About Neil Franklin

Neil Franklin is Insight's news editor

Posts by Neil Franklin:

Biophilic office design has a clear business case, report claims

Biophilic office design has a clear business case, report claims

A new report, Reap What You Sow: Valuing Workplaces that Grow Good Ideas from PLP Labs sets out to explain the process of measuring and monetising the wellbeing and environmental value of biophilic office design.A new report, Reap What You Sow: Valuing Workplaces that Grow Good Ideas from PLP Labs sets out to explain the process of measuring and monetising the wellbeing and environmental value of biophilic office design. The report argues that in corporate real estate, the environment impacts the bottom line. PLP’s study – run in collaboration with academics from Loughborough University, the University of Reading, and Benholm claims to enable real estate clients to fairly evaluate the worth of investing in nature alongside other project costs. More →

Half of parents struggling for work life balance

Half of parents struggling for work life balance

A new poll from AA Driving School suggests that around half (51 percent) of British parents find their job prevents them from finding a healthy work life balance, due to childcare and cost of living pressures.A new poll from AA Driving School suggests that around half (51 percent) of British parents find their job prevents them from finding a healthy work life balance, due to childcare and cost of living pressures. Increases to the cost of childcare have driven UK parents to work either additional hours in their current job (18 percent) or even take another job (12 percent) to financially support their family. More →

Wellbeing and sustainability are defining characteristics of London’s BCO Awards winning offices

Wellbeing and sustainability are defining characteristics of London’s BCO Awards winning offices

London’s most outstanding workplaces have been recognised with British Council for Offices Awards going to seven office buildings across the capital. Held at the London Hilton on Park Lane, the BCO’s annual London Awards Lunch recognised projects that demonstrate best practice in office design, fit-out, operation and sustainability, setting the standard for excellence across the sector. More →

People responding to artificial intelligence by focussing on their ‘human skills’

People responding to artificial intelligence by focussing on their ‘human skills’

Globally, workers are focused on developing their human skills, even as they see a future dominated by technology-driven work, artificial intelligence and automationGlobally, workers are focused on developing their human skills, even as they see a future dominated by technology-driven work, artificial intelligence and automation, according to a new study from Pearson. For the latest edition of the Pearson Skills Outlook series [registration], Pearson partnered with Google to examine how and why people in the US, UK, India, and Brazil are looking to upskill as they face a rapidly changing economy. More →

Employers gain nearly two weeks extra work a year from hybrid workers

Employers gain nearly two weeks extra work a year from hybrid workers

Analysis by  workplace consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) claims that on average hybrid workers deliver nearly two extra weeks of work a year for their employerAnalysis by  workplace consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) claims that on average hybrid workers deliver nearly two extra weeks of work a year for their employer as well as working harder and better in a hybrid environment.  The results of the analysis — which shows the benefits of hybrid working for organisations — are a combination of academic research and studies by AWA itself. They are included in AWA’s latest report, ‘Why Employers Benefit From Hybrid Working’, which also found that employees often work better when in a distraction-free environment, with more than half their time dedicated to working alone or focussed work. More →

Only a fifth of workers think hybrid working tools have substantially improved productivity

Only a fifth of workers think hybrid working tools have substantially improved productivity

Only around a fifth (18 percent) of workers in two key sectors believe hybrid working technology has substantially improved their productivity.A new poll from IT consultancy Doherty Associates, claims that while over three-quarters (77 percent) of workers in two key market sectors say their company has introduced new technology to support hybrid working, only around a fifth (18 percent) of respondents believe it has substantially improved their productivity. More →

Global prime office costs rise slightly, but flatline in London and New York

Global prime office costs rise slightly, but flatline in London and New York

Prime office costs rise an average of 1.1 percent across the world’s top markets but stay level in London and New YorkSavills latest global Prime Office Costs (SPOC) analysis has revealed that pricing for prime top-tier offices around the world has largely held steady during the first quarter of 2023, with net effective costs – the ‘all in’ cost for occupiers – increasing an average of 1.1 percent. More →

Hybrid working can reduce carbon emissions massively, claims report

Hybrid working can reduce carbon emissions massively, claims report

Hybrid working can facilitate major carbon savings and has the potential for significant impact on the climate crisis, according to a new study by IWG and Arup.Hybrid working can facilitate major carbon savings and has the potential for significant impact on the climate crisis, according to a new study by IWG and Arup. The study measured the environmental impact of hybrid working on six cities across the US and UK with a deep dive on two major carbon contributors – London and LA. Others examined were New York City, Atlanta, Manchester and Glasgow. All six cities showed the potential for huge carbon savings through the widespread adoption of hybrid working, which has rapidly expanded amongst white collar workers, who are now using the available technology to work where is most convenient and they are most productive. More →

Employees 12 percent more likely to leave if employers don’t establish hybrid working norms

Employees 12 percent more likely to leave if employers don’t establish hybrid working norms

Organisations that lack explicit norms around hybrid working can increase the likelihood of an employee leaving by 12 percentOrganisations that lack explicit norms around hybrid working can increase the likelihood of an employee leaving by 12 percent, according to a new report from Gartner [paywall]. The report claims that the most successful hybrid models encompass three main categories of explicit norms that increase visibility, enable flexibility, and foster connections. More →

Women experience more stress than men when working hours are fragmented, claims new research

Women experience more stress than men when working hours are fragmented, claims new research

Women experience more stress than men when their employment hours are split into different sections during the day, such as with flexitime and working from homeWomen experience more stress than men when their employment hours are split into different sections during the day, such as with flexitime and working from home, new research claims. Zhuofei Lu, of the University of Manchester, analysed survey data recorded during the pandemic in 2020-2021 on 620 British men and women, 40 percent of whom had children. More →

Government turns to business rates reform to improve building quality, but will it work?

Government turns to business rates reform to improve building quality, but will it work?

The UK Government claims that a new bill will support businesses by modernising the business rates system to incentivise property improvementsThe UK Government claims that a new bill will support businesses by modernising the business rates system to incentivise property improvements and support more frequent revaluations. The measures being put forward review and reform business rates in England, making them fairer and more responsive to changes in the market. The Non-Domestic Rating Bill will introduce more frequent valuations, to take place every three years instead of the current five, meaning those with falling values will see their bills drop sooner, accorrding to the Treasury. More →

Three quarters of people who left their pre-covid employer now want to go back

Three quarters of people who left their pre-covid employer now want to go back

According to a new poll from recruiter Robert Walters, almost three quarters of professionals (71 percent) who left their pre-covid employer in search of better pay or working culture say that they are open to returning. Half of the 3,000 people surveyed say that the reasons as to why they left in the first place are no longer applicable. Nearly half (45 percent of workers) who had left their job after lockdown did so for better pay – with a further 35 percent leaving for a better workplace culture or more purpose/fulfilment in their role. More →