Columnists
November 26, 2013
Control over their work space helps satisfy people’s basic emotional needs
by Annie Gurton • Comment, Workplace design
In the second of two pieces to mark the seventieth anniversary of Abraham Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ Annie Gurton writes: Workers need an element of control in their surroundings. As Maslow said in the 1940s, humans are fundamentally, simple creatures. We need air, water, food and security, but along with those basic physiological needs […]
November 25, 2013
How a 70 year old happiness model is still helping us to define wellness
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace
This year marks the seventieth anniversary of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the model that still introduces most of us to notions of what makes people happy and fulfilled. Maslow first proposed the model in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” in Psychological Review, developing his ideas throughout the rest of his life. His […]
November 21, 2013
What the death of the landline tells us about how we work
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology
One of the items that always used to grace the brochures of office furniture companies when I started work in that particular industry was a telephone table. For the uninitiated, this was used as a home for the office landline, shared by a team of people, who were often expected to take turns to answer […]
November 18, 2013
Zero hours contracts: Are they really such bad news?
by Adam Hartley • Comment, Flexible working
Zero hours contracts have hardly been out of the news in recent weeks. The overwhelming majority of the media coverage has been negative, suggesting that zero hours contracts are exploitative of workers and should be outlawed. The pressure gauge has risen to such an extent that, in September, the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, announced that […]
November 18, 2013
Interview: Dave Coplin of Microsoft on Big Data, engagement and culture
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design
Dave Coplin joined Microsoft in 2005, and is now its Chief Envisioning Officer, helping to envision the full potential that technology offers a modern, digital society. He is a globally recognised expert on technological issues such Cloud computing, privacy, big data, social media, open government, advertising and the consumerisation of technology and is the author of […]
November 13, 2013
Working Time Directive – why the CBI calls for a permanent opt-out
by Pam Loch • Comment, Legal news, Workplace
The UK’s opt-out of the maximum 48 hour working week being proposed by the EU is yet again under the microscope. This follows the recent publication by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) of a report which highlights the frustration felt by UK businesses regarding the Working Time Directive. “Our Global Future: The Business Vision […]
November 13, 2013
Workplace Week highlights the changing shape of the office
by Richard Byatt • Comment, Events, Facilities management, Workplace design
This year’s Workplace Week which took place last week was a great success, with more people participating and more money raised for charity. Across the week, over 500 people took part, visiting innovative workplaces, attending the Workplace Week Convention or going along to one of the many Fringe events. Workplace Week is organised by Advanced Workplace […]
November 12, 2013
UK leads the world in talent, but it needs the right culture in which to thrive
by Philip Ross • Comment, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design
We should never take the UK’s talent base for granted. According to a new report from Deloitte, when it comes to employment levels of people in knowledge based jobs in high skill sectors such as digital media, banking, legal services, software development, telecoms and publishing, London is comfortably the world’s leading city. The study found […]
November 9, 2013
Looking back on a year in which the office sought a clearer sense of identity
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design
It’s not often that workplace management becomes national business news but that happened at the end of February when the world became very interested for a while in the way we design and manage offices. The reason for this was the decision by Yahoo to ban homeworking for staff at its headquarters. The resultant period […]
November 8, 2013
The journey to get more Women on Boards is one worth taking
by Debra Ward • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace
There has been so much written lately about women on boards and what is holding women back from becoming board members. The evidence highlights that gender diverse companies are less volatile, have a higher ROA and a lower employee turnover rate, yet this still seems not to have spurred on employers to take up the board equality […]
November 28, 2013
The future belongs to those who leave themselves choices of how to deal with it
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace
Everybody likes to talk and read about the future. It’s one of the reasons we see so many reports about what the ‘office of the future’ will look like. Often these attempts at workplace prognosis are overwhelmingly rooted in the present which might betray either a degree of timidity or lack of awareness of just […]