About Mark Eltringham

Mark is the publisher of Workplace Insight, IN magazine, Works magazine and is the European Director of Work&Place journal. He has worked in the office design and management sector for over thirty years as a journalist, marketing professional, editor and consultant.

Posts by Mark Eltringham:

We are running out of time to find the meaning of work

We are running out of time to find the meaning of work

Last week’s report from the IFS detailing the ongoing rise in the numbers of working poor in the UK highlights just how dysfunctional work can be in the modern era. While depictions of work in the media tend to consist of diverse Millennials clustering around a single laptop in the sun-dappled offices of tech firms, or chilling on the Chesterfield in a coworking space, the reality for many people is somewhat different. More →

Jobs upheaval as world adapts to era of automation

A new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit and UiPath claims that organisations around the world currently making extensive use of automation technologies, with 67 percent of UK business executives claiming to be satisfied satisfied with the results of their automation initiatives, 48 percent describing their organisation’s progress with automation as advanced, and 73 percent expecting their company’s operating costs to improve as a result of automating business processes. It is published on the same day as another report suggests that up to 20 million manufacturing jobs could be lost to robots across the world’s leading economies by 2030, replaced by a range of new jobs. More →

WeWork completes largest office deal in Birmingham this year

WeWork completes largest office deal in Birmingham this year

Six Brindleyplace, the new home of coworking provider WeWork in BirminghamWeWork has agreed a deal to take over all seven floors of Six Brindleyplace in Birmingham. The deal is the coworking provider’s third in the City this month alone, following deals for 55 Colmore Row and Louisa Ryland House, both in the Colmore Business District in the city centre. The deal for the 97,000 sq. ft. of Six Brindleyplace is believed to be the largest office deal in Birmingham so far this year, bringing its total offering in the city to 200,000 sq. ft.  More →

The difference between office design and FM is the difference between sex and parenthood

The difference between office design and FM is the difference between sex and parenthood

office design and facilities managementThere is an ongoing feeling within the facilities management discipline that when it comes to office design, facilities managers are not consulted early enough or well enough or consistently enough to ensure that the end result is a workplace that is as functional and as effective as it could be. The reason this feeling persists is that in many cases it is true. Or at least is true to a greater or lesser extent depending on how you view these things. More →

Tech laggards face extinction unless they innovate

Tech laggards face extinction unless they innovate

Many larger businesses are struggling to implement digital transformation in spite of the dangers to their long term survival, a new joint report from CBI and Oracle claims. According to Bigger, Faster, Stronger, the improved adoption of technology could unlock productivity and wage growth. Research shows that more adoption, coupled with better management practices, could add £100 billion to the UK economy and cut income inequality by 5 per cent. However, only 54 per cent of UK companies believe disruptive technologies play an important role in their organisation, much lower than in countries such as France, Germany, India and Russia. More →

HSBC strikes 1000 desk deal with WeWork

HSBC strikes 1000 desk deal with WeWork

HSBC has agreed a deal to locate more than a thousand members of London staff in a WeWork coworking space in London. WeWork confirmed to the Financial Times that the bank has signed up for 1,135 desks at its new building at 2 Southbank Place.  The move is further proof of how coworking has become a mainstream option for large corporations as they seek to get more value our of their property and introduce new working methods. HSBC’s corporate real estate team and other staff already work from coworking spaces, but the new deal marks a step change in its strategy.

Image: WeWork’s existing coworking space at Waterloo

Tech workers prefer to work for larger corporations

Tech workers prefer to work for larger corporations

Tech workers sharing a jokeUK SMEs are losing out to big tech in the battle to recruit top tech talent, according to Robert Half UK’s new report, Recruiting for the future: The challenges for UK SMEs. The white paper, which was based on an independent study of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) across the UK, found that three quarters (75 percent) of CIOs believe that it is more challenging for SMEs to attract tech workers because they prefer to work for larger technology companies. More →

Workers go cold on hot desking

Workers go cold on hot desking

The practice of sharing workstations with fellow workers is making people increasingly unhappy, according to a survey of more than 1,000 office workers by real estate firm Savills, who for some reason still insist on referring to it as hot desking in spite of the fact that the idea covers a range of practices that are not hot desking. According to the firm’s study, a mere 12 percent of people believe sharing workstations with their colleagues make them more productive. Half claimed it made them less productive, compared to around a third in a related study two years ago. More →

The greenest building is no building, our false craving for silence and some other stuff

The greenest building is no building, our false craving for silence and some other stuff

As climate scientists issue increasingly stark warnings about the global environmental catastrophe that is increasingly likely within a very short time frame, Will Jennings issues a timely reminder in the Architects Journal that the greenest type of building is no building at all. And that is doubly so when the building we are talking about is The Tulip, which would clearly be a very bad idea at any time. The author takes particular exception to the glossy environmental pledges made by high profile architects when contrasted with the ugly, vacuous grandstanding typified by The Tulip. More →

Working lives dominated by stress and overwork

Working lives dominated by stress and overwork

Working lives are dominated by stressOver-work, stress and poor work-life balance are undermining attempts to improve the quality of working lives in the UK, new research from the CIPD claims. Over 5,000 people were surveyed for the UK Working Lives Survey, an annual assessment of job quality across seven different categories including pay and benefits, contracts and employment terms, and voice and representation. More →

BT to dispose of 90 percent of real estate

BT to dispose of 90 percent of real estate

BT HQ in London real estateBT has announced that it plans to close more than 270 offices as part of a five-year programme to cut costs by around £1.5bn. The firm says it will retain 30 sites in its real estate portfolio, primarily those “containing modern, future-fit buildings, including corporate offices, contact centres and specialist sites”. BT has announced the first eight locations for its new consolidated offices as part of what it calls the “Better Workplace Programme”, which was first announced in May 2018. The offices will be located in London, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Ipswich. More →

The best workplace events to look forward to in June

The best workplace events to look forward to in June

As the workplace sector raises its profile and that of the key topics that define it and the world sets out to address the wide range of challenges for the way we live and work, some of them even vital for our existence, this might prove to be something of a seminal year and so it’s important to be out and about sharing ideas. Fortunately, you can find a full list of relevant happenings around the world on our Events page, the most comprehensive calendar of workplace related events in the world, in partnership with Herman Miller.

This upcoming month, June 2019 see a range of key topics addressed including wellbeing, sustainability, office design, coworking and acoustics. Here are a few of the best:

 

BCO Annual Conference
05 June 2019 – 07 June 2019
Copenhagen

RICS Digital Built Environment Conference 2019
05 June 2019
London

Wellbeing at Work
06 June 2019
New York

The Association of Noise Consultants annual conference
06 June 2019
Manchester

The Smart Conversations Workplace Conference
06 June 2019
Barcelona

BRE Wellness and Biophilia Symposium
06 June 2019 – 07 June 2019
Watford

Condeco Workplace Innovation Forum
06 June 2019
London

Neocon
10 June 2019 – 12 June 2019
Chicago

CIPD Festival of Work
12 June 2019 – 13 June 2019
London

Future of Work Summit 2019 – Embrace Change to Manage the new Workplace Reality
13 June 2019
London

Personal preferences in the modern office – with Dr Nigel Oseland
18 June 2019
London

IWFM Annual General Meeting (AGM) June 2019
20 June 2019
London

Workplace Week – New York
24 June 2019 – 28 June 2019
New York

Coworking London Conference 2019
27 June 2019 – 28 June 2019
London