February 9, 2018
How we developed our theories of colour through medieval glass
How smartphone addiction kills manners and moods
How the modern world makes us mentally ill
A first look inside Apple Park
The trivial problem of paper jams and the limits of technology
Are innovative companies more profitable?
Companies are not getting what they want from their workplaces
February 7, 2018
The government is to give so-called gig economy workers new rights including holiday and sick pay for the first time. Its new Good Work plan is a direct response to last year’s Taylor Review which recommended changes in conditions to reflect modern working practices and extend the rights of workers in the new economy. The government has said it will proceed with almost all the review’s recommendations including giving zero-hour and agency workers the right to request a more stable contract.
February 6, 2018
A survey of 20,000 European workers carried out by Microsoft suggests that technology can distract workers rather than make them more productive. The study claims that a constant stream of messages, notifications and emails was particularly distracting. Workers also pointed out that the way employers use technology can also disrupt their work and make it harder for them to concentrate. Other factors identified in the report include lack of training and burn-out associated with always-on working.
February 2, 2018
Is lack of sleep affecting your work?
What if you never saw your colleagues again?
In the name of place-making, architects are often complicit in social cleansing
What CIOs need to know about workplace biometrics
Embarrassment capes and singing drones aim to shame Japan’s workaholics
Together or apart: solidarities, silos and seating plans
Andreas Gursky, master of the contemporary sublime
Image: Andreas Gursky’s May Day V
February 1, 2018
A new sponsored study from researchers at Harvard University claims that green buildings deliver billions of dollars of social and health benefits beyond those associated with reduced energy consumption. The researchers examined a subset of green-certified buildings over a 16-year period in six countries: the U.S., China, India, Brazil, Germany and Turkey. The study identified nearly $6 billion in combined health and climate benefits. The results are published in the peer reviewed Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.
January 31, 2018
Property developer John Baker, formerly of Baker Lorenz, has launched a new venture to develop a series of new business districts in South East commuter towns and outer London boroughs. The John Baker Group is working in partnership with building and civil engineering contractor Sir Robert McAlpine on the £2bn project which will see the delivery of some 2 million sq. ft. of new office space across the South East. The joint venture, called The Commercial Parks Group, has already acquired £20m worth of property in Crawley, Haywards Heath and Bromley in order to create a series of major business hubs.
January 30, 2018
The patchy effects of automation and artificial intelligence could compound the economic differences between the UK’s cities, according to a new report from the Centre for Cities. It concludes that while automation will boost jobs in British cities over the coming decades, it will also deepen economic and political divisions across the country, with Northern and Midlands cities more exposed to job losses than cities in the South. The report claims that 1 in 5 existing jobs in British cities are likely to be displaced by 2030 as a result of automation and globalisation – amounting to 3.6 million jobs in total – with retail occupations, customer service roles and warehouse jobs among those most at threat. Significantly, however, this risk is not spread evenly across the country, with struggling cities in the North and Midlands more exposed to job losses than wealthier cities in the South. Around 18 percent of jobs are under threat in Southern cities, compared to 23 percent in cities elsewhere in the country.
January 29, 2018
Britain is dividing into seven new classes of worker as the gig economy grows, according to think-tank the RSA (the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). Striving, Thriving or Just About Surviving has been published to coincide with the launch of the RSA’s Future Work Centre, following RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor’s employment review for Theresa May last year. The report warns of a 30:40:30 society: while around 30 percent live comfortably, economic insecurity is “the new normal” with 40 percent just managing and a bottom 30 percent not managing to get by.
January 26, 2018
Workers in female-dominated workplaces have worse access to flexible working arrangements than those in gender-neutral and even male-dominated workplaces, new research from the University of Kent has found. The report challenges the commonly held assumption that the low wages often found in female-dominated workplaces can be justified through better provision of family-friendly arrangements, but the research provides evidence that low wages are accompanied by worse working conditions. (more…)
January 26, 2018
Americans see both good and bad in trends that are changing the workplace
Seven portraits of modern work in the UK
Podcast: It’s time we accepted that the workplace is not a playground
Film: The world in 2018 (registration needed)
Health experts recommend standing up at desk, leaving office, never coming back
Delivering business growth through diversity
January 25, 2018
The World Economic Forum has announced an international expansion of its Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The announcement coincides with this week’s Forum at Davos, which you can follow live here. New affiliate Centers will open in India, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, creating ‘an international network dedicated to maximising the benefits and minimising the risks of emerging technology’. In cooperation with host governments and private companies, affiliate Centers will aim to build on the work under way in San Francisco to close the perceived gap between emerging technology and policy. The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution model is to bring together business leaders, governments, start-ups, civil society, academia and international organisations to co-design and pilot innovative approaches to governance for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.
January 23, 2018
Demand for flexible workspace including coworking space soared across the UK during 2017, according to a report from Cushman & Wakefield. The study of the rapidly growing market also claims that WeWork is already the largest single corporate occupier of office space in London, with only the public sector exceeding its scale. In addition, the report also claims that WeWork has taken up more space in London’s key commercial property districts than any other occupier since 2012. According to the report, WeWork has taken up more than twice as much space as Google, which leased 1.3m sq ft over the five-year period, while Amazon and Deutsche Bank leased just over 1 m sq ft and 0.9 m sq ft.
