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:

December 8, 2016

Gig economy represents a race to the bottom for many because of client behaviour ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

For many people, the gig economy represents a race to the bottom, with a large number of freelancers asked to work for free by entitled clients on the vague promise of future work, breeding anxiety and disillusionment. That is the key finding of a new study by Approve.io which found that half of freelancers and self-employed creatives had been asked by clients said that work had caused them anxiety this year with three quarters citing client behaviour as the primary cause. More →

December 7, 2016

Are these the best places to work in 2017? ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace, Workplace design

Recruitment site Glassdoor has announced the winners of its ninth annual Employees’ Choice Awards to find the best places to work in North America and parts of Europe. The Awards are based on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback, by completing a company review, about their job, work environment and employer over the past year. This year, the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards feature six categories, honouring the Best Places to Work across the UK, US (both large and small companies), Canada, France and Germany. There is one category in the UK: 50 Best Places to Work (honouring employers with 1,000 or more employees). Winners are ranked based on their overall rating achieved during the past year. The top five UK Best Places to Work in 2017 are Expedia, ARM, HomeServeUK, Mott MacDonald and Hays plc

December 6, 2016

UK government to move 5,700 civil servants from Whitehall to east London ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Cabinet Office has today announced the location of a new Government Hub at Canary Wharf, as the government prepares to move around 5,700 full time civil and public servants from offices in Whitehall to East London. The government will take the whole building, owned by Canary Wharf Group, at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, covering 50,354 sqm, on a 15 year lease (to end in 2032). The move, which will be completed by the end of 2018, supports the modernisation of the Civil Service outlined by the new Workplace Plan on July 12. The Government Property Unit, (GPU), as part of its remit to drive savings across the government estate, is overseeing the deal with Barclays for the new hub. The Government claims the hubs will benefit the public sector by ensuring the future workforce is where it needs to be, in strategic locations with great public transport connections, local amenities and offering a modern working environment. Relocating civil and public servants from existing, often fragmented office locations, to modern, cross-departmental workplaces will make the most of emerging working practices and technology is part of that drive, it claims.

December 5, 2016

Just one percent of UK firms are ready for the digital economy ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

A new study by Oxford Economics and SAP claims that just one in every 100 organisations in the UK is capitalising on the digital economy, significantly fewer than in comparable European countries such as Germany where the figure is more than 2 in 5 and Spain (22 percent). According to the study, the benefits of digital readiness include greater workforce diversity. The ‘digital winners’ defined by the report have higher female representation at mid-management level level and slightly more women overall. Four in ten of the study’s digital winners globally reported effective diversity programmes, compared to 36 percent of all companies in France, 33 percent in Russia, 30 percent in the UK and 23 percent in Spain.

November 29, 2016

Slow broadband prevents thousands of Brits working from home ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

Although the vast majority of British people who work from home need a fast internet connection, around a quarter of them are hampered by slow broadband, according to a new survey from comparison website Broadband Genie. The news comes on the day the Government finally announces that BT is to divest its Openreach arm which looks after the nation’s broadband infrastructure. The timing is welcome news for broadband users who have been frustrated for years by the UK’s second rate technological infrastructure. According to the Brodband Genie study the majority of people who work from home believe it has a positive impact on their happiness, work life balance, productivity and motivation. Yet while 90 percent rely on broadband in order to work from home almost a quarter of homeworkers are limited by slow connections.

November 29, 2016

Organisations that invest in creativity have happier and more productive employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace design

Adobe has released the State of Create: 2016, the latest edition of its global survey of some 5,000 people worldwide to assess the state of the creative sector and gauge the impact of creativity on businesses. The headline finding of the latest study is that organisations that invest in creativity are more likely to increase employee productivity (78 percent) and have happier employees (76 percent). The report also claims that respondents believe that those employers who invest in creativity are more likely to foster innovation (83 percent), be competitive (79 percent), provide better customer experience (78 percent), have satisfied customers (80 percent) and be financially successful (73 percent). Around three quarters (74 percent) of respondents also claim that it is important for businesses to focus on good design, with another 70 percent feeling that design drives a strong brand experience. 45 percent claimed that in the past year they had paid more for a product or service that had good design.

November 29, 2016

Majority of employers believe automation will create more jobs than it will replace ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

A new report published by Capita Resourcing claims that 85 percent of employers believe workplace automation will create more jobs than it will replace in their organisation in 10 years’ time. The main benefits to businesses and employees over this period are likely to be enhanced productivity (76 percent) and new skills development (54 percent). The ‘Workplace More Human’ report surveyed the attitudes of 200 business leaders in medium to large organisations and 1,000 full or part time employees. It revealed that the workplace is currently undergoing rapid transformation with over half (54 percent) of employers already automating business processes that were once performed by people. A further 39 percent plan to automate more processes in the next 12 months.

November 23, 2016

Asian HR executives ready to welcome our new robot overlords ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

Asia is set to lead the world in the uptake of artificial intelligence in the workplace and human resources managers expect to be in the vanguard when it comes to managing in the new era. According to a report in the MIT Technology Review, two thirds of HR managers in the region expect to be dealing with AI within five years and nearly three quarters believe the technology will lead to substantial job losses over the same period. Although the report is based on interviews with just 60 executives it highlights a growing awareness among HR managers worldwide that they will have to adjust very soon to a new era in which people are working alongside the next generation of AI. The report also highlights the different perspectives that HR professionals have on the subject compared to the boardroom.

November 23, 2016

UK government announces plans to invest in next generation technology ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Technology

The UK Government is at last to invest properly in the next generation of technological infrastructure to ensure the company keeps pace with developments in broadband, the Internet of Things and 5G. It is to invite the country’s major cities to bid for a chance to pilot 5G from next year. The technology is a key enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT) because it is up to a hundred times faster and more reliable than existing 4G connections. In turn, the IoT will boost the application of game changing technology such as driverless cars and smart building systems. Although the Government has recently focussed on headline physical projects such as HS2, it has come under sustained criticism for the country’s often creaking technological infrastructure.

November 16, 2016

Google confirms it is to go ahead with massive new London HQ ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Following the announcement in September that Apple was to reaffirm its commitment to the UK with a major investment in the creation of a new headquarters building in London, the latest global tech giant to follow suit is Google. The firm has confirmed it is to open a new HQ in the capital which will see 3,000 jobs created by 2020. In an interview with the BBC, chief executive Sundar Pichai claimed that he is confident that the UK Government will not be throwing up barriers to the movement of skilled labour in the wake of the Brexit vote. Based on this he is moving ahead with the Bjarke Ingels Group and Thomas Heatherwick designed £1 billion Kings Cross development that will allow the firm to expand its UK workforce to 7,000 people. Heatherwick has previously worked with Google alongside Bjarke Ingels Group on the design of their Mountain View headquarters in California. He was drafted in to work on the London project after a previous design was rejected because it was ‘boring’.

November 15, 2016

London office construction increases but pace of new building slowing down ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Central London office construction has continued to rise over the past six months, reaching 14.8 million sq ft, and setting a new eight-year development high in the capital. The latest London Office Crane Survey by Deloitte Real Estate has recorded 40 new starts, adding 2.8 million sq ft into the development pipeline. Once again, the greatest number of new starts was in the City. Construction began on 14 new schemes, totalling 1.1 million sq ft, and increases the City’s development pipeline to 8.8 million sq ft. In contrast, the West End and Midtown submarkets have seen construction activity decrease by 25 percent and 20 percent respectively over the past six months. This is largely as a result of a number of projects completing and smaller schemes starting. For the first time, the crane survey also tracks construction activity in three additional locations: Vauxhall-Nine Elms-Battersea, White City and Stratford. These three areas boast 11 office schemes under construction and will deliver 2.9 million sq ft to the market, 65 percent of which is already pre-let.

November 15, 2016

Penson completes design for artful London HQ of financial services company SEI ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Company news, Workplace design

Financial services firm SEI has taken residence at a new London headquarters designed by Penson. Located in Finsbury Square, The Alphabeta Building is spread over three floors. The 6320 sq. m, office incorporates natural materials such as upcycled timber, bold red steel and colourful walls. The office is divided into individual hubs with meeting rooms, chill-out zones, kitchenettes and pods providing a balance between open and private spaces. The new HQ is also set to house part of the West Collection, a contemporary art collection owned by Alfred P. West, Jr., Chairman and CEO of SEI, and curated by his daughter. The works include sculpture, installations drawing, painting, and photography, many of which reflect an environmental theme.