Circular economy accelerator launched to address role of built environment in climate change

Circular economy accelerator launched to address role of built environment in climate change

by • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

circular economyThe World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and its network of over 70 Green Building Councils have launched a Circularity Accelerator — a global programme that sets out to accelerate the adoption of circular economy and resource efficiency principles in the building and construction sector. Last week, the United Nations (UN) reported we have a 50 percent chance of exceeding 1.5°C of global heating in the next five years. Between the UN Climate Summit of COP21 in Paris and COP26 in Glasgow, the global economy consumed 70 percent more raw materials than the Earth can safely replenish. More →

Facilities managers: you never noticed us because we did such a great job

Facilities managers: you never noticed us because we did such a great job

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

facilities managersGetting all hot under the collar about brushed chrome door furniture is an understandable but classic displacement activity when much of your work is messy, unglamorous and even occasionally dangerous. You work alongside designers and architects and look longingly at their apparent casual trendiness and clean lines, marvelling at the quality of the beech from sustainably managed European forestries (kiln dried to 10-12 per cent moisture content) with which they have specified the side tables in reception. Achingly cool and effortless in a way you feel you’ll never be.

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The truth about motivation, engagement and the employment of motivated idiots

The truth about motivation, engagement and the employment of motivated idiots

by • Comment, Facilities management, HR, Workplace design

motivated idiotsThe current obsession with engagement and motivation is evident every time you read the business media these days. This is understandable in many ways, not least because it seems true that firms and employees are often working in an atmosphere of mistrust. But one thing that is often noticeable when a profession such as HR gets itself into a debate of this nature is the gap that can exist between practitioners and everybody else offering a view. So while academics can talk about definitions and suppliers seek to apply their solutions to the issue, it is often down to those who work at the sharp end to dish up the truth, however unpalatable or cynical that can seem to be. More →

The Workplace Geeks on what we need to learn about the office now that everything’s changed

The Workplace Geeks on what we need to learn about the office now that everything’s changed

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

The Workplace Geeks are out and about for their very first LIVE episode, recorded at The Workplace Event, Birmingham NEC, UK in April 2022. For this special show they’re joined by Dan Pilling, workplace strategy consultant at TSK Group. Their discussion explores the scope and value of practical workplace research pre and post pandemic, with some great questions from the audience (thanks to Brock James from iOtSpace, Stuart Watts from the GPA, and Steve Henigan from HCG). More →

Experimentation is the name of the game

Experimentation is the name of the game

by • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design

Uncertain times call for different measures and approaches, the old rules and playbooks are no longer applicable – so what are you going to do? Sit around, stagnate, hanker after old solutions trying to manipulate and squeeze them into new, unknowable, untried paradigms? No! One thing human beings are fairly good at is evolving and adapting to new and unknown situations and as we all know, being flexible and  accepting change creates resilience and ensures survival. More →

Facilities Managers should be seen as stewards of corporate culture

Facilities Managers should be seen as stewards of corporate culture

by • Comment, Facilities management

hybrid working facilities managersThe pandemic has irrevocably changed the way we work. Once considered a place simply to do business, the office is fast becoming a ‘lifestyle choice’ among young people who value more than just a desk. Instead, they want an engaging, healthy, and resilient working environment where they can socialise, make friends, and build connections to help their career and wellbeing thrive. In fact, an EY study found that 90 percent of Generation-Z value the human connection in the workplace above salary when it comes to their at-work communication. A recent Gallup survey even found a tangible link between having a best friend at work and productivity: those who have a best friend in the office are twice as likely to be engaged in their role and company. More →

Is the workplace experience shaped more by maintenance or by design?

Is the workplace experience shaped more by maintenance or by design?

by • Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

The workplace experienceWhat has resilience got to do with the workplace experience? It is a word that has been used a lot recently as the great British public has demonstrated massive amounts of resilience in coping with Covid-19, fuel shortages, worries about food availability and a massive shift in how we work. So what is it? The dictionary gives two meanings: firstly the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, i.e. toughness. And then secondly, the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity – like nylon for example.   More →

Third of people crave a return to the office for their mental health

Third of people crave a return to the office for their mental health

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property, Wellbeing

mental healthA new study from smart building platform Infogrid claims that nearly a third of working Brits (32 percent) want to return to their offices in January because they feel it would improve their mental health, which has been impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The top reasons UK employees cite for wanting to return to the office include working in a positive social environment (35 percent), having a reason to leave the house (26 percent), not having to worry about being cold at home (25 percent), and the daily commute providing time to transition between home and work life (23 percent). More →

Facilities Managers provide the key to unlock the future of work

Facilities Managers provide the key to unlock the future of work

by • Facilities management, News

facilities managersRicoh UK has published a report called Leading Change at Work: The role of FM in driving the digital workplace (registration), which claims to offer ‘the definitive discussion on the future of work in the UK’. The report follows on from last year’s Conscious Workplace research which set out the behaviours, mindsets and influences shaping the new world of work in a post-pandemic world. After hosting a roundtable with five Facilities Managers from various businesses, Ricoh has gathered insight into the ongoing challenges being faced by organisations. More →

Time to stop playing around with the issue of workplace sustainability

Time to stop playing around with the issue of workplace sustainability

by • Environment, Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

workplace sustainabilityThe  so-called green agenda, sustainability and climate change have finally hit centre stage. Various announcements are being made by UK Government and numerous high profile figures are crying a call to action to implement carbon reduction plans now. Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman William Russell, stated at the Annual Lord Mayor Gresham Lecture early in 2021: “Climate change is a bigger threat to the world than COVID-19.” He called on the financial and professional services sector to take urgent action to tackle climate change and ensure sustainability is at the heart of every financial decision. More →

Progress depends on heterodox thought and difficult questions

Progress depends on heterodox thought and difficult questions

by • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Between the 9th and 13th Centuries, the world’s intellectual centre and the source of much of its progress, discovery and achievement was Baghdad. This was the Muslim Golden Age and at its core was the House of Wisdom, established by the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. At one point, this library housed the largest collection of books on Earth and drew the greatest minds in the world to share ideas, innovate and explore ancient sources of science and wisdom from Greek and Persian texts. Muslim, Jewish, Christian and atheist scholars worked together to advance human understanding until a slow decline culminated with a later Caliph declaring that its diversity of thought should bow to a literal interpretation of the Quran and Hadith.

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Stronger profit margins and job opportunities as demand for facilities management increases

Stronger profit margins and job opportunities as demand for facilities management increases

by • Business, Facilities management, News

facilities managementWorkloads, profit margins and employment opportunities are set to continue to grow for the year ahead due to increasing demand for facilities management services, according to the latest RICS UK Facilities Management Market Survey. More →

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