Greater attention must be paid to office design to attract younger talent

Greater attention must be paid to office design to attract younger talent

by • Facilities management, Lighting, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Greater attention must be paid on the aesthetics of an office to attract younger talentOver a fifth (21 percent) of 18-24 year olds admit that they have rejected a potential employer because of the poor design of the office or lack of amenities available, while 34 percent in the same age group would be willing to commute for a maximum of one hour each way to an office that is considered perfect – compared to 22 percent of 45-54 year olds. The research, commissioned by Mindspace, found that 16 percent of 18-24 year olds have actually left a job because of how poorly designed the office was in one of their previous roles. Overall, nearly a third (31 percent), of workers are bored with their current office environment and feel uninspired at work, with 28 percent of workers describing their place of work outdated and dull. The research also found that while most workers had access to amenities such as a kitchen (72 percent), meeting rooms (66 percent) and free tea & coffee (53 percent), what UK office workers desire the most to improve morale is more natural light, air conditioning and improved interior lighting.

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The Furniture Makers’ Company announces new Design Guild Mark 2018 holders

The Furniture Makers’ Company announces new Design Guild Mark 2018 holders

by • Company news, Furniture, Workplace design

Twelve designs representing both the domestic and contract furniture market have been awarded the prestigious Design Guild Mark in 2018. The Design Guild Mark is awarded by The Furniture Makers’ Company, a City of London livery company and the furnishing industry’s charity, in order to drive excellence and raise the profile of British design and innovation. Now in its tenth year, the Mark recognises the highest standards in the design of furnishings in volume production by the finest designers working in Britain, or British designers working abroad. The Design Guild Mark is judged by a panel of leading industry professionals. Each member of the panel is from the furniture, hospitality, commercial, retail, or media industry. Judges must ensure that each piece of furniture meets the criteria of: excellence in design, materials, manufacture, and function. (more…)

Seven workplace stories that fired up our synapses this week

Seven workplace stories that fired up our synapses this week

by • Features, Flexible working, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Three myths about the future of work and why they’re not true

Chronic fatigue trial results ‘not robust’, new study says

Coworking is the new normal and the stats that prove it

Is mindfulness just hype?

What makes employees happy?

The workplace is killing people and nobody cares

The office sector is failing to keep up with business growth

Image: The Cluster, Melbourne

There are at least some reasons to be optimistic about the UK’s tech sector post Brexit

There are at least some reasons to be optimistic about the UK’s tech sector post Brexit

by • Comment, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Making detailed predictions about the economic consequences of Brexit has proved a mug’s game many time over the past couple of years. The most accurate summation of what is happening might be ‘mixed’. Most recently, a report from the CBI has highlighted the resilience of many sectors while bemoaning a lack of skills in the economy. Meanwhile former Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Lord O’Neill also recently conceded that the UK economy had been more robust than he had expected following the Brexit vote, which he attributed primarily to the thriving world economy. An argument almost immediately dismissed by the economist Ruth Lea writing for the LSE, who put forward a more nuanced and mixed explanation. The same picture of tempered resilience is also evident in specific sectors, and especially those that were seen as the most likely to feel the consequences of the Brexit vote, including London’s crucial tech sector.

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Seven of the best stories about life, the universe and everything we’ve seen over the past week

Seven of the best stories about life, the universe and everything we’ve seen over the past week

by • Features, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

People don’t actually know themselves very well

Some actual facts about the time we spend sitting at work

German workers: satisfied, but not engaged

What skills and behaviours make a good leader effective?

Stephen Hawking’s most dire predictions for the future

The World’s happiest nations, according to the UN

A critique of the dogma of wellbeing

Image: By NASA/Paul Alers [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

New Liverpool HQ of the Royal College of Physicians set to be one of the UK’s healthiest workplaces

New Liverpool HQ of the Royal College of Physicians set to be one of the UK’s healthiest workplaces

by • Architecture, News, Workplace design

Plans for the new northern headquarters of the Royal College of Physicians have been unveiled this morning at MIPIM. The 160,000 sq ft building, currently in development at the Knowledge Quarter, Liverpool will be one of the healthiest workplaces in the UK for mental and physical wellbeing and among the first to achieve the international WELL standard of modern building design, according to its designers. The £35m northern building will be known officially as The Spine, taking its name from a staircase on its north elevation that resembles human vertebrae. The building has been designed by AHR Architects.

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Workplace Matters Podcast: Neil Usher on the elemental workplace and a possible new era for BIFM

Workplace Matters Podcast: Neil Usher on the elemental workplace and a possible new era for BIFM

by • Facilities management, Features, Premium Content, Workplace design

Workplace author, blogger and consultant Neil Usher joins 3edges director Ian Ellison again on the day of his ‘The Elemental Workplace’ book launch; also the day the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) announce their proposal to become the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM). Both of these very different, but exciting developments for the workplace discipline are discussed at length, and Neil offers insightful critique as always. The conversation ends up at one of the new frontiers for the way we work and the places we do it – and global society in general – the ethical challenges we face from emerging digital technologies. Further links from the discussion can be found in the show-notes on the podcast page of www.3edges.co.uk, where you can also find a free download of the Workplace Leadership Manifesto which 3edges co-wrote and published with Neil this January.

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Many office furniture firms remain confused about social media and online communication

Many office furniture firms remain confused about social media and online communication

by • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design

At Watson King we surveyed the websites of the Top 100 European manufacturers of office furniture products, the results showed that 13 percent use no form of social media at all and 25 percent use less than three types. There are also some surprising results on which the most popular channels are. There is evidence to suggest that companies are unsure about the most effective way to use social media channels and which ones are the most appropriate to select. Also, there appears to be fundamental issues on how to integrate social media and communication channels to get the best results.

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Seven great workplace stories that have inspired and intrigued us over the past week

Seven great workplace stories that have inspired and intrigued us over the past week

by • Facilities management, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Do people really get promoted to their level of incompetence?

Emotional Intelligence: an integrative meta-analysis

Male and female bosses share the same “masculine” personality traits

How to read less news but be more informed

The Jurassic Park problem – tech and ethics

The 911 transcripts of times Apple employees walked into glass walls

Landlords woo office tenants with worker perks

Google is the gold standard employer in UK tech sector but small brands can still compete

Google is the gold standard employer in UK tech sector but small brands can still compete

by • Company news, Facilities management, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Google 'gold standard' in tech sector but smaller brands can still compete, suggests reportGoogle has been named the Ideal Employer among tech professionals in the 2018 Dice UK Ideal Employer Report. While market leaders including Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and IBM are placed highly, the report suggests that smaller tech brands can also attract the top talent through benefits including yoga, in-house cafeterias and more. For many technology professionals, Google is the gold standard employer, with a perfect mix of competitive salary, perks, benefits and interesting work, something smaller companies can learn from. The survey of 464 tech professionals found that simple office upgrades including yoga, colourful furniture and other positive innovative cultural perks can help smaller companies attract the best talent, even if smaller in size. Good work/life balances, open communications and manageable working hours also ranked highly.  (more…)

How to reboot an activity based working project that has ground to a halt

How to reboot an activity based working project that has ground to a halt

by • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design

We moved and then nothing happened, is one of the typical problems while evaluating the ups and downs of an activity based working (ABW) journey. The key to success is to kick off and re-start a change that has stopped. A second problem is that the layout of the office not quite meets up to expectations and needs, and a third is that too few feel engagement. It doesn’t necessary work badly, but something itches. What and how to do then? Clearly showing to those in charge what is not working or not has been carried out as it was meant, and showing the arisen consequences due to that, is one of the things that must be done to enable a re-start. But that will not be enough. (more…)

About time we simply accepted that coworking and flexible working are the new normal

About time we simply accepted that coworking and flexible working are the new normal

by • Comment, Coworking, Flexible working, Workplace design

Ask someone to list innovative companies which have become notable disruptors in their market and they invariably respond with two names – Uber and Airbnb. That is because both brands are positioned squarely and successfully at the retail consumer: for people who use a taxi or take an occasional short break in a foreign city, they have become the automatic default options. But there is another equally successful business targeting the corporate space, aimed particularly at small businesses and millennial tech start-ups: WeWork. Just like Uber and Airbnb, it is less than a decade old. In that time, WeWork’s ambition of being the world’s leading coworking company has been realised. Championing itself as a disruption revolutionary, it has succeeded more prosaically by ‘creating environments that increase productivity, innovation, and collaboration,’ according to its website. WeWork’s model involves renting office space cheaply via long-term lease contracts. Small units are then re-rented at higher rates to start up companies which are happy to pay a premium because they need very little space.

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