February 18, 2015

Gender pay gap now in favour of UK women…but only until they’re thirty-five

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The complexities of the gender pay gap are uncovered in the Office for National Statistics’ most recent report into the UK Labour market. For the first time, the study breaks down pay differentials by both age and sex and shows that women now earn more than their male contemporaries until they are in their thirties when gender pay differentials suddenly, rapidly and permanently go into reverse. Women in full time employment now earn an average 81p more per hour at the age of 30, 58p more at age 34 but then 9p less at age 35. The perhaps inescapable conclusion is that the decision to have children is the key determining factor in deciding pay levels for women in full time work. Crucially, the pay gap remains and even widens throughout the remainders of women’s careers. By the age of 40, men outearn women by an average of £1.64 per hour.

February 18, 2015

Record uptake of London office space continues…but at a price

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

Take up of leased office space in London has hit its highest level since 2000, claims a new report from BNP Paribas Real Estate. The recorded level of 4.49 million sq. ft. during the final quarter of 2014 was driven by serviced office operators and occupiers in the technology, media and telecoms sectors. TMT firms accounted for just under a third (31 percent) of the market in Q4 and 24 percent for the whole year. However the market is still characterised by a mismatch of supply and demand which means not only low vacancy rates in key business districts but also sustained upward pressure on rents. The average office rent per square metre in the City of London has risen by 17 per cent from £560 to £655. In the prime parts of the West End rents have jumped 8 percent over the year to £1092 per square metre.

February 18, 2015

£16.5m deal for office development at Moorgate Crossrail station confirmed

by Sara Bean • Cities, Company news, News, Property

Land Securities has confirmed it has bought the leasehold to the 1.9 acre site located at the western entrance to the Liverpool Street Crossrail station for £16.5 million. Plans for the site, at 21 Moorfields, EC2, which currently comprises vacated 1970s offices and a Transport for London (TfL) worksite, include two new buildings totalling approximately 500,000 sq ft of predominantly office space, with some retail at ground level and a public realm. The two proposed buildings will provide direct access to the underground and the new Moorgate Crossrail station below – due for completion in 2018. Land Securities entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the site in December 2012 and has since negotiated to own the site on two separate 250 year leases, with TfL having the option of participating in the development.

February 17, 2015

Employment confidence is increasing, but so is the pay divide finds CIPD

by Sara Bean • News, Public Sector, Workplace

The UK workforce is seeing an increasing pay divide between employers that can now afford to increase wages by 2 percent or more and those that are stuck in a pay freeze. According to the latest Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD, almost half of the UK workforce saw either a pay freeze or a pay cut (3% pay cut, 39% pay freeze) in the twelve months to December 2014. In contrast, a similar proportion (40%) have received a pay increase of 2 percent or more and less than a fifth (18%) fall in the middle ground of people who have received a pay increase in the 0.1-1.99 percent corridor. As well as identifying a growing pay divide, the report finds employment confidence is set to remain strong over the next three months with around two thirds of employers (65%) planning to recruit new employees.

February 17, 2015

Why would you want a Google office when you can create your own?

by Maciej Markowski • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace design

Google has dramatically shaken up the world of the Internet and also changed the face of the traditional office environment forever. Nothing has ever been the same, since the ubiquitous four-colour logo first appeared on the worldwide web. Everything that Google does creates a ripple in the business world. Whether it’s giving employees 20% of their time to focus on their own projects, allowing them to form teams to peruse the idea of their choice or installing slides instead of stairs many are asking “should we also be doing that?” And it’s not surprising. All companies want to be successful and there’s no better success story around than Google. So let’s try and model ourselves on or imitate Google, right? I have lost count of how many times I’ve heard “could we have an office a bit more like Google?”

February 17, 2015

The latest issue of Insight is now available to view online

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Newsletter, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; Mark Eltringham observes the shattering of any fixed idea we may once have had of a time and a place to work, and highlights the remarkable growth in the number of one person businesses; Sara Bean welcomes the publication of Kinnarps’ Trend report which offers informed views of the shape of the future workplace; Jonathan Hindle examines the true value of workplace art and Paul Goodchild suggests there may be better ways of designing offices that balance the advantages of the open plan, while mitigating its drawbacks. In news; the latest initiative between the BIFM and the CIPD, Government plans to attract the US tech sector to the UK, and new evidence of the impact of stress on the workforce. Sign up to the newsletter via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar and follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

February 16, 2015

Two fifths of employees say work has a negative impact on their health

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Millions of the UK’s workforce feel they’re putting their heart health at risk due to the pressures of their job, according to a new survey carried out by the British Heart Foundation during the charity’s Heart Month. The survey shows that a large number of employees feel their working life leads them to eat a poor diet, not doing enough exercise and drinking and smoking more than is good for them. The BHF is calling for employers to encourage their workforce to spend at least 10 minutes a day improving their lifestyle during February. The survey found two in five (41 percent) people feel their job has had a negative impact on their health in the last five years, with more than half (55 percent) saying they have become more stressed as a result of their job over the same time period.

February 16, 2015

Government launches scheme to attract US tech sector to UK

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

The Government has launched a scheme to attract US tech firms to set up or ramp up their businesses in the UK. The tech sector is already worth around £120 billion to the UK and the Government hopes the HQ-UK programme will offer investors a chance to tap into a well-established pool of talent and a business-friendly and low tax economy. The initiative is a joint venture between Tech City, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. HQ-UK will simplify and quicken processes for visa applications and setting up UK bank accounts. The programme will also highlight the UK’s high skilled tech savvy workforce, the Government’s commitment to the development of programming skills in schools and the second largest labour market in the EU.

February 13, 2015

New report highlights the borderless and liquid nature of the diverse workplace

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Flexible working, News, Workplace design

Predicting the office the future is not an exact science, but sometimes a report comes along which does a decent job of cutting through the fog and pointing us in the right direction. The Kinnarps’ Trend Report 2015, published this week by the firm’s future labs workshops, draws out some important themes for the new diverse workplace; the borderless and liquid nature of modern working life, how co-working clusters are now a mature trend, why designers need to consider the introvert as well as the collaborative extrovert worker; wellness as the new sustainability and the fact that people will and should be allowed, to modify the environment in which they work. Five key trends were identified in the report, the impact these have on working life are examined and suggestions made on how designers can apply them in their workplace design strategies.

February 12, 2015

RIBA calls for next Parliament to focus on the built environment

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property, Public Sector

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has called on all parliamentary candidates to focus on the built environment in the forthcoming general election. Along with a renewed focus on building more quality homes and schools, RIBA is campaigning for improving the planning process; developing flood-proof communities; delivering energy efficient buildings and retrofitting those that are not; and providing a good quality built environment to accommodate an ageing population and encourage more people to become healthier. The #BuildaBetterBritain campaign is based on RIBA’s report and recommendations, Building a Better Britain: A vision for the next Government. RIBA has created a campaign website to enable architects and constituents to find and make contact with their candidates.

February 11, 2015

BIFM and CIPD launch Workplace Conversation to discuss future of work

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Workplace, Workplace design

The BIFM and the CIPD have launched a joint initiative that aims to examine the evolution of the working environment and the future of work. The Workplace Conversation, project, which was announced by BIFM Chief Executive, Gareth Tancred, at the Workplace Futures conference yesterday, builds on the agreement made between the two bodies last year to collaborate on ways the ‘custodians of two of the most important drivers of business performance – people and place’ could build bridges between the two disciplines. The project will aim to identify and define the challenges, ideas and opportunities on how work is enabled, both now and in the future, and will explore topics such as the emergence of new technologies, economic forces and flexible working alternatives, and their impact on business performance and the way people work.

February 10, 2015

Workers face burnout as work continues to erode personal lives

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Over two thirds of UK professionals (69 percent) are required to work outside of their regular office hours more than they were five years ago, according to a recent research from serviced office provider Regus. The survey canvassed the opinions of over 3,000 business people in the UK on their attitudes and approaches to work. A similar proportion of workers (72 percent) say that fixed hours are no longer suited to their duties; perhaps offering some explanation as to why so much extra time is spent at the office. Three quarters (76 percent) of respondents also reported a rise in remote workers, further suggesting that the concept of 9-5 day in the office is outdated. An earlier report from Regus, published in January found that the past five years have also seen a growing concern that workers face burnout.