November 12, 2015
The three workplace professions need to face up to a new reality 0
The modern workplace consists of an often unholy trinity of people, place and technology and each of these facets has its own associated profession; HR. IT. FM. Six letters. Three disciplines. One big mess. When life was simple, with people generally going to work in the same place and at the same time, each of these professions could operate in its own bubble, with a clear sphere of influence and control. Sure, they could behave in interdisciplinary ways, they could have their intersections, but at the end of each encounter they could each go their separate ways. That is no longer true. The workplace is no longer primarily physical, but digital and cultural too. The boundaries of space and time have slipped and taken with them the clear demarcations between the three main workplace professions. All of this is bound to provoke as big an existential crisis for the professions as it does for the workplace itself.





















In years gone by, a ‘one size fits all’ approach to office design might have been the norm, but as the decades have progressed, so too have the options available to businesses designing ‘homes from home’ for their office-based workforces. As new interpretations of the office environment proliferated, so the open plan model came to into being and eventually evolved into the default office design model. This initially brought greater variety than ever before but, ultimately, a one size fits all mentality in 
Biodynamic lighting is an artificial light source that replicates the dynamic variations of daylight and sunlight through a light management system. Up until recent times, it was commonly believed that light was only needed for seeing. However, in 2001, an American scientist, G. C. Brainard discovered a circadian photoreceptor in the retina, which receives a specific quality and quantity of light, and sets the biological clock.* He discovered that light not only provides us with the ability to see, but that light enters the eye via the ‘fourth pathway’, which has a vital non-visual or biological effect on the human body. His studies showed that a certain quantity and quality of light stimulates the biological clock, also known as the circadian rhythm, which regulates hormone levels, particularly melatonin and cortisone, in the body and so plays a vital role in our physical and mental wellbeing.

November 18, 2015
Women earn less than men because they make different choices, report confirms 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, News, Workplace
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