February 19, 2016

RIBA consults on the future use of its landmark Art Deco HQ building ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Workplace design

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched an open consultation on the future use of its landmark Art Deco HQ building in central London. The first part of the consultation strategy is an online survey, to be followed by focus group sessions to gather more detail. RIBA Client Advisor, Sarah Williams said: “This survey is the start of a detailed process which will include defining the role that 66 Portland Place plays in the RIBA’s long term vision and values. Our detailed consultation will gather views and ideas from our members, staff and other users of the building including visitors, neighbours, meeting room clients, cultural partners, sponsors and patrons.I encourage everyone to participate to help us shape the use of this important building for the next 80 years.” Click here to participate in the survey and learn more about the consultation for 66 Portland Place.

February 17, 2016

The workplace is not just about the play, but the stage too ⁰

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

Why is it that just about every article I read talking about the value of workplace design, almost always ignores the broader context of the building and precinct in which the workplace is located? Similarly, almost all conversations extolling the virtues of remote working, love to predict the extinction of the office and diminish its relevance as an important contributor to the operations of a successful business. Personally, I have yet to find an acceptable substitution for face to face communication. It is just not possible for clear, consistent and unmistakeable communication to occur over email, text, phone or skype. The ability to be able to read someone’s body language, grab a pen and paper to draw a diagram, point to an example, empathise sincerely with a colleague, customer or collaborator’s struggles with complex concepts, is just not possible to do quickly, effectively and efficiently without face to face communication.

February 15, 2016

The death of the office meme does not fit with a thriving property market ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Workplace design

You don’t have to look very far to find somebody or other proclaiming the death of the office. A quick Google search will come up with over 73 million results for the past year alone. This has been going on for decades, but a search engine now gives us a far better idea than the occasional feature in a trade magazine of just how the idea has evolved into a full-blown meme. The narrative has become so entrenched that the people who use it – typically the ignorant, the self-interested, the lazy and the ill-informed – rarely have their premise challenged. Usually it is an idea appended to some disruptive and supposedly apocalyptic trend and, at the moment, office kryptonite comes in the form of coworking, where once it was flexible working or mobile technology. And yet, for all the non-fatal wounds these innovations have inflicted on the traditional office, the idea of people travelling to work alongside each other in shared buildings endures.

February 14, 2016

Office design & stress + Manchester office shortage + Global flexible working ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Insight Newsletter; Mark Eltringham explains what Douglas Adams could teach us about workplace design and Sara Bean says there are fewer promotion prospects for part time working mums. Rise in worldwide take-up of flexible working; £1bn in savings if NHS made better use of its estate and Manchester may soon run out of Grade A office space. 2016 will see an exodus of Tech firm’s from cities, almost three quarters of small businesses believe co-working spaces are the ideal for start-ups and unpredictability and workplace environment are two most common factors influencing work related stress. Download the latest issue of Work&Place and access an Insight Briefing produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

February 11, 2016

Majority of UK’s small businesses would opt for coworking spaces ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Property, Workplace design

Almost three quarters (72 percent) of small businesses in the UK believe coworking spaces are the ideal environment to base a start-up. Although the research was carried out by Regus, which happens to provide just that sort of workspace, the research did detect some strong preferences from small businesses that suggests sharing office space is the best solution for fledgling firms to thrive. When asked about the benefits of coworking compared to other workspace options, more than eight in ten respondents (83%) from the research, which canvassed the opinions of over 2,600 UK-based small companies, claimed it was a much more cost-effective alternative to a fixed office. The opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs (70 percent) was also identified as a major plus point, with 63 percent believing that shared space provides more inspiration than a traditional office setting and 61 percent saying that this kind of workplace offered a more creative environment that regular offices.

February 9, 2016

Better workplace design and management could save the NHS £1 billion ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector, Workplace design

The National Health Service could make around £1bn in savings if it made better use of its estate, including more efficient workplace design, according to Lord Carter’s wide-ranging 18-month review into the operations and productivity of the NHS. The wide ranging review claimed that a total of £5bn could be saved by adopting a range of best practice standards. Carter examined 32 hospitals as well as looking at systems in the US, Germany, Australia, Italy and France for the report. Among the differences highlighted were variations in the use of floorspace, with one trust using 12 percent for non-clinical purposes and another using 69 percent. Overall, the review suggests that the NHS could save £1bn by 2020 via from the better management of estates, such as lighting, heating and the utilisation of floor space. The challenges of running the NHS estate efficiently have been something of an issue for some time, as we have reported.

February 6, 2016

Robot’s rise + Shrinking public sector estate + Office of the future (not) ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Property, Public Sector, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Insight newsletter; Gary Chandler envisages how automation will transform society and workplaces; Paul Goodchild explains why office life still attracts people; Mark Eltringham bemoans the narrow focus shown in predictions of the future office and Sara Bean says the HR discipline needs to evolve to support the changing workplace. A new report reveals 88 percent of British workers are regularly stressed at work; employees are increasingly keen to find jobs that offer them flexible working; and men are penalised for opting for a better work/life balance. Government plans to cut the size of its estate by 75 percent by 2023 and an expanding TMT sector increases demand in central London. Download the latest issue of Work&Place and access an Insight Briefing produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

February 5, 2016

Embracing the inevitable rise of the robots in the workplace ⁰

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

We often have reason these days to speculate on the truth of an idea known as Amara’s Law. First coined by the researcher Roy Amara it states that “we tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run”. But defining what we mean by short and long term can be very difficult when technology is changing so quickly. Nothing better illustrates this than the issue of how automation will transform society and workplaces. For the past few years, the effects have mainly been the subject of academic and scientific research alongside some lurid headlines in the mainstream media. So, a fairly typical 2013 paper from researchers at Oxford University assessed the risk faced by over 700 professions and discovered that nearly half of all jobs in the US could be categorised as at high risk of automation. Less academic studies such as a report published last year by Deloitte draw similar conclusions.

February 5, 2016

What the commercial property market tells us about trends in office design ⁰

by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Property, Workplace design

It’s become commonplace in recent years for certain people to foresee the death of the office. The problem with this argument is that, in spite of its drawbacks, office life maintains an attraction for both employers and employees and there will always be an upper limit on how long people want to spend away from other people. Things are changing but the death of the office is a myth. As we’ve known for at least a quarter of a century, there is no absolute need for us to go to work at all. Theoretically we could just do away with offices completely if we wanted to. But as we have seen, the fact we have evolved technology to the point where we could forget about bricks and mortar, doesn’t necessarily mean we will. Not only are there practical reasons for offices to continue to exist, there are emotive ones too. If you want evidence of this, look no further than the records currently being set by the UK’s commercial property markets.

February 3, 2016

Government plans to cut size of estate by 75 percent by 2023 ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector, Workplace design

The UK Government has today published the latest edition of its annual State of the Estate report, which gives an update on plans to consolidate, divest and modernise the central government property portfolio. Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock claims that the current administration has reduced the size of the estate by 2.4 million sq. m. since 2010. (As is the way of these things, the minister claims this is equivalent to 336football pitches, 43 Shards or more than the entire principality of Monaco. Presumably individual departments measured their own successes in blue whales and double decker buses.) He claims that this means that the total central government estate has fallen below 5,000 holdings for the first time and could fit inside the area of West Finchley (which is a new measurement on us). The reduction has been achieved by selling property ranging from the historic Old War Office (top) to an old bakery and lighthouse.

January 30, 2016

Coworking goes mainstream + Sit stand working + Future for tech offices ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Insight newsletter; Mark Eltringham analyses the impact of the sit-stand movement and suggests that the I-phone is a very isolating piece of equipment; Georgi Georgiev says remote work is no longer just a freelancer’s game; and Paul Goodchild explains why co-working is shaping office design more than you’d imagine. A new report outlines the key future property trends for TMT workplaces; parents are at greater risk of burn out as they strive for work life balance; fewer than one in ten (8 percent) of UK organisations currently have a standalone wellbeing strategy; the positive benefits of active work are revealed and the UK’s CEO’s worries about cyber-risks. Download the latest issue of Work&Place and access an Insight Briefing produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

January 29, 2016

Delivering the low-down on the sit-stand workstation phenomenon ⁰

by Ashley Hayward • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design

While the UK, US, Australia and other nations continue to treat them as something of a novelty, across Sweden, Norway and Finland, over 80 per cent of office workers use sit-stand desks. Offering employees a height adjustable work station is now mandatory in Denmark. However, sit-stand working is still in its infancy in the UK, with only 2 per cent of similar workers having access to variable-height workstations. Given the huge amount of news coverage devoted to the subject of sedentary lifestyles in the last couple of years, ‘sit-stand’ and ‘active working’ have become buzz terms in UK workplace design. The ‘On Your Feet Britain’* campaign has raised awareness of the health perils risked by the many Brits who spend an average of 8.5 hours a day sitting, whether at their desk or slumped in front of the telly. Inevitably, savvy employers will be asking themselves if they can afford to ignore the problem.