Columnists
March 12, 2020
Company reputations can live or die by the behaviour of employees on social media
by Pete Eyre • Comment, Technology
A recent survey from law firm Herbert Smith Freehills suggests that 95 percent of large organisations polled expected a rise in the number of employees using social media, such as Twitter, to raise complaints and concerns about their company over the next five years. It is an extremely worrying development for business. While social media […]
March 11, 2020
Flexible offices are not just an issue for the next generation
by John Williams • Comment, Flexible working
For as long as I have been in the industry, workspace has focused on the “next” generation whether that has been the overly-discussed millennials or Gen-Z. As it has grown, the market for flexible offices has inevitably followed the same path, but in doing so its providers could have taken their eyes off the ball […]
March 10, 2020
A great company culture is the basis for successful flexible working
by Chris Dyer • Comment, Flexible working
Company culture is more integral to remote platforms than it is to traditional bricks-and-mortar enterprises. In a disjointed setting, culture is what holds a team together, and marries it to the company’s values. Not only is this a boon to getting work done, it’s a formula for business success. Consider the main challenges to many […]
March 9, 2020
Out of the shadows – and staying out?
by Neil Usher • Comment
Our understanding of the positive contribution a fantastic workplace can make to the people and organisations that inhabit them has come a long way since the Hawthorne experiments almost a hundred years ago. The conclusions of the study were that the physical workplace was a mere hygiene factor, able to make little difference. Claims to […]
March 5, 2020
To many major firms, work is becoming just a game
by Eve Grau • Comment, Workplace
Corporate gamification is a growing trend in the business world. This trend uses all of the techniques that make video games so entertaining and engaging to improve day-to-day business functions. From incorporating point awards to leveling up, gamification hacks the most effective qualities of gaming to deliver educational programs and training courses. Because of the […]
March 5, 2020
The theme park of modern office design
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design
Here’s an interesting exercise you may want to try. Off the top of your head and without thinking about it too much, write down the names of five iconic office furniture designs. The kind that your Aunt Sheila might recognise if she saw them but wouldn’t necessarily be able to name. When I did this […]
March 4, 2020
Agility may be the key to surviving uncertainty, but what does it mean?
by Victoria Normark • Comment
Amid continued economic and political uncertainty, following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU), the adoption of agile practices will be more important than ever for businesses to survive and adapt to market change. But when we talk about agility in a business context, what do we really mean?
March 2, 2020
Workers are as important as external stakeholders
by Bianca West • Comment
At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, workers around the globe could be forgiven for remaining sceptical at the news that the corporate world now regards them as stakeholders, and as important to their organisations as shareholders and customers. The traditional employee/employer relationship is slowly changing. Where the relationship was once exclusively hierarchical, it […]
February 27, 2020
The integration of people, place and policy will define the new workplace era
by Frances Gain • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
With a new decade comes a renewed focus on talent for workplace designers. Employers are beginning to better understand the value in hiring neurodiverse employees for creative and strategic thinking. They also understand that creating physical and digital workspaces, which blend the principles of universal design (making spaces accessible for the broadest possible range of […]
February 24, 2020
Ergonomics, movement and the evolutionary necessity of pain
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
In his book The Greatest Show on Earth, the evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins devotes a section to the biological rationale for pain which has implications for the way we view ergonomics and the design of offices. Although the question of why we suffer is an ethical issue as far as humans are concerned, and […]
February 21, 2020
What happens when leaders have too much charisma?
by Kevin Murray • Business, Comment
When a leader with charisma becomes so strong and confident that they dominate their teams to the extent that others simply never question their decisions, you’d better hope that that leader is always right and is leading you in the right direction. Sadly, the opposite is usually true. Leaders who cut themselves off from bad […]
March 17, 2020
Pandemic highlights precarious reality of workplace legislation
by Tony Wilson • Comment, Legal news
Less than a week on from the Budget, and already the government’s emergency measures to respond to covid-19 feel like they belong to another crisis. While attention this weekend has rightly focused on how our health services and older people can be supported, we also need urgently to revisit the impact on the workplace and […]