About Neil Franklin

Neil Franklin is Insight's news editor

Posts by Neil Franklin:

Singapore, Helsinki and Zurich are top of the world`s smart cities

Singapore, Helsinki and Zurich are top of the world`s smart cities

Singapore, Helsinki and Zurich have taken the top three places positions in the 2020 IMD-SUTD Smart City Index Report, a collaboration between IMD and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). The 2020 Index ranked 109 cities, 7 more than in last year’s inaugural edition, by using both economic and technological data, taken together with citizens’ perceptions of how “smart” their cities were. It is published under the aegis of the IMD Smart City Observatory (SCO). More →

Commercial property market in Oxford-Cambridge Arc proving resilient

Commercial property market in Oxford-Cambridge Arc proving resilient

Take-up of office and laboratory space in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc has remained resilient during the first half of 2020, according to a new report from property consultants Bidwells. The firm claims that 117,600 sq ft was taken in Oxford between January and July, reaching 85 per cent of the city’s ten-year average despite the Covid-19 pandemic. More →

Majority of businesses plan to move to smaller but more focused offices in future

Majority of businesses plan to move to smaller but more focused offices in future

According to a new independent survey of over 500 senior business decision-makers, nearly three quarters believe COVID-19 will result in more UK businesses downsizing to smaller office spaces in the coming 12 months. Most also say they value the office and will be more focused on its strengths as part of the shift. The data from property developers Accumulate Capital claims to show how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected UK businesses and their commercial property needs. More →

Employers facing surge of workplace health problems

Employers facing surge of workplace health problems

Doctors are becoming increasingly concerned about a cascade of work-related health problems during the fallout from COVID-19, with some predicting dire consequences for employers and the economy. Whilst many have become used to working at home or have returned to work with social distancing in place, many employers are not aware that the responsibility for managing health issues amongst their employee’s rests firmly on their shoulders. More →

Permanent working from home would reduce UK economy by £480 billion

Permanent working from home would reduce UK economy by £480 billion

A new study claims that if British workers do not return to their offices at all, the UK economy could contract by £480 billion. The study from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), and led by Douglas McWilliams, a former chief economic adviser to the Confederation of British Industry, suggests that in a worst case scenario, the British economy would not return to its size before the coronavirus pandemic until 2025 if people continue working from home as they have over the past few months. More →

German trial of universal basic income set to begin

German trial of universal basic income set to begin

A new trial of universal basic income and its effects on people’s wellbeing, work and wealth is set to start next year in Germany. The study will see 120 people receive €1,200 each month for three years, and researchers will compare their experiences with another group of 1,380 people who will not receive the payments. More →

Using nature based solutions in buildings will help address climate change

Using nature based solutions in buildings will help address climate change

The IGNITION project from the UK Green Building Council has published its first report for businesses, titled ‘Nature-based solutions to the climate emergency: The benefits to business and society’  The report claims to provide organisations with the data they need to make informed decisions about the types of urban nature-based solutions (NBS) available to them and how these can help meet sustainability objectives to benefit business, society and the environment. It sets out to highlight the benefits of using NBS across the built environment and aims to inspire confidence in business leaders and investors to increase the use of NBS. More →

US workers under lockdown three times more likely to report mental health issues

US workers under lockdown three times more likely to report mental health issues

According to a recent survey of more than 1,500 US based respondents, workers are now three times more likely to report poor mental health than they were before the pandemic. The study also claims that seventy-five percent of people have experienced burnout at work, with 40 percent saying they’ve experienced burnout during the pandemic specifically. The report suggests that this is not surprising, given that 37 percent of employed respondents are currently working longer hours than usual since the pandemic started. More →

Workers routinely conceal mental health issues from employer

Workers routinely conceal mental health issues from employer

Three-in-ten (30 percent) office employees have claimed to be physically ill when calling in sick despite in fact suffering from a mental health problem, according to a new survey of 2,000 white-collar employees in London by Helix Resilience. The responses suggest that 18-24-year olds are the most likely to conceal a mental health problem when calling in sick – with 37 percent of this age group reporting to have done this at least once. More →

Fifth of firms don’t offer support to employees with drug and alcohol issues

Fifth of firms don’t offer support to employees with drug and alcohol issues

Around one in five (21 percent) employers are failing to offer proactive support to workers to help prevent and provide support on issues of drugs and alcohol misuse, according to newly published research from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. More →

Commuting, not Covid, main reason employees are avoiding offices

Commuting, not Covid, main reason employees are avoiding offices

commutersEmployees worried about returning to the office post-lockdown are most concerned about work-life balance and the daily commute, rather than their health, according to research from absence intelligence company e-days. Whereas only a quarter of employees are most worried about potential health implications, results of a snapshot poll of 100 workers show that 7 out of 10 of us are more concerned with impact to work-life balance (37 percent) or the office commute (34 percent). The research follows the change in government advice on 1 August 2020 meaning employers can make their own decisions about staff returning safely to work. More →

Half of British workers associate new tech with business growth

Half of British workers associate new tech with business growth

British workers are much more positive about the impact of new technologies on job creation and business growth compared to employees based in Belgium, Germany, France or the Netherlands. This is according to a large-scale survey conducted by payroll and HR services provider SD Worx in collaboration with the Antwerp Management School. 44.7 percent of Brits have seen the number of jobs rise thanks to tech innovation, compared to 44.4 percent of the French, 38.4 percent of the Dutch, 35.6 percent of the Belgian and 25.7 percent of the German workers. The data looks at organisations in the past three years. More →