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:

Siemens new Swiss campus showcases workplace technology and use of BIM in construction

Siemens new Swiss campus showcases workplace technology and use of BIM in construction

by • Case studies, Company news, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

Siemens AG has officially opened its new campus in Zug, Switzerland. The Siemens Zug campus features a new office building with 1,000 work spaces and a newly constructed production building. The investment volume for new buildings, renovations and related measures amounts to CHF 250 million. The campus is the international headquarters of the Siemens Building Technologies (BT) Division, which has 29,000 employees. Construction of the office and production buildings began in May 2016 and was completed in July 2018. The Siemens Zug campus is one of the first new projects to use Building Information Modeling (BIM) for design and construction. The digital twin – a 3D model of the building, enhanced with technical information relevant for later operations – is the foundation for efficient, cost-optimised and forward-looking building management. More →

Government report calls time on late payments, addresses productivity puzzle

Government report calls time on late payments, addresses productivity puzzle

by • Facilities management, News, Property

The culture of late payment by large firms has led to the failure of many small businesses in the UK and prevented even more from thriving and improving their productivity, according to a parliamentary select committee report published today. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee has called on the government to enforce tougher measures on large firms who treat small businesses “disgracefully” by enforcing long payment terms or paying their suppliers late. The Small businesses and productivity report said that, for an SME to succeed, it is crucial they are paid fairly and on time.

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Firms and employees need to do more to address climate change

Firms and employees need to do more to address climate change

by • Environment, News

A new report claims to have found a lack of commitment amongst UK businesses to address their impact on the environment and contribution to climate change, with only 10 percent having set a carbon reduction target, while just under half of companies (49 percent) use even the most basic sustainability measures, such as recycling bins for office waste.

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Sociopathic corporations, the office as home, self-promotion anxiety and some other stuff

Sociopathic corporations, the office as home, self-promotion anxiety and some other stuff

by • Features

There is a theory that when companies talk about issues such as corporate social responsibility they are doing so because it helps them to achieve their business goals. This is the coldly rational thing to do according to people like free market guru Milton Friedman who argues that companies should not actively pursue altruistic ends unless that pursuit is ultimately in the interest of their shareholders. As Friedman puts it: ‘Hypocrisy is virtuous when it serves the bottom line. Moral virtue is immoral when it does not’.

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Business confidence linked to attitudes towards digital transformation

Business confidence linked to attitudes towards digital transformation

by • News, Technology

A report published by Vodafone suggests there is a clear link between digital transformation and levels of business confidence in the UK. 79 percent of business leaders say digital transformation is a strategic priority and are keen to exploit its full potential. Organisations that prioritise digital transformation are also more confident about future growth. Of those business who see digital as a low-priority, only 17 percent are very confident about their future growth; for those who see digital transformation as a high-priority, this figure almost triples to 50 percent. The Digital, Ready? report surveyed 2,001 business leaders across the UK, from sole traders through to large enterprises and the public sector. It found that a fifth have already successfully implemented digital transformation projects; and more than half believe they are making good progress (53 percent). 69 percent recognise that their organisation will not survive if they fail to embrace digital transformation.

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OECD, UN Environment and World Bank call for a radical shift in infrastructure thinking

OECD, UN Environment and World Bank call for a radical shift in infrastructure thinking

by • Cities, Environment, News

The OECD, UN Environment and World Bank Group have this week called on leaders of G20 countries to do more to enable a radical shift of investment into low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure as a way to limit the impact of climate change. Delivering a new report, Financing Climate Futures: Rethinking Infrastructure, to the G20 at its Summit in Buenos Aires, the three International Organisations said governments need to adopt a more transformative agenda on low-carbon, climate-resilient investments if they are to meet the Paris Agreement goal of cutting CO2emissions to net zero in the second half of the century and build resilience to climate change.

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New report challenges idea that productivity has no link with income

New report challenges idea that productivity has no link with income

by • News, Workplace

A new IZA World of Labor report published today suggests that workers’ effort may be more responsive to wage incentives and therefore the efficiency costs of progressive labour income taxation larger than previously thought. A fundamental question in economic policy is how labour supply responds to changes in remuneration. The responsiveness of labour supply determines the size of the employment impact and efficiency loss of progressive income taxation for example. The economist Tess Stafford of the University of New South Wales, Australia, summarises a number of recent studies of independent contractors’ labour supply which confirm a key prediction of economic theory: workers work more (in fact, quite a bit more) when earnings are temporarily high.

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Meaningful work an important driver of health and wellbeing for men

Meaningful work an important driver of health and wellbeing for men

by • News, Wellbeing

Men’s care brand Harry’s has published the findings from their first US Masculinity Report in partnership with University College London psychologist John Barry, co-founder of the male psychology section of the British Psychological Society. The report surveyed 5,000 men aged 18-95 across the US, weighted for race, income, education, sexual orientation and other factors. Respondents were asked about their wellbeing, happiness, confidence, emotional stability, motivation, optimism, and sense of being in control. They were then asked how satisfied they are with their careers, relationships, money, work-life balance, physicality, and mental health. The reports key finding was the strong correlation between wellbeing and meaningful work.

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The meaning of life, the Black Mirror of Beijing, standing desks not a silver bullet and some other stuff

The meaning of life, the Black Mirror of Beijing, standing desks not a silver bullet and some other stuff

by • Features

So, what is the meaning of life? According to a study by Pew, the gold standard US based researchers, it’s spending time with family and friends, reading, listening to music and going for a walk in the open air. Work comes somewhere down the list. Just one-third of the survey’s respondents mentioned their career or job as a source of meaning, and only a quarter cite finances or money. This, it turns out, is not too far off Monty Python’s conclusion in their eponymous film:  Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations. That’s that sorted then.

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Reducing commuting times could drastically reduce CO2 emissions

Reducing commuting times could drastically reduce CO2 emissions

by • Environment, Flexible working, News

A decrease in commuting times in the UK will reduce levels of carbon dioxide by 7.8 million tonnes per year by 2030, according to a new study by Regus. The economic study, carried out by independent researchers, found that if the growth in flexible workspace continues to increase, commuters in the country could save 115 million hours of commuting time per annum by 2030 from a turn to flexible working. Meanwhile, the nation which would see the largest annual carbon emission saving by 2030 is the United States. It is predicted to save nearly 960 million hours in commuting time, and with US commuters relying heavily on cars, this time saved translates to over 100 million tonnes of CO2.

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Go Home On Time Day highlights one of the least discussed workplace issues

Go Home On Time Day highlights one of the least discussed workplace issues

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Today is National Go Home on Time Day (in Australia at least) and the 10th annual report by The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work published to coincide with it estimates that Australian employees will work 3.2 billion hours of unpaid overtime for their employers this year, worth an estimated $106 billion in wages. It’s refreshing to see a figure  applied to this issue, because most of the stuff we get tends to highlight how much time employers are losing to the myriad of distractions, responsibilities, foibles, preferences, cock-ups and ailments that come with giving jobs to humans. An issue we satirise here. More →

The most common workplace tactics for health promotion may be detrimental for overweight employees

The most common workplace tactics for health promotion may be detrimental for overweight employees

by • News, Wellbeing

Workplace health promotion programmes that encourage employees to take responsibility for their own weight may have detrimental effects for employees with obesity, reveals a new study. These range from feeling increasingly responsible for their weight but perceiving they have less control over it, to increased workplace weight stigma and discrimination. Ironically, these effects could even lead to increased obesity and decreased wellbeing. Published in Frontiers in Psychology, the study finds these pitfalls could be avoided through programs focusing on the employer’s responsibility to maintain employee health.

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