contracts one at a time via an internet platform just like an increasing number of pizza delivery workers and house cleaners. then there's thomas he's a click worker he's

a student and earns a little on the sign with simple digital. he writes product descriptions for online retailers and headings for photos he has to work quickly to even earn the legal minimum wage. well if you are all those click all crowd work is sitting alone at home all the time that can make you very lonely but there is a remedy for us taking your laptop along to a co-working space in the countryside coconuts were creation is one of a range of projects around the world where you can both get away from it all and get on with your work tranquility and companionship. i need a break from the stress of office life to get away from the city entirely but i found a place that might do the trick a so-called work cation retreat 2 hours outside and the 1st question of course

would be what is working for me. it's a mixture of work and vocation or yeah that's the idea that's what it what it is we didn't make the word out it already existed so. we are in the middle of writing the book. this is a little known english speaking village now i'm just getting in from the united states but i lived in i've been living in germany for 7 years now. the coconut retreat she founded as a cross between a hotel and an office share featuring 3 meals a day and why 5 there are similar projects all around the world a lot of it has to do with this change in thinking about lifestyle so you also see a lot of digital nomads so people who have taken mike this idea of flexibility beyond the flexible work we can working at home but now they actually would like to be flexible in where they live there's multiple facets we have people from the city

from berlin come people from other parts of germany and then we have international visitors who stay for a little bit longer and they come because they think community aspects know that they're not alone in their lifestyle they're not they're travelling but they're not tourists there's something else people looking for a refuge far from the urban hustle and bustle like david hall from australia he says self employed auditor and only needs his trusty laptop to take care of business as a small business or no. you don't really get a holiday there are 3 miles to do it every day there are phone calls to return and there's work that needs to be done if you take an extended period of time off it builds up and then it's hard to get back on top of. alongside him is yet a bear once a journalist from berlin the 2 of them are sharing a workspace for a week. from established the crucial thing for me was having no distractions after

getting out to have breakfast together and then you sit down next to each other to work other than that there's nothing to stop the focusing on your work yeah but i'm asking myself on a project for an entire week was really good but the fact is that it. sounds like just what our reporter is looking for cocoa not as short for community and concentration in nature the converted manor house can accommodate 50 guests. the rooms are no frills just as well when you're keen to concentrate on your work speaking of which with the peace and quiet help our reporter to crack his writer's block. one day stay with a single room overnight costs $80.00 euros and another bonus is there's nobody here to make you work and get food to meet it's you know we're going to do is going to meditation. first i'd like to ask you to close your eyes i breathe in deeply 3

times and through the nose and out through the mouth. you. know i. just come from you might sometimes find yourself thinking about your next editorial meeting or the next deadline for an article. so try to be conscious of your thoughts and then let that go. and see inside. the meditation courses are so relaxing that you might miss lunch. there are 30 guests here today dining together is also a great opportunity to do some networking of course. many of the guests are based in berlin. my goat wallace and from denmark runs

a start up that no has a workforce of 49 people but now and again she has to come to the countryside to take a time out i went to yesterday and it was kind of crazy right because i went by bike 10 in the evening and it was very. and i had to go through a forest and at some point i actually heard some what are they called i mean wild boar. and i have tried mate i was a little bit scared. but i made it here to tell you that they have moved over well you know there wolf and before i am more the intrepid unearths 5 love coming up with ideas and think about new ways to do fings and this is also one of the reason why i'm here now because i cannot sit in an office all the time it's easy to see why many guests choose to stay for several days but sadly the daily grind in

berlin awaits. where and how we will work in the future is still very much up in the one thing though is for sure automation will cost many jobs artificial intelligence and robotics are making advances a breakneck speed major growth area is the internet of things linking intelligent machines to each other it is they are telling us the way of the future where we met 2 entrepreneurs who see vast opportunities. a factory that makes machines that communicate with one another and work autonomous lee. digital advances are revolutionizing production methods. and these 2 entrepreneurs have recognized the potential that lies it means changes i'm in it you know and diana responded said k. systems that software is intended to enable

a new level of automation. and if we believe in the vision that the new users will be people but machines machines will also negotiate with one another for example about terms and prices and that's what we're facilitating with our technology. well at least that's the goal of the startups business is based on a very specific software solution. that's meant to help companies switch to a new business model. we're offering engineering companies the possibility of selling their machinery on a flexible use oriented manner their customers don't have to pay for machinery in one big lump sum. they don't have to make such a big investment instead they pay on a flexible pay as you go basis on a monthly basis. 100. the 2 have developed a block shame to do just that it ensures that billing is reliable fair and secure

as the men's and bosh are already on their books and they're hoping such big name customers will convince more small and medium sized companies to get on board. and this is where offering them a kind of a zone that's there for 10 years down the line i think it's clear that a purely hardware based business will no longer be profitable in 5 or 10 years time we say hey with our software you can make the 1st step toward being a service provider. europe's biggest software manufacturer as a p.c. is. let me idea. that surrounds itself with startups that relate to its own core business it's a strategy that many companies are pursuing to remain innovative. today when you look at business i think that those businesses that will be successful are businesses that are ecosystems of ecosystems right there find ways to collaborate with innovators with small companies with large companies so that the outcome for

the customer is ultimately going to be bad. for start ups like that k. systems the opportunity of cooperating with a major corporation is very tempting it means they get training assistance and attention from potential customers and investors. they also have something to offer big companies in return that's in arbiters or to be blunt what they often lack is the agility to develop a very innovative solution when you've built up a big company then you have developed completely different responded human systems and processes that we don't have and we can take on a lot more risk and develop a much more innovative solution. which in a way to world isn't going to work and. businesses are increasingly switching from competition to cooperation but of course only when such networking benefits both parties. well brave new world in the making

but speaking human to human good by the good week from me and our team here in berlin you can also find me on twitter of course on facebook b w best until next time. the fish. fish. fish. fish.

enter the conflict zone confronting the powerful i guess this week outside the capital hard paying his chosen way seeking the nomination probating posix a carbon tax as china pushes with increasing elgin c from unification come a time when east continue to reject its quota and sees party come to office

conflict so for him it seems doubly the for. europe. what unites. what divides. some of the books try to force. what binds the continent to get her to a guy answers and stories a plenty good. spotlight on people. 90 minutes on d w. a quiet melody rizzo's michael lighten the mood. ready and in soon repeat resonate within its soul. the moonlight and the music. ain't open 1st 12019

from september 6th to september 29th. the natural riches of precious resources. and unrewarding investment. of farmland has been called ethiopia's green gold the country has an abundance of live and leases it to international hammer from china and. the government is after high export revenues and the corporations high profit margins but not everyone benefits from the booming business. expression environmental destruction starvation. the price for government and corporate greed.

are selling out of a. dead donkeys and fear no hyenas. start september 18th on d. w. . hat. this is d.w. news live from berlin a 12 punch against forced johnson's press it plans the u.k. parliament has passed legislation that would make a no deal bret's it illegal the prime minister cannot fight it but lawmakers have approved the bill which would also delayed u.k.'s exit from the european union then they rejected johnson's call for a snap election. also coming up to hurricane dorian devastates the bahamas the

scale of the disaster caused by the monster storm is becoming clearer with tens of thousands of homes destroyed and future.