December 11, 2014

Tech firms’ grip on best place to work lists may be starting to slip

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace, Workplace design

Technology firms now routinely dominate lists of the best place to work, but there are signs at least that their dominance may be waning slightly. According to a new survey of the best places to work in the US and UK compiled by jobs website Glassdoor, Google tops a list of the 50 best places to work in the US. The survey is restricted to firms with 1,000 or more employees who have received at least 50 reviews based on a 1 to 5 scale over the last 12 months. This methodology inevitably presents a skewed picture. Nevertheless, there may be something to conclude from Apple only making 22^nd place, Facebook’s fall from 5^th to 13^th, LinkedIn’s slip from 3^rd to 23^rd and Twitter’s fall from 2^nd to nowhere. Meanwhile in the UK, John Lewis’s longstanding focus on employees saw it grab one of the top five spots alongside the likes of Microsoft and Google.

December 11, 2014

New report uncovers habits and habitats of London’s workplace tribes

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Workplace

City workers have been proven to ‘work hard and play hard’ more than those in other areas of Greater London, according to an extensive study of the capital’s office workers. Those in the Square Mile have the longest hours (45.3), spend most nights out drinking (two) and as a consequence suffer from the highest number of hangovers on a weekly basis. The findings are part of a research project by Avanta Serviced Office Group, to reveal the contrasting habits, characteristics and lifestyles of those working in different areas. The study questioned over 1,500 office workers across the city and found: City of London workers are most likely to ‘work hard and play hard’, often snoozing in the workplace at lunchtime to catch up on their sleep; weary West Enders are out-shopped by workers in the City; Islington is the cycling and social media capital of London; and Croydon has the most office romances.

December 10, 2014

Barclays converts underutilised offices into free co-working spaces

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design

Social enterprises, business start-ups and community groups will be offered free co-working space by Barclays as part of an initiative called Hatch, developed in partnership with charity 3Space. The programme aims to transform underutilised Barclays’ properties into office space for social entrepreneurs, early stage local businesses and community groups, charities and other qualifying organisations. The first Hatch project has opened its doors in Oxford (above), with a further three set to open in 2015. 3Space claim that Hatch will provide for a unique combination of creative, social and community needs, helping more people get their business ideas off the ground, experiment and share ideas as well as access advice on business and technology. The spaces should also provide a central hub for communities, hosting local events and meetings.

December 10, 2014

‘Empty desks’ costing UK business 18bn a year, as job vacancies go unfilled

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The economic impact of unfilled job vacancies on the UK economy may be leading to a staggering annual cost of over £18bn. Research by job site Indeed, claims that falling unemployment and robust job creation is resulting in many businesses finding it a challenge to locate and secure the right employees. This inability to find and recruit the right hire for a role is impacting on both the business itself and the wider economy in two major ways. For the employer, failing to effectively resource a business slows both production and profits, while in the wider economy unearned wages reduce consumer spending power and contribution to economic growth. ‘Empty desks’ in the real estate sector are having the greatest impact on the UK economy, due to high levels of contributed economic value (the goods and services that could be produced if the position were filled).

December 9, 2014

New Scotland Yard sold to Emirati investors for £370 million

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Public Sector

Illustration: @SimonHeath1

The buyer of the Metropolitan Police’s Scotland Yard headquarters building has been confirmed as Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG). The sale of the home of the Met as part of a huge shake-up of the police’s estate was first announced last year and last month news emerged that a buyer had been found, although details of the sale were withheld. The sale of the site to the Emirati investment group for £370 million is reported to be some £120 million more than the original asking price set by London Mayor Boris Johnson. The current building has been home to the Met since 1967 but the Mayor’s office felt the sale and freeing up of resources could benefit the force’s frontline operations. The sale is part of a wider shake-up of the police estate in London which has already seen the sale of 32 buildings, raising £125 million. The restructuring programme is expected to complete in 2016 and is estimated to save around £60 million each year in running costs.

December 9, 2014

UK employers lag behind on the importance they place on workplace health

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Two in five (40%) of UK employees say their employer offers no health or wellbeing benefits, a new study on workplace health has revealed. Although the research, conducted by Bupa, found that two thirds (64%) of UK employers agreed that a healthy workforce is a more productive one, two in five (40%) employees said their employer offers no health or wellbeing benefits. Three in ten (28%) employees went as far as saying that when it comes to wellbeing, their company is all talk but no action. UK employers lag behind many other countries on the importance they place on workplace health. Just 57 per cent of UK employers agreed that good health makes good business sense compared to 85 per cent in Australia and 82 per cent in Poland. Meanwhile just over half (58%) of UK employers think that an unhealthy workforce is a risk to business performance compared to 81 per cent in New Zealand and 80 per cent in Spain.

December 8, 2014

ILM issues management guide to office Christmas party etiquette

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

We’re well into the office Christmas party season and with it comes the usual management warnings; however, this one comes from the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) so it’s worth taking notice. A survey by ILM reveals some pretty predictable misdemeanours; including almost 9 out of 10 workers (87%) seeing colleagues drink too much and 48 per cent having gone to work with a hangover after their office party, but over a quarter (28%) also admit to having heard staff revealing their colleagues’ secrets. There are consequences of such indiscretion, with more than half the managers surveyed (51%) saying they would reprimand workers for being rude to each other, while 28 per cent would tell workers off for revealing their colleagues’ secrets. And keen to dodge the line of fire themselves; 41 per cent of managers would reprimand staff for shouting at the boss. More →

December 8, 2014

Flexible working could boost economy by £90 billion, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News

The widespread adoption of flexible working in the UK could boost the economy by as much as £90 billion each year according to a new report from mobile tech firm Citrix and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The study of 1,272 British knowledge workers claims that their ‘best case scenario’ calculation is based on saving UK workers £7.1 billion in commuting costs and over half a billion hours spent travelling. This would add around £11.5 biliion annually to the economy. The report also suggests that an even greater boost to GDP could come from the introduction of a large number of currently unemployed and underemployed individuals such as the retired, disabled and stay-at-home parents. By tapping this pool of talent the report claims that the economy would benefit by up to £78.5 billion annually, equivalent to nearly 5 percent of GDP.

December 5, 2014

Office workers have five key ways to get some peace and quiet at work

by Mark Eltringham • Furniture, News, Workplace design

According to a new study carried out by market researchers IPSOS and the Workspace Futures Team of office furniture maker Steelcase, office workers are desperately seeking privacy within open plan settings, where they can function effectively and complete work without being driven to distraction. As a result people are increasingly in need of more choice and control over how they work and are using a number of ways to seize it. Less than half of those surveyed (41 percent) claim they have the opportunity to undertake important work privately. The report claims that this does not mean that workers are looking to turn back the clock to the days of cellular offices because they ‘enjoy the buzz of the open plan office’ but are seeking peaceful retreats within them, depending on their own definition of what privacy means.

December 5, 2014

Bouygues wins £27 million office fit out contract in City of London

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, News, Property, Workplace design

Bouygues UK has been awarded a major new design and build contract by developers Morgan Capital Partners LLP. The award comes hot on the heels of the handover of another major office refurbishment at 71 Queen Victoria Street, which is a stone’s throw away from the new site at 45 Cannon Street, in the heart of London’s financial district. The deal will see the demolition of existing offices and the construction of a new eight-floor office building including a Category A office fit out and the addition of 13,000sqm of retail space on the ground floor. As part of the works, the entrance to Mansion House underground station will also be refurbished as it sits on the site. Bouygues UK is aiming for a BREEAM Excellent rating on the project. Demolition is already being carried out on site, with Bouygues scheduled to begin construction work in the New Year. The project is due for completion in 2016.

December 4, 2014

Most people will continue to work in traditional offices for foreseeable future

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

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The office remains the favoured location for work worldwide but there remains an ongoing mismatch between perceptions of the productivity and performance of flexible working employees and the reality, says a major new report from Dell and Intel. According to the Global Evolving Workplace Report based on a survey of nearly 5,000 employees worldwide, the idea that remote workers are less productive is particularly apparent in developed countries. In the UK, people are two times more likely to believe that colleagues who work from home are less rather than more productive. In Germany, 75 percent of respondents saw the ability to work from home as a special privilege. Meanwhile, of those employees surveyed in developing countries, over one-third (34 percent) see home workers as more productive, compared to 32 percent who believe they get less done.

December 3, 2014

It’s no surprise a third of homeworkers choose to work in their pyjamas

by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

When I worked for a large publishing house in the 90s, occasionally one of us would ask to work from home. My then editor always had an enlightened policy towards the home-working concept, telling people that she didn’t care if they worked in their pyjamas as long as they met their deadline. In the digital era, home working is a lot more accepted, and according to a new survey, working in your pyjamas is still in vogue, though the 10 per cent of people who admit to working naked must have huge heating bills. The study by Altodigital reflects the usual trade-off associated with flexible working, with 40 per cent of homeworkers claiming their productivity more than doubles, but motivation has a limited scope; peaking at just four hours a day, before it trails off. I’d argue that exactly the same thing happens in the office. Just because people are perceived to be ‘at work’ it’s assumed they are working. More →