Hybrid working and the hidden cost of being “always on” at work

Hybrid working and the hidden cost of being “always on” at work

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Hybrid working has delivered welcome flexibility, but it has also changed our relationship with work. The traditional boundary created by leaving the office at the end of the day is often less defined when work is accessible from our kitchen table, spare room or mobile phone. Yet this challenge is not limited to those working remotely. Even employees who spend most of their time in the office now carry work with them through smartphones and constant digital connectivity. (more…)

Why the organisations seeing real returns from agentic AI are empowering employees, not cutting jobs

Why the organisations seeing real returns from agentic AI are empowering employees, not cutting jobs

by • AI, Comment

The launch of the UK Government’s AI Skills Compact reflects an important shift in how policymakers and businesses are thinking about artificial intelligence. Rather than viewing AI simply as a route to greater efficiency or reduced headcount, leaders are starting to recognise that long-term competitiveness will depend just as much on equipping people with the skills to work alongside AI as investing in the technology itself. (more…)

Is resilience a personality trait or a flaw in workplace design?

Is resilience a personality trait or a flaw in workplace design?

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Resilience is often ascribed to the individual, but are there other ways we could look at the issue, asks Carl LyonsResilience must be one of the most misunderstood issues affecting businesses right now. It’s used whenever people are struggling, and almost always aimed at the individual – be tougher, manage your stress, build a bit more grit. During countless conversations with leaders and teams over the last few years it has been seen that those words do real damage to people who are trying hard to do their best. When tiredness is no longer fixed by a weekend, when feedback lands as a threat, and when change is met with a sigh, it gets recorded under ‘poor personal resilience’, effectively telling people the problem is with them. I don’t think it is. I think we’re looking in the wrong place. (more…)

Productivity gains from workplace AI mean little if they erase professional judgment

Productivity gains from workplace AI mean little if they erase professional judgment

by • AI, Architecture, Comment, Workplace design

Speed can become a dangerous proxy for the value of workplace AI when leaders stop asking what happened to the judgment behind the work.The strongest case for workplace AI rarely begins with a dramatic breakthrough. It begins with ordinary time savings: a report drafted faster, a plan assembled in minutes or a first pass produced without the usual blank-page delay. Those gains matter. Yet speed can become a dangerous proxy for value when leaders stop asking what happened to the judgment behind the work. (more…)

Work Beyond Walls is an event that promises to shift the way we talk about offices

Work Beyond Walls is an event that promises to shift the way we talk about offices

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

A new event in the North East of England promises to explore offices and the way we talk about them in a new wayOur sector produces an enormous amount of content about change, and almost all of it is published after the outcome is known. Case studies of offices appear once the move-in has gone well. Award entries are written once the risks have been mitigated. What gets shared among us is, overwhelmingly, a library of polished endings. Work in Motion is an attempt at the complete opposite. It’s a six-part documentary podcast series following the inside story of Work Beyond Walls – a brand new event at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle on 9 and 10 September – written and presented by me, Ian Ellison, as plans unfold, rather than once the event has happened. (more…)

Resilience: the expanding global mandate for facility management

Resilience: the expanding global mandate for facility management

by • Comment, Facilities management

Throughout this decade, global challenges have shined a spotlight on the facility management (FM) industry and its professionals like never before.Throughout this decade, global challenges have shined a spotlight on the facility management (FM) industry and its professionals like never before. From pandemics to climate events and geopolitical instability, these challenges have tested organizations in unprecedented ways. While many debated the meaning of  terms like “the new normal,” facility managers demonstrated competence, strategic planning and decisive leadership to keep their organizations and people moving forward. From the C-suite to workers and visitors, organizations have become acutely aware of  FM’s influence as critical enablers  to ensure organizational, environmental and personal health. (more…)

Are we designing workplaces around evidence or assumption?

Are we designing workplaces around evidence or assumption?

by • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

People no longer use workplaces in the same way every day, every week or every season, yet many of the decisions shaping the future of our workplaces still assume that they do.A sudden, intense summer heatwave does more than test a building’s cooling systems; it exposes just how difficult workplace management has become across Europe. During these spikes, employees rethink their commute, meeting rooms fill and empty at different times, quieter corners suddenly become more attractive places to work, and facilities teams work hard to keep buildings comfortable while managing rising energy demands. While these changes may only last a few days, they serve as a useful reminder that workplaces are far more dynamic than we often give them credit for. People no longer use offices in the same way every day, every week or every season, yet many of the decisions shaping the future of our workplaces still assume that they do. (more…)

Most organisations are investing in AI. Far fewer are preparing leaders for it

Most organisations are investing in AI. Far fewer are preparing leaders for it

by • AI, Comment

Businesses are racing to adopt new technologies, but many still lack the leadership frameworks, behaviours and organisational confidence needed to turn AI into meaningful, scaled value.The gap between AI adoption and leadership readiness is becoming one of the defining challenges facing organisations today. According to Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workforce report, only one in five employees believe their manager actively supports their team’s use of artificial intelligence, while just one in four say their organisation has communicated a clear strategy for integrating the technology into work. While investment in AI continues to accelerate, leadership capability is struggling to keep pace. Businesses are racing to adopt new technologies, but many still lack the leadership frameworks, behaviours and organisational confidence needed to turn AI into meaningful, scaled value. (more…)

AI can automate work, but it can’t automate trust

AI can automate work, but it can’t automate trust

by • AI, Comment, Technology

As AI becomes more involved in decisions around hiring, performance and progression, employees are asking more questions about how those tools are being used and where the boundaries should sitBusinesses are moving quickly to bring artificial intelligence into the workplace, exploring how it can support everything from recruitment and workforce planning to performance management and employee services. Employee confidence in this technology, however, is struggling to keep up. Research suggests only 46 percent of people say they trust AI systems, while almost a third (31 percent) of employees are concerned they could be replaced by the technology. (more…)

What frictionless work is removing from the working day

What frictionless work is removing from the working day

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

If you look around most offices at midday on a Tuesday, you will likely see a variation of the same scene: employees sitting at their desks with headphones in and responding to Slack messages while eating lunch. The physical environment of the workplace may still be thoughtfully designed, with ergonomic furniture, curated lighting and acoustic panels; however, the atmosphere often still feels flat. Creating a highly optimised, frictionless workplace means removing physical hurdles and operational delays, but it can also strip away the small moments of variation, spontaneity and connection that give working life its texture. Often, the result of frictionless work is an environment that feels psychologically monotonous and socially thin. (more…)

Tales from the built environment: some reflections on the conference circuit 

Tales from the built environment: some reflections on the conference circuit 

by • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

The built environment sector, like many other sectors, spends a great deal of time talking to itself. So what is it saying right now?The stories we tell ourselves can be powerful. They shape how we see reality, whether they’re true or not. The trouble is that the ones which endure are rarely the most helpful. Here’s a familiar story: every industry is privately convinced that its image problem is uniquely severe. This leads to a lot of navel-gazing and going round in circles. Often, however, they’re grappling with versions of the same challenge: trying to explain their value to people outside the room. I saw this play out at two recent conferences related to the built environment: the UK Real Estate Infrastructure & Investment Forum (UKREiiF) in May and IWFM Live last week. (more…)

Navel gazing may not be the answer to the challenges facing workplace professions

Navel gazing may not be the answer to the challenges facing workplace professions

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design

First published in 2016 and republished because the same conversation is happening yet again at the IWFM conference right now: An adherence to strongly held beliefs can make people think and behave in peculiar ways and get them tangled up in peripheral issues that take on a great deal of significance. Early religious artists, for example, spent centuries wrestling with the seemingly intractable problem of whether to depict Adam and Eve with belly buttons or not. (more…)

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