July 24, 2015

Growth in demand for scarce office space will lead to rents rise

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Demand from business for commercial property rose for the eleventh consecutive quarter, while available space fell for the ninth successive period, according to the latest RICS Commercial Market Survey. As a result, rents are expected to rise at the fastest pace since the survey began in 1998 with 46 percent more respondents forecasting higher, rather than lower, rent rates going forward. Offices remain the segment of the market where rental expectations remain most buoyant, while retail continues to lag, although even in this area, momentum is picking up. Across the whole of the UK, but excluding the capital, 95 percent of respondents believe that current commercial market valuations are either at or below fair value (roughly unchanged since Q1 2015). However, in London 50 percent of contributors now feel that commercial office space valuations are ‘expensive’ – an increase from 45 percent in the first quarter of this year.

July 23, 2015

Business start-ups in London grew by nearly a quarter in a year

by Sara Bean • News, Property, Technology

The number of new business start-ups in London has increased by nearly a quarter over the past year, an analysis of Companies House data by Instant Offices’ has revealed. This is driven predominantly by growth in technology firms, but also by retail and creative services’ companies. Key growth sectors include technology services which went up 200 percent year on year, wireless and telecommunications were up by 79 percent and computer facilities companies by 51 percent. Tim Rodber, CEO of Instant Offices, said: “The diversity of the firms behind this increase in demand is interesting – but of particular note is the role technology and creative services industries are playing in driving growth in the Capital and producing space requirements outside traditional business locations. Areas such as Southwark and the City Fringe are benefiting from high demand as start-ups weigh up the need to not only reduce costs, but attract the best staff to great work spaces.”

July 23, 2015

Autonomous workers put in a day extra each week, claims new research

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace, Workplace design

One of the usual arguments against offering people greater autonomy over where and how they work is a lack of control and a consequent lack of effort from employees. However new evidence published by German researchers suggests what actually happens is the opposite. When the employer relinquishes control, people work more. The paper, from researchers in Berlin based on an eight year study, found that people who enjoy ‘full and unrecorded’ autonomy over how they manage their work put in an extra seven hours each week. Interestingly, even those with fixed hours give their employers an extra two hours weekly, but the report suggests there is a clear correlation between personal autonomy and hours worked. Other factors that influence hours worked include seniority, job security, satisfaction and tenure. Taken together these account for nearly two hours of extra work each week.

July 23, 2015

Majority of managers are ready to welcome robots in the workplace

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

The relationship between mankind and the beings it creates has been a staple of science fiction ever since Mary Shelley first dreamt up her tale of Frankenstein and his creature. It’s an enduring idea because it poses questions about the nature of life and what it means to be human. We’re now about to address those questions in real life for the first time and we’ll need to address their mundane as well as profound implications, including the advent of robots in the workplace. As things stand, the problem is that you can come up with any answer you like to these questions because, for every report that a robot has displayed a degree of self awareness, another will tell you about a robot in Germany crushing a man to death. And for every piece of footage disconcertingly showing a robot learning to clear hurdles like an Arab stallion, you can find dozens of them falling over like drunks.

July 22, 2015

OECD nations need to urgently address the coming digital workplace

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

There is now an urgent need for the world’s growing number of digital economies to shift their focus to how they help people to manage their own transition to a new form of digital workplace. That is the main conclusion of a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2015 claims that while most countries have moved from a narrow focus on communications technology to a broader digital approach, they now need to address the significant and growing risk of disruption in areas like privacy and jobs. The report – which covers areas from broadband penetration and industry consolidation to network neutrality and cloud computing in OECD countries says more should be done to offer information and communication technology (ICT) skills training to help people transition to new types of digital jobs.

July 22, 2015

Workers of all ages want employers that commit to digital progress

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

Employees across all age groups want to work for businesses committed to digital progress, and companies that are slow to embrace digital technology will not thrive and are more likely to lose talent, according to a new global report. Strategy, Not Technology, Drives Digital Transformation from MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte Digital is based on findings from the fourth annual global survey of more than 4,800 business executives across 27 industries and 129 countries. It suggests the ability to digitally transform and reimagine a business is determined in large part by establishing a clear digital strategy, supported by leaders who foster a culture that can change and reinvent their organizations. People want to work for digitally maturing organizations, with nearly 80 percent of respondents preferring to work for a digitally enabled company or digital leader. This sentiment crossed all age groups nearly equally, from 22 to 60.

July 21, 2015

Regional cities experiencing significant growth in office take-up

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

City Centre office take-up across the Big Nine Cities during the second quarter of 2015 is almost 50 percent ahead of the five year quarterly average, the latest quarterly review of the regional office occupier markets by GVA has revealed. The regional office markets have continued to demonstrate a strong occupier story, led by Birmingham where take-up for the half year point has exceeded all records at 650,000 sq ft, helped by HSBC’s announcement to locate its new 212,000 sq ft retail bank HQ into Miller’s Arena Central scheme. Other centres also had above average deal levels, with take-up 65 percent above average in Leeds and well above average in most other cities. Significant deals for Leeds include a 51,500 sq ft pre-let to Addleshaw Goddard at 3 Sovereign Square and 49,600 sq ft to PwC at Central Square. Both buildings are due for completion during the second half of next year.

July 20, 2015

Government urged to reinstate zero carbon buildings pledge

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

More than 200 businesses from the construction, property and renewable energy industries have written to the Chancellor to reconsider the Government’s decision last week to abandon plans to introduce zero carbon buildings. In an open letter to the Chancellor, senior leaders from 246 organisations warn that the policy U-turn has “undermined industry confidence in Government” and will “curtail investment in British innovation and manufacturing”. In the Chancellor’s productivity plan “Fixing the foundations”, George Osborne unexpectedly axed the policy designed to ensure that all new homes built from 2016 meet zero carbon standards – together with a sister policy that applied to all new non-residential buildings such as offices, schools and hospitals from 2019.

July 20, 2015

Majority of women do not feel they are discriminated against at work

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The overwhelming majority of women do not feel they face discrimination at work, according to a new report based on data from 170,000 UK workers. However, the study from the Great Place to Work Institute does identify a number of challenges that women face at work. The report – Women at work. Is it still a man’s world? – highlights the need for employers to pay closer attention to the specific differences between men and women’s experiences at work, rather than just focusing on overall results. The authors suggest that ‘this will help to identify and address any inequalities such as making pay and promotions more transparent and ensuring policies and practices are gender and age relevant’. The study makes clear that it is the combination of age and gender that presents the greatest challenges, especially in ensuring diversity in senior roles.

July 17, 2015

Quarter of workers want flexible contracts when they reach retirement age

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

A quarter (28 percent) of UK workers expect their employer to create a part-time or flexible role for them once they reach the state pension age, according to new research from Aegon. Workers in healthcare (40 percent) administrative (31 percent) and engineering and manufacturing sectors (32 percent) are most likely to expect their employer to create a flexible role for them, while those in the creative arts and design sector (32 percent) are more likely to become self-employed and start up their own business. Nearly two thirds (61 percent) are planning to carry on working if they haven’t saved enough by the time they hit their target retirement age; with more than one in three (36 percent) planning to continue working in their current role until they have enough saved; while one in ten (9 percent) expect to become self-employed.

July 16, 2015

More evidence to dispel the idea that ‘sitting is the new smoking’

by Mark Eltringham • Briefing, News, Wellbeing

The apparently compelling idea that ‘sitting is the new smoking’ is given yet another shoeing by new research which confirms that long term standing at work can be harmful too, in both the short and long term. The study, “Long-Term Muscle Fatigue After Standing Work” is published in the journal Human Factors and available to read in full here. It found that prolonged standing is associated with a range of health issues including fatigue, leg cramps, and backaches, which can affect performance and cause significant discomfort in the short term and develop into something more in the long term. Over time, this type of sustained muscle fatigue can result in serious health consequences, according to the academics who carried out the research behind it. It confirms previous research which shows that health problems are associated with a lack of variation in working position, not a specific position.

July 16, 2015

Women are less assertive in asking for a pay rise than men

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

There has been much focus on gender pay this week with the announcement that larger companies will be forced to disclose pay rates. Now a new poll suggests another reason why women’s pay lags over their career, a lack of assertiveness. A report commissioned by Glassdoor found that only a quarter of UK women (27 percent) feel confident they will receive a pay rise within the next 12 months, compared to 40 percent of men. Women are also less likely to leave a job because of low salary than men – 30 percent of women said that low salary had been the major factor behind them moving on from jobs in the past, compared to 39 percent of men. The Glassdoor UK Employment Confidence Survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive, monitors four key indicators of employee confidence: job security, salary expectations, job market optimism/re-hire probability and business outlook optimism.