February 19, 2019
The scene was set when, on the final approach to Stockholm, the Captain announced that the city was ‘enjoying’ heavy snow and a temperature of minus 15 degrees C. Can the fair organisers be persuaded to move future events to balmy June? Probably not. But of course, everything works perfectly despite the weather, and interiors […]
February 18, 2019
The idea of a cocktail party might be a bit dated, but it is the perfect metaphor for describing one aspect of the most common complaints about modern office design. An idea called the cocktail party effect has been known to neuroscientists for decades. It describes how we are able to filter out a large […]
February 17, 2019
Hammocks, remote working, hot-desking. Contrary to common belief, these aren’t the only conversations landlords are having with designers on how to approach their workspaces for today’s tenants. Rising property values, the growth of flexible offices and political uncertainty have forced landlords to change the way they market their properties to respond to the demands of […]
February 15, 2019
A survey exploring art in the workplace (‘Making Art Work in the Workplace’) conducted by the British Council for Offices (BCO) found that almost 88 percent of respondents felt that “art is more relevant in the workplace than ever before”. Yet, with the arrival of the generic modern office, full of open plan space and […]
February 8, 2019
If there’s just one thing that makes my heart sink more precipitously than the word ‘trends’, it’s when it’s preceded by the words Top and Ten. So it’s nice to have been surprised by this list of workplace trends that displays the wherewithal and insight to call on those people in the sector who might […]
February 8, 2019
One of the great paradoxes of modern life is the ever increasing likelihood of breakdowns in communication in a world in which we have more ways to talk to each other than ever before. This can play out in especially toxic ways in the wider world, but its effects in the workplace can also be […]
February 7, 2019
I spent some time with Frank Duffy recently, releasing a stream of memories of working with him, first as an employee at DEGW during the 1980s, and then as a client while directing developer Stanhope’s research programme during the 1990s. Along with his long-term business partner, John Worthington, and thinkers including Franklin Becker, Gerald Davis, […]
February 4, 2019
One of the truisms about depictions of the future is that they often have more to say about the world in which we live than the one to come. So, when George Orwell wrote 1984 the story goes that its title was derived by inverting the numbers of the year in which it was written […]
February 4, 2019
A new word has recently entered the public discourse on the environment. It describes the current epoch of geological time as the period in which humans have had an impact on the world’s climate, geology and ecosystems. Although yet to be formally recognised by the mainstream scientific community, it has been in existence for a […]
February 1, 2019
The New York Times asked an interesting question this week. “Why Are Young People Pretending to Love Work?” it demanded, begging the immediate response ‘for the same reason everybody else does’. If only that pat, facetious response were enough to satisfy the actual questions concealed by the typically misleading headline. What the article actually wants […]
January 25, 2019
Monday of this week was supposedly the most depressing of the year. Blue Monday, in fact. The day when our return to work after the Christmas break combines with the lack of daylight and a wave of existential dread as our resolution(s) falter and fall to help crush our spirits.
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Working environment, not time of the year has most negative effect on staff wellbeing
Nowy Styl acquisition of Kusch+Co latest sign of changing office furniture sector
A worthwhile workplace trends list, permanent beta, nudge nudge, think think and some other stuff
Flexible working employees find it difficult to detach from work
Employees call for more user-friendly workplace technology
Employees want to achieve a healthy work-life balance this year
Sleeping on the job: the cultures of sleep and napping from around the world
Film series sets out to solve the workplace wellbeing puzzle
Staff wellbeing moves up the HR agenda and yes, includes the provision of free fruit
Shortlist for Business Book Awards features more on workplace and wellbeing than ever before
February 20, 2019
A new approach to office design is redefining our relationship with property
by Gary Chandler • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design
At the end of the 18th Century it was becoming apparent that overpopulation was something the human race would need to address for perhaps the first time. Advances in technology and the urbanisation that followed the Industrial Revolution had created a new set of challenges. These were most famously laid out in a 1798 book called […]