October 27, 2017
Prestige of a London office location continues to drive demand among SMEs
The London office market remains a buoyant market despite Brexit uncertainty, as many organisations see it as the most prestigious location for businesses of any size. In research conducted by London Executive Offices (LEO) 60 percent of entrepreneurs and business executives would choose London as their business location for allowing good access to customers; 57 percent say that start-ups have the best chance of success if located in London, and that they could achieve annual growth of 20 percent by being based in the capital. Over half of those surveyed strongly believe that a London office address creates a better perception of their business. LEO’s findings also demonstrate that certain London locations remain traditionally associated with particular sectors. Of those financial companies surveyed, 73 percent would choose established financial services hotspots Bank and Canary Wharf to base their start-up. Office space in the City remains an attractive proposition, evidenced by LEO’s recent launch at 1 King William Street at over 80 percent let.
Businesses are concerned about the pace of commitment to improving the UK’s infrastructure, and a record number of firms are dissatisfied with the state of infrastructure in their region. With the UK currently ranking 27th in the world for the quality of its infrastructure, nearly all (96 percent) of businesses in the 2017 CBI/AECOM Infrastructure Survey see infrastructure as important (of which 55 percent view it as critical) to the Government’s agenda. From the Clean Growth Strategy and the £500 billion infrastructure pipeline to its decision to build a new runway at Heathrow and press ahead with the A303 tunnel, the Government has made clear its commitment to British infrastructure. However, only one in five firms is satisfied with the pace of delivery (20 percent) and almost three quarters (74 percent) doubt infrastructure will improve over this Parliament. This lack of confidence is attributed primarily to policy inconsistency (+94 percent of firms) & political risk (+86 percent). The digital sector is the exception, however, where 59 percent of firms are confident of improvements.
Those working within the built environment are already in the change business, was the view of Neil Usher of 
An overwhelming majority of employees are deliberately seeking out information they are not permitted to access, exposing a major cybersecurity problem among today’s workforce, claims new research published by One Identity. The survey, conducted by Dimensional Research, polled more than 900 IT security professionals on trends and challenges related to managing employee access to corporate data. Among key findings, a remarkable 92 percent of respondents report that employees at their organisations try to access information that is not necessary for their day-to-day work – with nearly one in four (23 percent) admitting this behaviour happens frequently. Most alarmingly, the report indicates that IT security professionals themselves are among the worst offenders of corporate data snooping. One in three respondents admit to having accessed sensitive information that is not necessary for their day-to-day work.
Take up of new commercial offices in London’s West End in September 2017 hit the highest quarterly total on record – with tech and media firms, along with serviced office schemes being the most active, according to figures from real estate advisor Savills. The take-up was 857,259 sq ft (79,639 sq m) – bringing total take-up by the third quarter to 1.62 million sq ft (150,498 sq m). Leasing activity in the third quarter of 2017 brings total take-up year to date, to 3.99 million sq ft (370,671 sq m), which already surpasses 2016’s total annual take-up (3.97 million sq ft) and places the West End in a strong position to exceed the record 4.3 million sq ft (399,470 sq m) amassed in 2015. Key deals that helped elevate the market included: Aegis pre-letting the entire 310,000 sq ft (28,799 sq m) at British Land’s 1 Triton Square; The Boston Consulting Group pre-letting 123,500 sq ft (11,473 sq m) at 80 Charlotte Street and Spotify acquiring 104,133 sq ft (9,674 sq m) at The Adelphi.
Half of employees feel their organisation doesn’t have the right tech skills and nearly half in a recent survey (44 percent) feel their organisation isn’t transforming into a digital led company fast enough, claims a survey by Sungard Availability Services. Digital workplace transformation has been a big talking point in recent months, yet 38 percent in a survey of over 2,000 IT decision makers and employees believe their organisation isn’t committed to digital transformation; with 36 percent not getting the training for the tools. It’s apparent that digital transformation is highly thought of in the work place and impacts employee retention with 36 percent of employees open to leaving their current job for a more digitally-progressive company. Over 50 percent believe career progression is better at digitally led companies and 69 percent say digital tools would help them to do their job better. Said Chris Ducker, Senior Director Global Proposition Strategy: “Digital is compulsory, not only to stay competitive in the market, but also to attract and retain key staff” See the full survey 
The majority (94 percent) of workers are open to flexible ways of working such as part-time, freelance, contract, temporary or independent contract work a new report from ManpowerGroup has revealed. Coining the trend as NextGen work, the research suggests this approach to a job is a choice (81 percent) not a last resort (19 percent). Findings from #GigResponsibly: The Rise of NextGen Work – a global survey of 9,500 people in 12 countries – identifies a shift towards this new way of getting work done, and that it works for people and employers. People were asked how they want to work, what motivates them and their views on NextGen Work. More control over their schedule (42 percent), boosting their bank account (41 percent) and developing new skills (38 percent) are top reasons why this flexible kind of work is on the rise. The report also found that this flexible approach is not just attractive to Millennials, as meaningful work and employer appreciation are valued more by Boomers than any other generation. More than 80 percent of US workers say NextGen Work is a choice, not a last resort, and builds resilience for less predictable futures.
October 20, 2017
Seven workplace stories we think you should read this week (apart from ours)
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design
Automation and Artificial Intelligence bullshit
Science in the gig economy
The seven deadly sins of AI predictions
The flight of people back to the suburbs
The changing psychology of the workplace
The rock and roll workplace