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:

Lost generation of Millennials stranded between eras of wealth and vocation, claims study

Lost generation of Millennials stranded between eras of wealth and vocation, claims study 0

by • News

The much talked about generation of Gen Y Millennials are stranded between the more fortunate era of Gen X wealth and the coming era of vocation focussed Gen Z. That is the key finding of a new survey from recruitment agency Randstad which claims that the members of Gen Y are not just burdened with student debt and struggling to get on the property ladder, but are now under threat from an arguably more vocational and commercially-minded Generation Z. The survey of 4,000 respondents claims that nearly four in ten (38 percent) Gen Y Millennials feel their education has left them unprepared for the modern world of work. But just under a third (32 percent) of respondents from Generation Z — the ‘digital natives’ born from 1996 onwards — feel the same way. The survey also revealed that the very youngest professionals from Generation Z are displaying higher leadership ambitions, with 84 percent saying they are shooting to be top dog in the workplace. This compares to 79 percent of Millennials.

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UK CEOs bullish on business growth but concerned about skills and global economy

UK CEOs bullish on business growth but concerned about skills and global economy 0

by • News, Workplace

UK CEOs are more upbeat about the growth prospects for their own companies than 12 months ago, according to PwC’s 20th annual CEO Survey published today at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Almost nine out of 10 (89 percent) respondents say they are confident of their company’s growth in the year ahead, up from 85 percent in 2016, and above the 85 percent global figure and 77 percent in Germany. Forty one percent of UK CEOs describe themselves as being ‘very confident’. More generally, UK bosses are in hiring mode. Sixty three percent expect to grow their workforce over the coming 12 months, compared to 52 percent of their global counterparts. Just 10 percent expect headcount to decrease, down from 20 percent in 2016. Access to key skills is considered to be the single biggest business threat facing their organisations. More than four in five (83 percent) of UK bosses are concerned about how to get hold of key skills, up sharply from 71 percent last year. The skills most highly prized by UK leaders – adaptability and problem solving, leadership and collaboration, and creativity and innovation – are also proving the hardest to recruit.

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Major corporate real estate occupiers struggle to balance cost cutting with strategic goals

Major corporate real estate occupiers struggle to balance cost cutting with strategic goals 0

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

Although the world’s major corporate real estate occupiers retain a focus on managing the costs of their workplace when it comes to making the big decisions, there is a growing emphasis on offsetting this against issues such as staff recruitment and retention. That is the key finding of a new report from Cushman & Wakefield into the priorities and decision making of large corporate occupiers. It claims that firms are now far more focused on striking the right balance between goals that are often in direct opposition to one another. The study, produced in partnership with CoreNet Global, was based on interviews with 266 occupiers, three quarters of whom have more than 25 offices worldwide. The survey examined not only how location and workplace strategy are viewed as corporate value drivers, but also CRE’s alignment with business strategy.

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Growing number of UK employees demanding flexible working cultures

Growing number of UK employees demanding flexible working cultures 0

by • Flexible working, News

A growing number of employees in the UK are prepared to move jobs unless their employers introduce more flexible working arrangements, according to a new study from ILM. The survey claims that  over half (53 percent) of all British workers are considering a change of job unless things change. The study claims that three-quarters (74 percent) of UK employees want a more flexible working culture – citing more flexible hours and opportunities for creativity as part of an ideal working environment. The research also highlights a growing demand among employees for a greater say in business decisions with around two thirds of survey respondents claiming they want to have more of an influence at work. Around a third (34 percent)  of workers claim that the working culture at their present employer is overly regulated and controlled. When asked how they would change the company culture, around a third (34 percent) said they would like more freedom and flexibility, and 32 percent said they’d like to see more innovation and creativity.

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New report highlights potential of technology to wipe out jobs and businesses

New report highlights potential of technology to wipe out jobs and businesses 0

by • News

Unregulated technological progress is one of the greatest threats to global prosperity, peace and stability, claims a new report from the World Economic Forum. The WEF’s Global Risks Report, published before 3,000 business leaders and politicians gather for its annual conference in Davos, claims that regulation is trailing far behind technological innovation and that without action, it could lead to the destruction of untold jobs and businesses and catalyse major social upheaval. Economic inequality, societal polarisation and intensifying environmental dangers are the top three trends that will shape global developments over the next 10 years, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2017 claims. The report says that collaborative action by world leaders will be urgently needed to avert further hardship and volatility in the coming decade.

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Tech and media firms still believe human talent is the key to success 0

by • News, Technology

A new study from Colliers International claims that 62 percent of companies in the TMT sector are looking to expand their headcount. Despite advances in technology and artificial intelligence in the workplace, Colliers latest research suggests that over 62 percent of enterprises in the Tech, Media and Telecoms (TMT) sector are seeking to employ more staff to drive their company forward, demonstrating that the human factor still plays a critical role in business development.  The report was conducted by global real estate firm Colliers International, based on a number of interviews. The study also claims that only 12.5 per cent of the firms which were interviewed were looking to contract their workforce. Interestingly, technology was viewed as the least important strategic resource by all but one company. Yet most businesses surveyed did expect big change and efficiency improvements through the introduction of new technology in the business and the workplace, especially the development of cloud-based systems.

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New gadget aims to deal with office acoustics at source

New gadget aims to deal with office acoustics at source 0

by • News, Products, Technology, Workplace design

office acousticsLast year we ran a piece which looked at some of the outlandish ways designers have offered people the chance to get some peace and quiet at work. The extremes people will consider as they deal with the challenge of office acoustics is enlightening. All of those examples relied on the principle of keeping at least some of the racket produced by colleagues from entering the ear. But a new prototype product launched at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show  in Las Vegas frames the issue differently by going back to source. The Hushme is a voice masking device for mobile phones. It has integrated earbuds and comes with a range of masking sounds such as wind, rain, monkey, Darth Vader and squirrel. You have to wonder who it’s aimed at but the makers suggest it is all about privacy. Then again, it may make an ideal gift for some and could be popular for this year’s Secret Santas.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Cf3rHifv0[/embedyt]

Strategic application of Big Data reaches tipping point, claims study

Strategic application of Big Data reaches tipping point, claims study 0

by • News, Technology

A new study claims that the application of Big Data in the workplace has now reached a tipping point as two thirds of organisations now consider its application of ‘strategic’ consequence, with just a fifth (19 percent) still at an experimental stage. According to the 2016 Big Data Maturity Survey from AtScale, nearly all of the 2,550 businesses who took part (97 percent) claim they will do as much or more to apply Big Data to decision making over the next three months. The main application is expected to be business intelligence according to 75 percent of respondents to the study. The AtScale study also found most companies now deploy Big Data in the cloud rather than keeping it on premises. “There’s been a clear surge in use of Big Data in the Cloud over the last year and what’s perhaps as interesting is the fact that respondents are far more likely to achieve tangible value when their data is in the cloud,” said AtScale CTO and co-founder Matt Baird.

Work-life balance trumps pay in workplace new year’s resolutions

Work-life balance trumps pay in workplace new year’s resolutions 0

by • Flexible working, News

New research from Office Genie claims that when it comes to career-focussed resolutions, financial desires lose out to a more holistic approach to wellbeing: A better work-life balance is the top new year’s resolution for UK employees (17 percent), closely followed by the wish to learn new skills in the workplace (14 percent). Pay rises (13 percent) are important however, coming in third. Having healthier lunches (9 percent), being more organised (7 percent), and getting a promotion (6 percent) also proved popular. It would appear employees are less concerned with getting more done: productivity (5 percent), working harder (3 percent), and making more friends in the workplace (1 percent) are the three least popular resolutions.

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Learning to love staff means letting them disconnect from work, and other stories

Learning to love staff means letting them disconnect from work, and other stories 0

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

 

Topical workplace issues featured prominently at this week’s British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference held in Liverpool. Four of the key takeaways from the event deal with issues such as the right to disconnect when working from home – a right recently enshrined in law in France, the way different personality types deal with emails, the toxic relationship between employers and employees and even how managers can learn to show their staff more love. The focus at teh event underlines a growing awareness of the complexities of our new relationship with work and workplaces.

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Smart buildings and driverless vehicles to spearhead huge growth in Internet of Things spending

Smart buildings and driverless vehicles to spearhead huge growth in Internet of Things spending 0

by • News, Technology

Internet of thingsWorldwide spending on the Internet of Things (IoT) is forecast to reach $737 billion for the past year (2016) as organisations invest in the hardware, software, services, and connectivity that enable the IoT. According to a new update to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide, global IoT spending will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6 percent over the 2015-2020 forecast period, reaching $1.29 trillion in 2020. The industries forecast to make the largest IoT investments in 2016 are Manufacturing ($178 billion), Transportation ($78 billion), and Utilities ($69 billion). Consumer IoT purchases, the fourth largest market segment in 2016, will become the third largest segment by 2020. Meanwhile, cross-industry IoT, such as that for connected vehicles and smart buildings, will rank among the top segments throughout the five-year forecast.

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Britain must future proof itself ahead of a decade of disruption, claims report 0

by • News, Technology

Brexit negotiations will ‘fire the starting gun’ on a decade of change for the UK, claims a new report from think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The study, Future Proof: Britain in the 2020s, sets out the key challenges it claims will shape the UK in the period up to 2030 and the ‘choices that must be made now if these changes are to lead to a fairer and more equal society’. Among the issues covered in the report are the challenges directly related to Brexit, alongside factors such as an ageing population, other demographic changes, the risk to jobs posed by automation, the shift of the globalised economy towards Asia and the enduring problems associated with wage inequalities and the environment.

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