Office planting improves workers’ quality of life and productivity finds study

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

Office planting improve office workers’ quality of life and productivity finds studyClaims by office designers and suppliers that office planting has wider health benefits for occupiers than just making the place look more attractive have been given a boost in a new academic study which provides some empirical evidence.  In the first field study of its kind, researchers found enriching a ‘lean’ office with plants could increase productivity by as much as 15 per cent. The study, which involved academics from the University of Exeter; the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, and the University of Queensland, Australia examined the impact of ‘lean’ and ‘green’ offices on staff’s perceptions of air quality, concentration, and workplace satisfaction, and monitored productivity levels over subsequent months in two large commercial offices in the UK and The Netherlands. It concludes that ‘green’ offices with plants make staff happier and more productive than ‘lean’ designs stripped of greenery. (more…)

BIM’s impact on future of built environment mapped out by construction experts

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

New report by construction group on digital future for built environmentA new report by an influential group of young construction professionals has been published today which illustrates the need for organisations to consider new skills, new processes and develop strategies around emerging technologies that will ensure that the UK stays ahead in embracing the digital construction future. The report by the BIM2050 Group, comprises a compilation of essays authored by BIM2050 work stream leads, and focuses on three key areas; education and skill; technology and process; and the culture of integration. Built Environment 2050: A report on our digital future, highlights the risks and challenges and the opportunities and benefits that come with large scale innovation and game-changing new technologies. Commented Graham Watts OBE, CIC Chief Executive: “It is an important discussion document of ideas and concepts that will, I hope, spark debate in the wider construction community.” (more…)

Third-place workspaces as well as flexible hours are key to success, says workplace provider

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

Flexible people and place is key to success argues workplace providerAs the summer holidays draw to an end, many working parents will be appreciative of the benefits of flexible working. Now new research from Regus has highlighted the long-term benefits of agile working in helping employers to attract and retain staff. Prospective employees are increasingly demanding some form of flexi-working deal, while nine out of ten employers report that offering flexible working options – including flexi-location as well as flexi-hours – is proving a highly effective way of improving staff morale and helping them to achieve a better work-life balance. While the workplace provider is understandably in favour of the flexi-location concept, as a provider of ‘third-place’ workspaces, for instance at railway stations, this kind of multi-location working is undoubtably growing in popularity (more…)

Business leaders seem powerless to stem tide of always on working, claims report

by • News, Technology, Workplace

Always on workingAmongst the reported findings in the latest edition of the annual Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends survey is a growing belief amongst business leaders that information overload and the always on working culture are significantly undermining personal wellbeing, engagement and productivity. This challenge has been identified before in the same report, but the latest edition perhaps signals that despite the high level of awareness of the issue at both a personal and general level, little is being achieved in terms of stemming the inexorable erosion of personal time. The report is based on a survey of more than 2,500 business leaders. It found that over a third think that constant access to work is undermining employee productivity and engagement and fewer than one in ten feel they are dealing with the problem adequately. (more…)

Lack of regional commercial property could hamper UK growth

by • News, Property

commercial propertyAlthough construction is on an upward trend, the development of commercial property lags behind, and the situation is particularly challenging in the West Midlands. According to JLL and Glenigan’s inaugural Commercial Construction Index, total construction starts by value, year end Q2 of 2014 were 15 per cent down compared to Q2 of 2013 at £2.03 billion. Graham Taylor, director of JLL’s Birmingham Buildings & Construction team, explained that the volume of commercial property being started has not risen substantially since the recession. Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester are already experiencing a shortage of Grade A office space – with much of the shortfall due to a drop in construction activity compared to the early to mid 2000’s. He said: “Rising corporate confidence means that many companies are looking to upgrade their workplaces. The corporate world is increasingly recognising that well-designed modern offices can be a key driver of productivity and staff retention, two major strategic concerns.”

Mode of transport when commuting determines health and happiness

by • News, Public Sector, Workplace

CommutingNew research published in the British Medical Journal last week has confirmed the perhaps obvious fact that people who drive to work are generally less healthy and more overweight than those who get to work in other ways. More surprisingly, the report also found that using public transport to commute may be just as beneficial to healthy as cycling. The report suggests that with nearly 24 million people regularly commuting to work each day in England and Wales, its results based long term research with a sample of 16,000 people should have significant implications for Government infrastructure policy, urban design and individual workplace policies. “Policies designed to effect a population-level modal shift to more active modes of work commuting therefore present major opportunities for public health improvement”, it concludes.

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Encourage staff to stand up at work to improve wellbeing says health expert

by • Facilities management, News, Workplace

More standing up at work would improve staff healthThe National Director for Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England, Kevin Fenton has recommended that staff should stand for at least an hour a day. He says the working day should be broken up by holding stand-up meetings, coffees or lunches or by simply setting aside a certain amount of time to work standing up; which could help lower obesity levels and improve staff’ general health, reports HR Grapevine. His advice echoes that of campaigners “Get Britain Standing” which warns that statistics showing that British people sit for 8.9 hours each day (on average) has been found to be detrimental to health. Describing being active as the “miracle cure we’ve been waiting for” to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and improving mental health, Fenton said: “Globally we’ve become more and more inactive, in part because our jobs are making us more sedentary. We spend too much time sitting down at our computers.” (more…)

Hotels allocating more public space to meet the needs of business travellers

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

Business TravellersPresenteeism isn’t restricted to the workplace. Growing demand from business travellers means hotels are increasing the amount of working and meeting space they provide in their facilities in cities across Europe and the rest of the world. Three quarters of British employees work while staying in a hotel according to the survey carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute on behalf of hotel business solutions firm HRS. Only Italians spend more time working in hotels (76 percent), followed the UK (75 percent), Poland and Switzerland (50 percent respectively), Germany (46 percent), China (45 percent), Russia (43 percent), Austria (42 percent) and France (25 percent). The firm has also identified a number of hotels around the world which it believes offers exemplars of the new working spaces available.

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Four year surge in the numbers of over-50s and over-65s in UK workforce

by • News, Workplace

older UK workforceWe keep saying it but forget all the talk about Gen Y, the UK workforce is actually aging and becoming more diverse. New research from Saga shows that the number of employees over the age of 65 has increased by over a third over the last four years and the numbers of those between 50 and 64 has also increased – by nearly a tenth. The proportion of over 65s within the workforce is up from 3.4 percent to 3.6 percent over the same period but there have also been increases in employment in younger age groups meaning the workforce is more diverse. There are now 1.09 million over 65s still in work and around 8 million in the 50-64 age group. The Saga Monthly Employment report, published in partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, also found that older age groups are now just as economically active as younger demographics

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Rise in staff social media profiling will transform the workplace

by • News, Technology, Workplace

Digital monitoring of staff will transform the workplace claims surveyWhether or not the younger generation are in fact more technically astute is still open to debate, but one thing is clear, they’re far less perturbed at the idea of being digitally monitored than the older generation. New research reveals that the younger generation are more open to sharing their personal data with their employees, with 36 per cent of Generation Y workers saying they would be happy to do so. Nearly a third of people would be happy for their employer to have access to their personal data, such as social media profiles and this kind of data monitoring of employees will rise over the next decade as Generation Y enters the workforce. Given the fact that by 2020 this generation will form half of the global workforce – they’re set to bring with them their different attitudes to technology and personal data. (more…)

Flexible work arrangements are leading component of wellness policies globally

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Flexible working policies leading component of wellness policies globallyIn the midst of the August summer holidays; it’s now more than ever that flexible working policies can benefit both employees and employers, so that those who need to get stuff done can get on with it without having to sit in a near empty office for form’s sake. So it comes as little surprise that in a new global survey, polices related to flexible work arrangements and paid time off rank as the number one component of wellness programs globally. According to “Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies,” the concept of wellness at work has evolved over the last seven years, moving from a focus on basic health promotion activities to a culture where seventy-eight per cent of the world’s employers are strongly committed to creating a workplace culture of health, to boost individual engagement and organizational performance. (more…)

Sustainable buildings are not more costly to construct, finds report

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Sustainable buildings are not more costly to construct finds reportThe widely held belief that sustainable buildings are more costly to construct is dispelled in a new report which shows that achieving lower BREEAM ratings can in fact, incur little or no additional cost. Researchers from Sweett Group and BRE examined the actual costs and savings associated with a wide range of sustainable building strategies. The research team applied cost data from real construction projects to three case study buildings – an office, secondary school and community healthcare centre – to produce detailed capital and operational cost information. The report; Delivering sustainable buildings: Savings and payback also reveals the associated payback to be gained from reduced utility costs and finds that even where achieving higher BREEAM ratings incurs some additional costs, this can be paid back within two to five years through the reduced costs of operating a more sustainable building. (more…)

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