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:

June 28, 2016

Countries aware of but not harnessing full potential of older workers ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

The idea of a fixed retirement age looks increasingly distant in countries around the world and perhaps none more so than the US. According to a study from the Pew Research Center, based on data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, more US over 65s are working than at any time covered in the analysis, and they are working longer hours. As of May, nearly a fifth (18.8 percent) of over 65s worked full or part time, up from 12.8 percent in 2000. Intriguingly, the study also shows that this represents a significant greying of the workplace as in the overall population, 59.9 percent of Americans are currently in jobs, down from 64.4 percent in 2000. The same pattern is evident even in workers significantly older than 65. Even the over 75s are working at higher rates than they did before the 2008 recession, the only age groups about which that can be said, according to Pew, emphasising the fact that the workplace is getting older rather than younger as is commonly assumed.

June 27, 2016

Millennials not as keen on the gig economy as you might think, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The supposed confluence of two of the most currently talked about workplace phenomena may not be all it seems, according to a new report from PwC. It appears that Millennials may not be all that keen on the gig economy after all, and might prefer some of the things that previous generations enjoyed such as stability, security and an ability to plan their lives with at least some degree of certainty. They are realists however, and understand that the use of freelance work will continue to grow over the next few years. Indeed, the report suggests that it is older workers who – perhaps unsurprisingly – are more keen on freelance work. According to the study based on 1,385 respondents in the US, overall 41 percent of employees expect to be employed on a contract basis within the next year, even though over a third (39 percent) don’t like the income uncertainty, and over half (53 percent) expect to be fully self employed within the next five years.

June 27, 2016

Best tall buildings in the world, regional awards winners announced ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Environment, News, Property

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced the winners of its annual Tall Building Awards for 2016. The Awards are, judged by a panel of experts, primarily drawn from the property and architecture sectors. The CTBUH claims its awards provide ‘a more comprehensive and sophisticated view of these important structures, while advocating for improvements in every aspect of performance, including those that have the greatest positive impact on the individuals who use these buildings and the cities they inhabit.’ The best tall buildings have been announced for each of four regions: Americas, Asia & Australasia, Europe and Middle East & Africa. While the winners in the Middle East and US were both residential projects, the winners in Asia and Europe were both primarily office based or mixed use projects; the Shanghai Tower in Shanghai and The White Walls mixed-use building in Nicosia, Cyprus.

June 27, 2016

The key to boosting productivity may be the offer of flexible working ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Wellbeing

Over 82 percent of people say they feel more productive when working from home according to a survey of 2,000 employers and employees conducted by remote conferencing provider Powwownow. The report also claims that over 60 percent of employers say that flexible working is the key to staying competitive and 77 percent saying it leads to better work-life balance. Conversely, 44 percent of workers said that being able to get work done with no distractions was the biggest appeal of flexible working, however, less traffic was a close second with over 40 percent citing that as a benefit. Over 50 percent of workers In the UK said that they would work the same hours (9-5) if they were able to work from home. However they also admit that they would take fewer breaks. Women tend to ask for flexible working more than men, as they would like to spend more time with their families. Interestingly, the report also claims that women bosses tend to be less trusting when an employee asks for flexible working.

June 24, 2016

Property and workplace experts have their say on the Brexit outcome ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

Well, the results are in and the UK’s electorate has voted by a narrow margin for the country to leave the EU. There are likely to be other developments but whatever you make of the UK’s decision to vote to leave the EU – and I think it’s fair to say most independent people think it’s inexplicable – there’s no doubt that it will have a profound impact on the UK’s economy, relationship with the world, culture, working conditions and markets. What it will mean in practice won’t be apparent for months or years, of course, but that hasn’t stopped experts who work in the property, workplace, design, legal, HR and architecture sectors having their say on its potential implications. We’ll look at these specific issues in more detail going forward but for now, here’s a round-up of those we have so far, which we’ll keep updated throughout the day as the dust settles on what will prove to be a momentous decision for the UK, Europe and rest of the world.

June 24, 2016

Small businesses outpace larger firms in adoption of virtual working ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

${9f354208-5623-47fc-9edf-1efb90f919df}_V9_launch_LP_lrg_1$ Around two thirds (60 percent) of knowledge workers in small and medium sized businesses in the US, UK and Germany now use virtual working technology that is internet or cloud-based in their professional roles. This figure is higher than in companies with 500 or more employees (53 percent). These are the findings claimed by the Way We Work Study commissioned by unified comms firm Unify. Surveying 5,000 British, American and German knowledge workers, it explores people’s attitudes and expectations about their workplace. Knowledge workers at SMBs expect to see large changes in their jobs over the next five years. More than a third (38 percent) believe their roles will not exist after this period, and almost two-thirds (64 percent) thinking they will be substantially different. On the subject of trust, 76 percent of SMB knowledge workers feel they are listened to in their organisation, compared to 71 percent in larger companies.

June 23, 2016

New proposals to create legal status for robots as ‘electronic persons’ ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Technology

One of the main side issues in the generally unpleasant debate about the UK’s referendum on EU membership has been that about worker’s rights. Whatever the outcome of today’s vote, the EU is already exploring ways in which legislation should address the challenges created by the modern world. These now include, for the first time, a look at the implications of automation including the drawing up of a new set of rules about the rights and responsibilities of robots and other automated workers. A draft report from the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs sets out to address the main issues associated with the creation of a widespread automated workforce and its impact on both people and machines, including looking at the impact on the social security and pensions budget (because robots don’t pay into the system), the legal rights of robots and new liability rules for the automated workforce of sophisticated ‘smart’ robots.

June 22, 2016

One in six business leaders don’t link staff wellbeing with organisational success ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

You can take this story however you like, but a new YouGov survey of attitudes amongst British business leaders claims that just one in six (17 percent) believe that fostering a healthy work-life balance for employees is not important for their organisation. The research also found that 15 percent of organisations in the UK don’t place any focus on the mental health and wellbeing of employees. Furthermore, three in ten (31 percent) say that their company does not do anything to actively promote mental well-being in the workplace. However, there is a clear difference in approach based on size of the organisation involved. Small businesses (44 percent) surveyed are far more likely to admit they don’t do anything, compared to medium (29 percent) and large (15 percent) businesses. This all still means that the majority of firms are actively interested in their employees’ wellbeing, but the proportion of those who aren’t may raise an eyebrow.

June 21, 2016

Tech unicorns thrive in Europe and UK leads the way, claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

Fortune magazine begs to differ, but Europe as a whole is a seemingly fertile breeding ground for ‘tech unicorns’, according to a new report from technology investment bank GP Bullhound. Defined as technology startups with a market valuation of more than $1 billion, the report claims that there are now 47 so-called unicorns in Europe, up by 10 from last year. The report also claims that the UK is leading the way within Europe, with 18 out of the 47 based in the country with new entries such as Blippar and Anaplan. The European firms have a combined value of $130bn, and ‘have demonstrated resilience in the face of turbulent global markets and heightened scrutiny of fast-growth tech’. Sweden is the country with the second highest number of billion-dollar tech companies (7), including Spotify (pictured), Europe’s most valuable Unicorn. Germany is third with six and France with three. Oddly, the report also includes Israel which has three unicorns.

June 20, 2016

What happens when you take transparent office design to extremes ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

A rigid and unswerving adherence to a principle is rarely a good thing in the long run. This is perhaps doubly so when it comes to office design because the end result is often something that overlooks what offices are really for; namely giving human beings a place to go to be with one another. So, when you take a design dogma to extremes that ignore the human being that should be your core concern, you end up getting something like the office with no chairs, because ‘sitting is the new smoking’. Or you get the office made completely of glass because ‘transparency generates trust’. While it’s true that the Dutch firm MRVDV responsible for the refit of the building in Hong Kong has included some genuinely successful features, not least in the use of natural light and the environmental performance of the building, the interior itself is clearly the end product of meetings in which nobody felt comfortable telling everybody to knock it off.

June 17, 2016

US small business owners still cling to ‘office basics’, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Products, Technology

Small businesses still rely heavily on the traditional working environment, according to the 2016 Business Survey from office equipment maker Brother. The report says these businesses are open to adopting next-generation cloud based and mobile technology, but they’re also ‘holding on to’ what it calls office basics such as printers, scanners and faxes. Over half (58 percent) of small businesses’ daily work tasks still require a physical office presence and 91 percent of small business owners currently have a printer, scanner, copier or fax machine within their work space. The need for these devices is confirmed in the data showing 43 percent of this same group use a printer, on average, 10 or more times per day. The online survey of 509 small business owners in the US claims that the attachment to traditional devices does not mean that firms aren’t adopting new tech, but rather that they are trying to ‘have the best of both worlds’.

June 17, 2016

Women’s long hours working linked to alarming increases in serious illness ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, Wellbeing, Workplace

Women who put in long hours for the sake of their careers may pay a heavy price including life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer. Work weeks that averaged 60 hours or more over three decades appear to triple the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart trouble and arthritis for women, according to new research from Ohio State University and published in The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The risk begins to climb when women put in more than 40 hours and takes a decidedly bad turn above 50 hours, researchers found. Men with tough work schedules appeared to fare much better, found researchers who analysed data from interviews with almost 7,500 people who were part of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. More scheduling flexibility and on-the-job health coaching, screening and support could go a long way toward reducing the chances employees become sick or die as a result of chronic conditions, according to the report.