Hybrid working, work from anywhere and the evolution of the Third Place

Hybrid working, work from anywhere and the evolution of the Third Place

by • Comment, Property, Workplace design

Two people working separately in neighbouring booths in an office to illustrate the principle of third place facilities in hybrid working cultures. The restrictions brought about by COVID-19 altered where we work and thus also how, when and through which channels we do work related activities. These changes radically altered the way previously office-based workers thought about ‘work’ as an activity. This new era of hybrid working had a significant impact on traditional models of workplace provisioning. One could argue that pre-COVID-19 the ‘work mindset’ was almost an afterthought because there were distinguishing markers that indicated when you were expected to work and when you were not. If you were in the office, then you were expected to be doing work-related tasks. Then, at the literal end of the day, you switched off your computer and went home and mentally ‘turned-off’ until you returned to work the next morning. More →

Getting back to the future of work

Getting back to the future of work

by • Comment, Flexible working

future of workQuoting George Orwell is the kind of thing that people who haven’t read George Orwell do. I have read Orwell, and even have a  drunken story about Paul Shane signing my copy of the Collected Essays, which was the only autograph-able material I had on me at the time I met him in a pub in about 1990. For another time. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell describes Winston Smith’s realisation that the best books are those that tell you what you already know. This is an ancient profundity, and one that is sort of useful during times of significant, rapid change, when we are obliged to confront old truths in a new context. History doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes, as they say. More →

How to eliminate tech-shaming in the workplace

How to eliminate tech-shaming in the workplace

by • Comment, Technology, Workplace

The skills which are in demand are vastly differently to what they were just a decade ago. As a result, we have seen a rise in the incidence of tech-shaming and the current generation has needed to develop a different skillsetTechnology has impacted our everyday lives – from how we keep in touch with old friends all the way to how we do our weekly shop, as well as our work lives. The skills which are in demand are vastly differently to what they were just a decade ago. As a result, we have seen a rise in the incidence of tech-shaming and the current generation has needed to develop a different skillset to what their predecessors had to learn. Dell Technologies found that 56 percent of respondents between the ages 18 to 26 across 15 countries, said “they had very basic to no digital skills education.” A third of them said their education had not provided them “with the digital skill they need to propel their career” and what they know comes from the apps they use on their own time. More →

Reconnecting older workers with the office: have we retired what matters most?

Reconnecting older workers with the office: have we retired what matters most?

by • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

If we look at what older workers are actually saying about work and workplaces, there is an appetite for change, says Julie LecoqOlder workers now make up a larger percentage of the workforce than they did two decades ago. Data from Legal and General and the Centre for Economic Research (Cebr) suggests that the number of over 50s in employment has increased by 36 percent in the last 20 years, with 47 percent of this age group predicted to be in employment by 2030. A combination of the increase in retirement age and rising costs of living have made it a necessity for individuals to stay in work longer. From a corporate perspective, the growing skills shortages in a range of sectors has also meant that employers are consistently seeking to attract and retain those in the latter stage of their professional career. More →

We shouldn’t be deterred by the wonky start to the circular economy

We shouldn’t be deterred by the wonky start to the circular economy

by • Comment, Environment, Workplace design

The development of the circular economy is not quite so simple as we would like, but we have to persist, writes Becky GordonWe’re all familiar with the circular economy in some shape or form. We know the principles of recycling materials back into the original product to create a perfectly circular model of sustainability. But in practice, as architects and designers are finding, the development of the circular economy not quite so simple. Circular design is possible now, but we have to start with circles that are slightly wonkier than we might like. More →

IF AI can replace what you do without anybody noticing, the problem isn’t with the technology

IF AI can replace what you do without anybody noticing, the problem isn’t with the technology

by • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing

AI is ready to muscle in on our ability to create and consume vast quantities of content. So we need to look at things in a new wayPerhaps the least surprising news from the current AI media frenzy is that Buzzfeed has already been using the tech to publish a lot of its stories. There’s an obvious response to this and it’s not about how amazing the AI is. If an artificial intelligence can write vast quantities of formulaic clickbait stories on your website without anybody noticing, then the problem is with your original approach to ‘content’ and how it’s consumed. More →

The allure of workplace bullshit

The allure of workplace bullshit

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The sleep of reason and workplace bullshitAlthough the legend of Faust is one of the Germanic world’s foundational narratives, its archetypes and themes were already established by the time Goethe codified them in his 1808 play. They have since become universal. The idea that somebody would sell their soul to the Devil to gain something or rid themselves of unhappiness is as resonant now as it was in Renaissance Europe. It has inspired books films and artists to such an extent that its derivatives now have their own Wikipedia page.

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The need for reimagination in an age of uncertainty

The need for reimagination in an age of uncertainty

by • Comment, Everything Omni

Since we are now very much in the age of uncertainty being the new certainty, with all the old playbooks out the window and no cookie cutter approach in the ways we work, since one size doesn’t fit all – what the hell do we do?Since we are now very much in the age of uncertainty being the new certainty, with all the old playbooks out the window and no cookie cutter approach in the ways we work, since one size doesn’t fit all – what the hell do we do? Curl up in a ball and die? Go into panic mode and go around shouting ‘We’re doomed! We’re doomed’ manically? Or just ostrich the problem and hope it all goes away or at least reverts back to how it was before? More →

Do you have a crystal ball when it comes to leading change?

Do you have a crystal ball when it comes to leading change?

by • Comment, JB, Workplace

You don't need to know everything or even where you'll end up when embarking on a process of change, says Jennifer BryanIf you think about a change that is happening to you, in some way, right now – how are you feeling?  Are you feeling scared, anxious, worried or happy, excited, looking forward to it?  The same thing happens with a workplace change.  Some people like the old ways of working because they are use to them, feel comfortable, they don’t have to think about it.  Whereas others are looking forward to the new ways of working, as they think they are exciting, new and different. More →

Are we asking the right questions about the workplace?

Are we asking the right questions about the workplace?

by • Comment, Everything Omni, Facilities management, Property

In 1989, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, performed a TV sketch called Information. You can watch it below. It featured Stephen Fry sitting at a desk with a placard displaying the word “INFORMATION”. He asks, “Can I help you?” to which Hugh Laurie replies, “Oh, I would like some information, please”. Though, in the discussion, Hugh Laurie expects to get information without asking any questions, Stephen Fry explains that he has lots of information, such as “the average weight of a rabbit”. In response comes the statement, “Well, I didn’t know that, that there was an average weight of a rabbit!” More →

Every workplace innovation contains the seeds of its opposite

Every workplace innovation contains the seeds of its opposite

by • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

workplace innovationThe announcement by Apple that it wanted its employees to work in an office for three days a week sparked the usual, tedious pile-on about how many days people should spend in a physical workplace each week. This included the columnist at Grazia who joins the tens of millions of people around the world who not only know where Apple is going wrong, but also how to run every other organisation in the world and what’s best for everybody who works for them. More →

People have to create great leadership in the face of unrealistic expectations

People have to create great leadership in the face of unrealistic expectations

by • Business, Comment

While modern business leaders are still expected to provide strategic thinking, leadership and make business decisions, their effectiveness is no longer just about profitsWhile modern business leaders are still expected to provide strategic thinking, leadership and make business decisions, their effectiveness is no longer just about profits. These days leaders are also being held responsible for employees’ mental health and wellbeing, psychological safety, as well as diversity and inclusion. They are expected to be decisive yet flexible, empathetic yet analytical, and clear yet nuanced. It can be exhausting. More →

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