Columnists
October 2, 2019
Breaking free of the linearity of modern work
by Howard Lewis • Comment, Technology, Workplace design
We are working hard, but not smart. Research released by the TUC in April shows that UK workers are putting in the longest hours in the EU, but this isn’t translating into improved productivity. In fact, the research shows employees in Denmark put in over four hours less than UK workers – whilst productivity in Denmark […]
October 1, 2019
Agile workplaces need to strike the right balance
by Sarah Booth • Comment, Workplace design
Meeting rooms are a lot like buses. You wait ages for one and then three become available all at once. Sometimes none turn up at all. Research by Kinnarps, which we do as part our Next Office consultancy, has found something that might not come as a great surprise. Employees are deeply frustrated with the […]
October 1, 2019
Ergonomics regs are still relevant in the age of agile work
by Guy Osmond • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
Recently Mark Eltringham of Insight argued that ergonomics regulations have become something of an anachronism in recent years. When I first became involved in the workplace ergonomics industry in late 1992, the new Display Screen Equipment ’computer user’ guidance was about to be given the force of law through the introduction of the DSE Regulations. […]
September 26, 2019
The office of the future should be circular
by Phil Oram • Comment, Environment, Workplace design
Minimising the impact of business on the wider environment is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a business imperative. Pressure is coming from all stakeholders including employees, investors, customers and clients, government and the media. According to the Leadership in Corporate Sustainability – European Report 2018, three quarters of European business leaders believe that […]
September 26, 2019
Striking the balance between the office and remote work
by Arran Stewart • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
Once upon a time the concept of ‘remote working’ beyond outsourced contractors was almost unheard of. Employers viewed remote work as an opportunity for workers to be less productive, out of contact and generally more inefficient. As an employer myself, I would have agreed with these misconceptions early on in my career. However, after many […]
September 25, 2019
Flexible working in the age of longevity
by Richard Morris • Comment, Property, Wellbeing, Working lives
September 23, 2019
Having data about people and their behaviour does not create a science
by John Rapley • Comment, Technology, Workplace
Two questions: is it good or bad that professional athletes earn 400 times what nurses do, and is string theory a dead end? Each question goes to the heart of its discipline. Yet while you probably answered the first, you’d hold an opinion on the prospects of string theory only if you’ve studied physics.
September 23, 2019
Office design alone cannot motivate us or make us happy at work
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Knowledge, Workplace, Workplace design
There’s a good reason why we find it hard to establish the causal links between our working lives, office design and our personal happiness. It’s because it’s all very complicated. So complicated in fact that you can sidetrack any discussion on the subject by asking elementary questions such as: ‘what do you mean by happy?’ […]
September 20, 2019
Climate change demands we shift our focus from productivity
by Simon Mair • Comment, Environment
Climate action is often about sacrifice: eat less meat, don’t fly, and buy less stuff. These things are essential. But climate action can also be about gain. Many causes of climate change make our lives worse. So transforming our societies to stop climate change offers us the chance to make our lives better.
September 19, 2019
Design what you like, but people may have different ideas 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace design
The story goes that, when Rem Koolhaas was appointed to design the McCormick Tribune Campus Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2003, the legendary architect noticed how students had created their own pathways between the buildings as they had made their way around the site. The site of the new building included a […]
September 18, 2019
A fantastic workplace does not have to be innovative, just fantastic
by Neil Usher • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design
A recent report from AWA, Global Workplace Analytics and Haworth identified that over half of those surveyed in 130 organisations work in assigned positions. What was more interesting – than the report was the positioning of the key findings – the message being that in many respects organisations were denying their people the full benefits […]
October 3, 2019
The art of arranging the world so we do not have to experience it
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace
If you’re a man, each morning as you leave the house you probably perform the bleary-eyed pocket patting ritual that, after a shower, shave and a cup of tea is your sole reassurance that you are in any way prepared for the day ahead. The thinking is that if you’re clean, caffeinated, your flies are […]