May 1, 2019

“First ever” dedicated UK India tech hub opens at Royal Albert Dock London

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Technology

A newly delivered building at Royal Albert Dock (RAD) in London has been launched as the UK India Tech Hub to provide a designated space for technology firms from India and the UK. It is claimed to be the first venture capital fund that has partnered with a business district to create a tech hub anywhere the world. Under the partnership agreement, developer ABP London and investors Pontaq will provide technology firms with work space while Pontaq’s tech fund will be invested in tech start-ups to assist them to develop and expand. India High Commissioner, Ruchi Ghanashyam, and Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Trade, Graham Stuart MP, along with Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz, witnessed the signing of an agreement between Royal Albert Dock developer ABP London and the venture capital firm Pontaq. More →

April 30, 2019

Best workplaces in London honoured at BCO annual Regional Awards

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design

Six London businesses celebrated success at the BCO Annual Regional Awards earlier today, with Facebook, 2TVC, Deloitte, Boden, Project North and Fora Borough all recognised as the capital’s best workplaces. The prestigious BCO Awards programme recognises the highest quality developments in the UK and sets the standard for excellence in the regional and national office sector. Today’s ceremony marked the third of the BCO Regional Property Awards dedicated to London, celebrating the best office space in the country. London winners will compete with those from other regions at the BCO National Awards in October this year.

April 30, 2019

Workplace design in tech sector out of step with demands of modern work

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace design

HOK has released the second volume of HOK Forward, its annual report exploring a crucial issue in workplace design. HOK Forward: Tech Workplace Takes Center Stage investigates the distinct threats and challenges facing the tech sector and explores how these same challenges are affecting all companies, regardless of the industry in which they operate. More →

April 30, 2019

Employee anxiety peaks despite government’s pledge to uphold workers’ rights post-Brexit

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

Brexit UK Despite the government’s pledge to keep and strengthen workers’ rights in a post-Brexit world, research from the CIPD has revealed that over a quarter (26 percent) of British employees have expressed job anxiety. Simultaneously, a recent article from the Guardian also states that 64 percent of people believe the stress caused by Brexit is bad for their mental health. More →

April 30, 2019

Role of AI and automation in recruitment poses a challenge for HR

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

Last week, news emerged that an automated system at Amazon had started firing low performing workers, highlighting the new role of AI and automation in traditional HR practices. Now a new report from the CIPD claims that the use of such systems will have a widespread but mixed impact on jobs. According to the study, the introduction of these new technologies at work will see job opportunities grow, by enhancing roles, employee skills and their pay. However, lack of thought and planning on how people and technology work together is reducing productivity improvements and increasing the risk of people being left behind.

April 29, 2019

UK productivity slump linked to employee experience and lack of meaning, claims Deloitte report

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Only half of UK employees consider their organisations to be effective at creating a positive work environment and only two fifths consider their employer to be effective at creating meaningful work. With 84 percent of workers stating that employee engagement and productivity are linked and 68 percent say their organisations do not measure the correlation between employee engagement and productivity – suggests UK business leaders need to think differently to prevent productivity slumps. The findings are from the Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2019 survey, which tracks the top trends shaping the agenda for HR and business leaders both in the UK and globally. Employee experience, leadership and learning, respectively, led this year’s top 10 UK trends.

April 29, 2019

Governments must do more to prepare people for the future of work

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Governments need to overhaul their approach to employment and jobs to reduce further social and economic tensions, according to a new report from the OECD which explores the future of work. Without rapid action, many people, particularly the low skilled, will be left behind in the fast-changing world of work. The OECD Employment Outlook 2019 is part of the OECD’s Future of Work initiative and the “I am the Future of Work” campaign, which aims to make the future of work better for all, helping to transform learning and social protection systems and reduce inequalities between people and across regions.

April 29, 2019

Majority of organisations fail to offer menopause support

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Forth With Life, a company that provides blood sample analysis and bio-marker tracking to promote and support health and wellbeing, recently undertook a survey exploring the existence and effectiveness of menopause support options available in the workplace. Their sample group consisted of 1000 women, all over 45 years of age and in either full time or part time employment, from all around the UK. Of those women, 77 percent had already been through the menopause, or were currently experiencing symptoms.

April 26, 2019

Government announces plans to to boost digital skills for adults

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The UK Government has unveiled new qualifications which it claims will help to give adults the digital skills they need to succeed in the modern world. Free courses will be offered to thousands of people to help the 1 in 5 UK adults with no or low basic digital skills learn how to thrive in an increasingly digital world. The new qualifications, unveiled by Apprenticeship and Skills Minister Anne Milton, will be based on new national standards and will be available for free to anyone over the age of 19 from 2020. They have been designed to help adults learn the essential skills, such as sending emails, completing online forms or using a tablet, that many people take for granted. More →

April 26, 2019

A third of accountancy professionals feel stressed at work

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

Accountancy has joined the legal profession in a developing mental health epidemic within their respective workplaces. Recent studies found that just over a third (37 percent) of solicitors feel stressed by work, striking a worrying comparison between themselves and accountants. The accountancy profession is in the grip of a mental health crisis according to a new study which claims that a third (31 percent) of chartered accountants feel stressed on a daily basis. The research, conducted by CABA, a wellbeing charity, suggests that as few as 2 percent of respondents claim to be unaffected by stress. More →

April 26, 2019

Great expectations at work causing stress and rise in mental ill health

by Marie Hillen • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employees feel expectations at work are playing an integral role in diminishing their mental health a new report suggests, which includes increasing pressures to work outside of office hours, through annual leave and even on sick days. Westfield Health’s inaugural Wellbeing Index, which claims to shine a spotlight on stress, found 61 percent of HR professionals identified mental health related issues as the main reasons for absences within their workforces, with over half (51 percent) noticing an overall increase in sick days. ‘Leavism’ – working outside of contracted hours and on annual leave days – is also prevalent throughout the British workforce, with 67 percent in HR saying it’s a very real issue for them.

April 26, 2019

Emerging megacities will outperform developed megacities by 2025

by Neil Franklin • News

As urban world is moving towards the developing world, GlobalData, a data and analytics company, forecasts that 88 percent of the world megacities will be based in the developing economies of Asia, Europe & Central Asia, Latin America and Middle East & Africa by 2025. Out of 44 megacities in the developing world, GlobalData has identified 26 that will outperform developed cities by 2025. The company forecasts that the share of emerging cities to the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) will increase from 7.2 percent in 2018 to 8.3 percent in 2025 while the share of developed cities to the world GDP will decline from 8.1 percent to 6.8 percent during the period.