Ten years of Insight and a few things I think I know (one of our most read pieces this year)

Ten years of Insight and a few things I think I know (one of our most read pieces this year)

by • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

This website started in late 2012 as a way for me to explore both a new media format and a new way of thinking about work and workplaces. I’d already been active in various roles in the workplace, design and facilities sector for twenty odd years, but needed a new challenge. And this was it. I was going for a ride with an idea to see where it went. (more…)

What ever happened to The Great Resignation?

What ever happened to The Great Resignation?

by • Comment, Wellbeing

You may recall that a couple of years ago, The Great Resignation was one of a handful of things with which certain people had become obsessedYou may recall that a couple of years ago, The Great Resignation was one of a handful of things with which certain people had become obsessed. Over a period of about six months at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, we were told repeatedly that huge numbers of people were about to quit their jobs to move to something better, pursue their dream of self-employment or whatever. But, the proportion of people saying this was more or less the same as it had always been. Ask people at the end of any year about their plans for the next twelve months, and around 30-40 percent of them will tell you they want a new job or to pursue an old dream.   (more…)

Has digital transformation led to an upsurge in workplace disinformation?

Has digital transformation led to an upsurge in workplace disinformation?

by • Comment, Technology

You don’t have to look far to find misinformation. Just a few weeks ago, amid the aftermath of the coup in Niger, online platforms were being inundated with false information, intensifying tensions surrounding the nation’s future. This included erroneous videos on TikTok and Twitter suggesting the presence of Wagner Group (Russian state-funded) fighters, false claims about Algeria’s military involvement, and inaccurate assertions about banning uranium export to France. (more…)

Tailored workplace management for modern organisations

Tailored workplace management for modern organisations

by • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

Workplace management used to be a secondary concern for organisations in the past, but it has now become a top priority.Workplace management used to be a secondary concern for organisations in the past, but it has now become a top priority. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the process of digital transformation, leading to the implementation of new processes and technologies that focus on facilitating remote and at-home work. As a result of these changes, organisations have recognized the importance of finding a balance in their work environments. (more…)

Creating the epicentre: unlocking the untold benefits of next-generation office spaces 

Creating the epicentre: unlocking the untold benefits of next-generation office spaces 

by • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Technology

Many associate the notion of futuristic office spaces, filled with equipment like sleep pods and beer taps, with companies that have a young workforce or challenger brand identityMany associate the notion of futuristic office spaces, filled with equipment like sleep pods and beer taps, with companies that have a young workforce or challenger brand identity. The association is often linked to tech giants like Google, which created quite a stir when it originally revealed its indoor slides. Whilst the inclusion of playground furniture in the office is not right for every business, the assumption that unconventional workspaces should be limited to unconventional companies simply isn’t true.  (more…)

The final word on… workplace trends

The final word on… workplace trends

by • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

You would not believe the number of firms that ask us to publish a list of workplace trends each week. Or maybe you wouldYou would not believe the number of firms that ask us to publish a list of workplace trends each week. Or maybe you would, given the number that have appeared – and are appearing -elsewhere. Each firm perhaps convinced they are saying something original, unique or interesting, or maybe simply convinced they stand out in some way, while pushing the same timid, stale narratives about the workplace. They will proliferate over the next month or so at the turn of another year. (more…)

Oscillate wildly between the death of the office and the death of hybrid working

Oscillate wildly between the death of the office and the death of hybrid working

by • Comment, Flexible working

The media's twisting between the death of the office and the death of hybrid working shows we've reached a point of equilibriumIt’s March 2020, very early days of lockdowns and the first catastrophising headlines appear. Is this the death of the office? Is this the death of handshakes? Is this the death of the open plan? I dismissed them at the time in this piece from March the 19th, citing Betteridge’s Law which states: “any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered with the word no”. (more…)

Republished: The brain-dead megaphone of work

Republished: The brain-dead megaphone of work

by • Comment, Working lives

There is nothing new about any of this. And yet it’s all new. I’ve spent months talking to people who really know their stuff about work and workplaces and underlying nearly all of those conversations is the following paradox. They know about flexible working, the under-utilisation of space, the twenty minute neighbourhood, the work ecosystem, universal basic income, the digital workspace, the office as club, all the rest of it. Heard it all before, often many times, over many years. Some of them have been living it too, and yet… (more…)

No one shouted stop, although we all should have seen it coming

No one shouted stop, although we all should have seen it coming

by • Comment, Everything Omni, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

And No One Shouted Stop! seems to me to be an apt phrase to capture these post- pandemic times as we grapple with work and workplace dilemmas. It comes from the little-known but widely acclaimed book of the same name by John Healy. It is set over 50 years ago and it chronicles the decline of an Irish town. The book’s underlying narrative is a train crash happening in slow motion, people see it coming but nobody feels able to stop it. I sincerely hope that this will not prove to be the case for the world of commercial real estate as it grapples with hordes of tenants asking not just ‘where is my office?’ But ‘why do I need an office?’ (more…)

Want people to spend more time in the office? Give them a little piece of home

Want people to spend more time in the office? Give them a little piece of home

by • Comment, Workplace design

For many people, a large portion of the day is spent at the workplace. In fact, the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. The Covid-19 pandemic saw the typical ‘workplace’ setting change for many people, after businesses around the globe were forced to adjust to a ‘work-from-home’ model. Now, three years later, we are starting to see more employees return to the office, with large corporations including JPMorgan, Chase, Apple and Google all announcing plans to bring their workers back to base. (more…)

The challenge for fit-out firms is to deliver best value despite supply chain challenges

The challenge for fit-out firms is to deliver best value despite supply chain challenges

by • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

Whilst industry supply and demand dynamics may have found a level of equilibrium since the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, economic disruptions, and an unstable domestic policy environment continue to have an impact on the office fit-out marketThe past year has been a challenging one for London’s commercial fit-out market. Whilst industry supply and demand dynamics may have found a level of equilibrium since the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, economic disruptions, and an unstable domestic policy environment continue to have an impact. In tandem with this, the commercial fit-out market is adapting to changing needs; from accommodating hybrid working models to growing demands for sustainability and reuse, the workplaces of today are ever changing. (more…)

A Newtonian perspective on reason, productivity and creativity

A Newtonian perspective on reason, productivity and creativity

by • Comment

On the doorstep of the British Library, you will find Edouardo Paolozzi’s imposing statue of Sir Isaac Newton. At first glance, this position seems to make perfect sense. Where better for a monument to the Enlightenment’s poster boy than raised on a plinth at the entrance to the world’s second largest library? And yet, there’s more going on here than is evident at first glance. (more…)

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