Creating the epicentre: unlocking the untold benefits of next-generation office spaces 

Creating the epicentre: unlocking the untold benefits of next-generation office spaces 

Many associate the notion of futuristic office spaces, filled with equipment like sleep pods and beer taps, with companies that have a young workforce or challenger brand identityMany associate the notion of futuristic office spaces, filled with equipment like sleep pods and beer taps, with companies that have a young workforce or challenger brand identity. The association is often linked to tech giants like Google, which created quite a stir when it originally revealed its indoor slides. Whilst the inclusion of playground furniture in the office is not right for every business, the assumption that unconventional workspaces should be limited to unconventional companies simply isn’t true.  More →

Half of deskless workers suspect they are invisible and expendable

Half of deskless workers suspect they are invisible and expendable

Over half of UK based ‘deskless’ workers (51 per cent) say they’re viewed as expendable by their employer. Plus, almost a third (32 per cent), feel that their corporate, desk-based colleagues regard them as inferior.  These are the findings from O.C. Tanner’s 2024 Global Culture Report which gathered data and insights from more than 42,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and executives from 27 countries worldwide including 4,818 from the U.K (of which 1,734 are deskless). More →

Council employees working from home are committing fraud with second job

Council employees working from home are committing fraud with second job

The UK Government’s National Fraud Initiative is looking into a number of local authority employees who have been caught ‘moonlighting’ while they were supposed to be working from home for the councilThe UK Government’s National Fraud Initiative is looking into a number of local authority employees who have been caught ‘moonlighting’ while they were supposed to be working from home for the council. The NFI considers this a form of fraud because it is seen as working multiple contracts without the knowledge of employers and contrary to their terms of employment. Multiple contract working is seen as fraud when people who are paid to work full time, split their days between two or more employers without their knowledge. More →

To agility and beyond: what NASA can teach us about strategic change

To agility and beyond: what NASA can teach us about strategic change

New research shows what NASA can teach organizations on strategic agilityA new research project from ESMT Berlin and Warwick Business School sets out to find what the history of NASA history can teach organisations about strategic agility, and how organisations can adapt their business models effectively to cater to external challenges. To shed light on how strategic agility is achieved, the study follows NASA’s successful shifts to three different strategic alignments over the past 60 years. More →

Appetite for hybrid working shows no sign of letting up at large firms

Appetite for hybrid working shows no sign of letting up at large firms

companies have been posting hybrid working related roles in record numbers, according to a new report from GlobalDataThe ongoing advancements in technology have made remote collaboration more feasible and seamless than ever before. Collaboration tools have become essential in ensuring the coexistence of the digital and physical workplace, both internally with employees and externally with clients. And in 2023, companies have been posting hybrid working related roles in record numbers, according to a new report from GlobalData. More →

The final word on… workplace trends

The final word on… workplace trends

You would not believe the number of firms that ask us to publish a list of workplace trends each week. Or maybe you wouldYou would not believe the number of firms that ask us to publish a list of workplace trends each week. Or maybe you would, given the number that have appeared – and are appearing -elsewhere. Each firm perhaps convinced they are saying something original, unique or interesting, or maybe simply convinced they stand out in some way, while pushing the same timid, stale narratives about the workplace. They will proliferate over the next month or so at the turn of another year. More →

Oscillate wildly between the death of the office and the death of hybrid working

Oscillate wildly between the death of the office and the death of hybrid working

The media's twisting between the death of the office and the death of hybrid working shows we've reached a point of equilibriumIt’s March 2020, very early days of lockdowns and the first catastrophising headlines appear. Is this the death of the office? Is this the death of handshakes? Is this the death of the open plan? I dismissed them at the time in this piece from March the 19th, citing Betteridge’s Law which states: “any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered with the word no”. More →

The Workplace Cocktail Hour with Jo Sutherland and Esme Banks-Marr

The Workplace Cocktail Hour with Jo Sutherland and Esme Banks-Marr

Mark Eltringham is joined for a glass of red wine (or two) by Esme Banks-Marr of BVN architects and Jo Sutherland of Magenta. They discuss the joys of shared space, when people should tell AI to FO, the limits of workplace design, how to create a great culture wherever people work and much more. More →

Half of people say they are less productive in coworking spaces

Half of people say they are less productive in coworking spaces

According to a new survey from software marketplace Capterra, 83 percent of UK coworking and other flexible office spaces are currently occupied. Companies say they are drawn to coworking spaces for cost reductions (38 percent), flexibility (30 percent), and shared amenities (27 percent). However around 53 percent of people who work in flex space say they are less productive in such spaces, 35 percent of respondents appreciate the collaborative atmosphere and the locations and facilities these spaces can provide and 38 percent say they are  concerned about confidentiality and privacy. More →

People spending more time in offices in search of social interaction

People spending more time in offices in search of social interaction

Office workers now spend more time in the office, with the average creeping up to three and a half days per week compared to three days in 2022, according to a new report from international law firm, Gowling WLG. The report, titled Strategic moves: why the office is now a business-critical decision [registration], surveyed senior representatives responsible for making office lease decisions in companies, and a selection of office workers. It identifies that a more permanent approach to office usage is now emerging, as the shadow of the pandemic recedes, as well as demonstrating the changing metrics being applied by occupiers to decisions relating to premises requirements and the more complex environment for landlord asset management. More →

‘Return-to-office’  rates vary widely across Europe

‘Return-to-office’ rates vary widely across Europe

New data demonstrates varying approaches to the so-called return to office across Europe, with France and Belgium leading, spending an average of 3.5 days working from the officeA new survey from JLL, Is hybrid really working? [registration] claims that the majority of international organisations (87 percent) are encouraging employees to work from the office at least some of the time. In fact, only 20 percent of employees who can work remotely all of the time or one-two days in the office now do so, down from 39 percent a year ago. However, the data demonstrates varying approaches to the so-called return to office across Europe, with France and Belgium leading, spending an average of 3.5 days working from the office. Germany, Netherlands, Spain and the UK are however lagging behind with an average of 2.5 days working from the office. More →

Government issues formal warning to council over four-day working week

Government issues formal warning to council over four-day working week

A formal notice has been issued to South Cambridgeshire District Council over its four-day working week trialA formal notice has been issued to South Cambridgeshire District Council over its four-day working week trial, because the UK government says it wants ‘to ensure taxpayers’ money is well spent’. A Best Value Notice, issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, formally sets out government concerns around the council and whether the trial offers value for money, including the removal of up to a fifth of the authority’s capacity. It requests evidence on the trial to consider whether the council is meeting its Best Value Duty, including on: staffing; costs; service delivery; resident feedback; overall performance since the start of the trial; should a four-day working week continue. More →