Columnists
August 20, 2020
Working from home and the future of work. How quaint
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology
In 1962, a professor of communication studies called Everett Rogers came up with the principle we call diffusion of innovation. It’s a familiar enough notion, widely taught and works by plotting the adoption of new ideas and products over time as a bell curve, before categorising groups of people along its length as innovators, early […]
August 18, 2020
The challenge for the office is to stay relevant
by Ben Capper • Comment, Workplace design
The world is going through some painful changes at breakneck speed. As a result, the word unprecedented has reached number one spot on our ‘words to avoid’ list. What’s the big deal with unprecedented anyway? Our obsession with all things unprecedented taps into our fear of the unknown. But life itself is an unknown: Life […]
August 17, 2020
Is it time to get rid of all workplace policies and procedures?
by Freddie Steele • Comment, Workplace
After twenty-five years of telling employers that their first response to any workplace problem should be ‘draw up a policy’, it pains me to even suggest this; but what if we abolished all workplace policies and procedures? Yes, you heard me correctly – no policies for discipline and grievances, for handling sickness absence, menopause, mental […]
August 12, 2020
Casting a spell on the future of work and workplaces
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design
There was a time we used to talk with dismay about the Japanese phenomenon of intense social distancing known as hikikomori. We would consider with horror the isolation, lack of engagement with society, poor mental health and loneliness of the people who had almost completely withdrawn to their rooms. Those poor bastards locked up in […]
August 12, 2020
The death of the office? Wait a minute
by John Williams • Comment, Property, Workplace design
I have observed with some disbelief the numerous articles that have heralded the “death of the office” and other click-bait driven headlines. It makes for a fun read but fails to really understand exactly what the office is for and how the modern workspace is actually used. The best way to take a view of […]
August 7, 2020
A dog`s life in the future of work
August 6, 2020
Cycling might be about to change our lives and offices permanently
by Eugene Tavyev • Cities, Comment, Workplace design
According to the latest data from the Cycle to Work Alliance, June 2020 saw a 120 per cent increase in the number of people joining the government Cycle to Work scheme. Introduced in 1999 as part of a series of measures under the government’s Green Transport Plan, it is now undergoing a revival as thousands […]
August 4, 2020
Boardroom heroes needed to transform working cultures
by Alex Fleming • Comment, Flexible working
Even as the UK starts to open back up following the COVID-19 enforced lockdown, there are still many unanswered questions about how almost every aspect of our lives will be impacted. What is certain though, is that we will continue to see a paradigm shift take place across all areas of the workplace. Employers must […]
August 3, 2020
Isaac Asimov’s remarkable 1964 predictions about life and work in the 21st Century
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design
Making predictions about the future can leave people hostages to fortune. Just ask the Decca record executive Dick Rowe who in 1962 rejected a contract with The Beatles confidently asserting that “guitar groups are on their way out, Mr Epstein” or even multi-billionaire Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer who declared in 2007 that “there’s no chance […]
July 31, 2020
Return to work offers us a unique opportunity to change everything
by Simone Fenton-Jarvis • Comment, Facilities management
The way we worked before covid was fundamentally broken; our wellbeing, our climate and our business efficiency. The genie is out of the bottle; going back just simply isn’t an option. When considering the return to work, there are organisations making knee-jerk decisions trying to avoid a complex minefield of potential missteps which could impact […]
August 28, 2020
A new social contract can improve the everyday experience of work
by Mark Spratt • Comment, Workplace
It’s not happening quickly enough for some and too slowly for others, but most companies are in the midst of managing a return to work and grappling with a very different post COVID-19 world and what it means for employees. HR professionals are paying close attention to how well employees are faring and are looking […]