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:

Growing disconnect between pay and workplace effort, claims report

Growing disconnect between pay and workplace effort, claims report

Exclusive polling undertaken by YouGov for Localis showed exactly half of those surveyed felt they were paid less than they deserved, a third (31 percent) paid roughly the right amount and 7 percent felt overpaid. The polling figures also indicated nearly two thirds (61 percent) of people felt unrewarded for hard work. The findings are contained in a report entitled ‘The Delivery of an Industrial Strategy – Raising prosperity across England’ which examines how strategic authorities, such as Mayoral Combined Authorities and county councils, can take the industrial strategy forward at a local level to raise local prosperity and living standards. More →

Seven workplace stories that fired up our synapses this week

Seven workplace stories that fired up our synapses this week

Three myths about the future of work and why they’re not true

Chronic fatigue trial results ‘not robust’, new study says

Coworking is the new normal and the stats that prove it

Is mindfulness just hype?

What makes employees happy?

The workplace is killing people and nobody cares

The office sector is failing to keep up with business growth

Image: The Cluster, Melbourne

Activity and a positive attitude are best treatments for back pain, claims major new study

Activity and a positive attitude are best treatments for back pain, claims major new study

Although lower back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting an estimated 540 million people at any one time, it is often mistreated, according to a new series of papers in The Lancet medical journal. The series provides evidence that back pain should be managed with activity, in the workplace and in primary care. However, a high proportion of patients worldwide are treated in emergency departments, encouraged to rest and stop work, are referred for scans and surgery or prescribed pain killers including opioids. The authors claim this is at best pointless and at worst harmful. Exercise and psychological therapy are the only things that work for the majority of cases of chronic back pain but too many people wrongly believe the idea that rest is best for the condition, according to the authors. The series of papers also concludes that job satisfaction and a positive attitude are among the strongest indicators of how well people will overcome chronic back pain and related issues.

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Action is needed to protect commercial property driving growth of UK cities

Action is needed to protect commercial property driving growth of UK cities

A new report from the Centre for Cities think tank outlines the scale of urban transformation in big Northern and Midlands cities over recent decades and its dependence on the ready availability of commercial property. The report, City Space Race, shows that the number of people living and working in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham city centres has soared in comparison to other cities across the country but also warns that planning reforms are needed to enable these cities to provide both the commercial space and housing they need to continue to thrive. The report, sponsored by law firm DAC Beachcroft, examines the challenges British cities face in managing competing demands for residential and commercial space – especially in their city centres, where high skilled, high paying businesses increasingly choose to locate.

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Occupiers seeking tech, flexibility and wellness in a newly consumerised workplace

Occupiers seeking tech, flexibility and wellness in a newly consumerised workplace

Nearly two-thirds of  corporate occupiers (62 percent) plan to increase their investment in real estate technology over the next three years, most of them in the next year, according to the 2018 EMEA Occupier Survey from CBRE. Companies are intending to invest more heavily in new real estate technologies over the short to medium term in order to enhance the user experience and raise workforce productivity. This represents a clear move away from aiming real estate technology at purely operational goals such as energy management.

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Working fathers are being let down by workplace policies, claims Government report

Working fathers are being let down by workplace policies, claims Government report

The Government’s Women and Equalities Committee has published its report on fathers in the workplace. Its main conclusion is that current policies supporting fathers in the workplace do not deliver what they promise, despite good intentions and this is particularly the case for less well-off fathers. It claims that the Government must reform workplace policies to ensure they meet the needs of the 21st century family and to better support working dads in caring for their children, say MPs. The report concludes that the right to request flexible working has not created the necessary cultural change and the Government itself admitted to the inquiry that its flagship shared parental leave scheme will not meet its objective for most fathers.

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Seven of the best stories about life, the universe and everything we’ve seen over the past week

Seven of the best stories about life, the universe and everything we’ve seen over the past week

People don’t actually know themselves very well

Some actual facts about the time we spend sitting at work

German workers: satisfied, but not engaged

What skills and behaviours make a good leader effective?

Stephen Hawking’s most dire predictions for the future

The World’s happiest nations, according to the UN

A critique of the dogma of wellbeing

Image: By NASA/Paul Alers [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Smart cities could give people back 125 hours each year, claims new Intel study

An Intel-sponsored study by Juniper Research estimates that smart cities have the potential to “give back” around 125 hours to every resident every year. The study also ranks the top 20 smart cities worldwide across four key areas: mobility, health care, public safety and productivity, and reveals how these cities deliver positive outcomes for increased time savings and productivity, increases in health and overall quality of life, and a safer environment. The study found that Chicago, London, New York, San Francisco and Singapore (pictured), are the world’s leading cities integrating IoT technologies and connected services. These cities stand out because of their cohesive efforts to connect city municipalities, businesses and their citizens to address a growing need to improve “livability” – specifically around mobility (San Francisco and Singapore), public safety (Chicago, New York and Singapore), health care (London and Singapore), and productivity (Chicago, London and Singapore) – as they transition to a smarter, more connected environment.

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Four UK cities ranked in Europe’s top ten most attractive locations for businesses and employees

Four UK cities ranked in Europe’s top ten most attractive locations for businesses and employees

London has been ranked as Europe’s most attractive city for businesses and employees for second year running according to Colliers International’s latest European Cities of Influence report, which reviews and ranks cities based on their occupier attractiveness, availability of talent, and quality of life factors alongside economic output and productivity; Paris, Madrid, Moscow and Birmingham making up the rest of the top five. The report claims that the UK remains a highly desirable destination for capital and occupiers, largely driven by its ‘magnetism as a centre of diverse high-quality service sector talent’, which is in turn is helping to drive economic output and productivity. Other UK cities which score in the top 10 include Birmingham (5th), Edinburgh (7th) and Manchester (10th).

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Workplace Matters Podcast: Neil Usher on the elemental workplace and a possible new era for BIFM

Workplace Matters Podcast: Neil Usher on the elemental workplace and a possible new era for BIFM

Workplace author, blogger and consultant Neil Usher joins 3edges director Ian Ellison again on the day of his ‘The Elemental Workplace’ book launch; also the day the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) announce their proposal to become the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM). Both of these very different, but exciting developments for the workplace discipline are discussed at length, and Neil offers insightful critique as always. The conversation ends up at one of the new frontiers for the way we work and the places we do it – and global society in general – the ethical challenges we face from emerging digital technologies. Further links from the discussion can be found in the show-notes on the podcast page of www.3edges.co.uk, where you can also find a free download of the Workplace Leadership Manifesto which 3edges co-wrote and published with Neil this January.

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Seven great workplace stories that have inspired and intrigued us over the past week

Seven great workplace stories that have inspired and intrigued us over the past week

Do people really get promoted to their level of incompetence?

Emotional Intelligence: an integrative meta-analysis

Male and female bosses share the same “masculine” personality traits

How to read less news but be more informed

The Jurassic Park problem – tech and ethics

The 911 transcripts of times Apple employees walked into glass walls

Landlords woo office tenants with worker perks

UK women still feel held back by motherhood and flexible work penalty

UK women still feel held back by motherhood and flexible work penalty

Four in ten (44 percent) women in the UK feel nervous about the impact starting a family might have on their career and 48 percent of new mothers felt overlooked for promotions and special projects upon their return to work. This is according to a new PwC report, launched to mark International Women’s Day, which surveyed over 3,600 professional women (293 in the UK) across different sectors to find out about their career development experiences and aspirations. The report claims that UK women still perceive a motherhood and flexibility penalty in the workplace. Over a third (36 percent) surveyed say they feel that taking advantage of work life balance and flexibility programmes has negative career consequences. The report – Time to talk: what has to change for women at work – claims that women are confident, ambitious and ready for what’s next, but many don’t trust what their employers are telling them about career development and promotion.

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