Columnists
November 1, 2013
There is very little about flexible working that is actually flexible
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Events, Flexible working
It’s pretty clear why some of the world’s greatest writers have been drawn to the human propensity for moral and linguistic inversions and subversions. Books like 1984, Catch 22 and A Clockwork Orange are predicated on the idea. And it’s not one limited to literature. If we look, we can see it going on all […]
October 30, 2013
IT managers yet to accept the whole challenge presented to them by BYOD
by Brandon Allen • Comment, Technology
How exactly does an employee’s convenience trump an organisation’s need for control? That’s the debate corporations are facing when it comes to managing the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ trend. BYOD allows employees to use their personal mobile products for business. In 2012, IBM decided a majority of their workforce could use their own phones and […]
October 29, 2013
What the endless debate about HS2 can teach us about how we work
October 28, 2013
Global urbanisation trends present UK cities with new opportunities
by Charles Marks • Comment, Environment, Property, Technology
There is a great deal of talk about the growing urbanisation of the world right now, and its effects on societies, economies and individuals. The numbers of people involved are daunting, especially in the developing world. As a result, many countries are currently experiencing the sort of upheaval we in Britain experienced nearly 300 years […]
October 25, 2013
Only culture change will prevent the sexual harassment of people at work
by Pam Loch • Comment, Legal news, Workplace
Are we dangerously unaware of or perhaps even becoming dismissive about the nature and extent of sexual harassment in the workplace today? A recent survey, commissioned by a firm of solicitors, has thrown up some statistics which point to significant levels of harassment being experienced by both men and women at work. In the poll […]
October 25, 2013
The Great Gatsby and the rehabilitation of the office cubicle
October 25, 2013
Economic recovery, the changing psychological contract and the future of the office
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design
There has always been a link of one sort or another between the labour market and office design. So, as the UK’s unemployment statistics continue to fall, they remain moderately high and there continue to be structural changes in the nature of work, typified by this year’s debate about the growing use of zero hours […]
October 22, 2013
Germans prove that long hours and productivity are often two completely different things
by John Sacks • Comment, Workplace
Earlier this year, Insight published the results of a survey which showed that the World’s hardest workers, contrary to what Jeremy Clarkson might say, are Mexican. But that poll told half the story because it only measured the number of hours people work. When it comes to productivity measured by output against time spent working, […]
October 22, 2013
What happens in a designer’s mind and Mac can be very different to reality
by Simon Heath • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design
Social media is inarguably closing the gap between organisations and consumers of their services. Advances in the way we interrogate the opinions of building users are lifting the veil on some sharp practices in management and the negative impacts of poorly thought out design or badly executed installation of designs into the built environment. […]
October 17, 2013
Video: reimagining work to help people become happier and more productive
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Events, Facilities management, Technology
[embedplusvideo height=”190″ width=”220″ editlink=”https://bit.ly/1cweZHz” standard=”https://www.youtube.com/v/G11t6XAIce0?fs=1&hd=1″ vars=”ytid=G11t6XAIce0&width=220&height=190&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=0&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep5343″ /] Most companies are engaged in an attempt to help employees become happier, more productive and – yes –fitter at work. Firms do this because they are nice people or in the commercial interest of the business, or both. The problem is they are not doing it with […]
October 10, 2013
Why the serviced office sector needs to put more effort into its customer service
by David Saul • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working
It’s National Customer Service Week, a week-long initiative set up to inspire businesses to take a step back, look at their customer relations and promote excellence in customer service amongst their teams. Across every business in every sector, excellent customer service is key to gaining and retaining custom, and this is particularly the case when […]
November 5, 2013
Technology fix. What employers can do when social media becomes an addiction
by Pam Loch • Comment, Legal news, Technology, Workplace
Recent research shows that technology has helped us to become nearly five times more productive than we were in the 1970s. As well as enabling social interaction and personal expression, social media such as LinkedIn and Twitter can be valuable business aids for innovation and collaboration. However, with over half of people under 25 admitting […]