Columnists
September 13, 2019
There is still time to avoid the regrexit of Brexit
by Anthony Brown • Business, Comment
Several months ago when we invited Jonty Bloom, one of the media’s most respected journalists to come and speak to our guest audience, we knew it would be informed, relevant and fascinating. What we didn’t know was that the day before (4th September 2019) Boris Johnson would deliver a stunningly inelegant performance at his inaugural […]
September 11, 2019
Mixed messages in labour market, but signs of trouble ahead
by Tony Wilson • Business, Comment
There are mixed signals in today’s jobs figures for the UK. Optimists will point to continued record employment, a slight fall in unemployment and earnings growth higher than at any point since the recession – despite everything, the labour market is still going strong. For pessimists though, there are strong signs of things slowing down: […]
September 10, 2019
Are coworking spaces really all the same?
by Uri Bar-Joseph • Comment, Coworking, Technology, Workplace design
If you’ve ever shopped around for a coworking space, you’ve undoubtedly heard every shared workspace operator brag that its offices aren’t just a place to work – they’re all about community and culture. As Fast Company’s Ruth Reader put it, we’re just a “bunch of co-work startups saying the same things about how different [we] […]
September 10, 2019
Shakespeare, steampunk and our immersion in tech soup
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace design
Technology is always remarkable in its own time, indistinguishable from magic for an increasingly fleeting moment before the stardust fades and it becomes mundane, subverted by our unintended uses, its own unintended consequences and the very way it inveigles itself into the background of our existence, blurring identities, changing the way we view ourselves and […]
September 6, 2019
Escaping the hell of hot desking
by Tim Oldman • Comment, Workplace design
Hot-desking is a scourge on modern work. That’s the only conclusion you will draw by reading ‘The hidden hell of hot-desking is much worse than you think’ (published in the FT on 28 July 2019) and dozens more like it that continue to appear in national media and top business titles. The piece contends that […]
September 6, 2019
The open plan debate should never be seen as a zero sum game
by Nigel Oseland • Comment, Workplace design
The debate on open plan versus enclosed offices rages on, but workplace design is not a such a simple dichotomy. Furthermore, office occupants clearly have different workplace preferences depending on factors like personality, personalisation, flexibility and sense of belonging etc. Herman Miller and Workplace Trends sponsored Workplace Unlimited to conduct a short on-line survey to […]
September 6, 2019
Avoiding burnout and losing the workplace blues
by Christine Congdon • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
Stressed at work? Feeling blue at this time of year? Take a breath. You are not alone. While the World Health Organisation (WHO) is just now recognising burnout, a result of stress, as an “occupational phenomenon,” the conversation around wellbeing at work is not new. If we learn anything from this newest designation, it’s that […]
September 3, 2019
Work-life integration is the new goal for workers
by Nicole Bello • Comment, Flexible working, Technology
The modern world of work is a stressful one, and the goal to progress in our careers brings on even more pressure. Tight deadlines and demanding workloads are the typical order of the day, but just as important is to have the time to wind down and recharge the batteries. Historically, this has been known […]
August 30, 2019
Shaping the workplace of tomorrow
by Richard Glückman • Comment, Technology, Workplace design
The workplace, as we know it, is rapidly evolving and the role of the traditional office is changing. In fact, what current trends are pointing towards is that the whole work culture is shifting, with the employee experience becoming equally important as consumer needs. The new norm of the workplace is being flexible, dynamic, and […]
August 28, 2019
Shifting cultural expectations in the workplace
August 23, 2019
Summertime childcare juggling needs to be consigned to history
by Han Son Lee • Comment, Flexible working
For working parents, summertime is often a logistical nightmare. Six weeks of careful planning are needed to sort out childcare and ensure that both parents spend some quality time with their offspring. According to research from family activity app Hoop, over a quarter of parents of 5-16 year olds dread the summer holidays and here […]
September 16, 2019
Working mums call for more flexible work options
by John Williams • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design
Women are a key part of a growing contingent workforce of freelancers, consultants and part-timers. Despite numerous government policies to attract more mothers back into the workplace, retention is still a significant struggle. Several data collected indicates working mums who return part-time, combining professional careers with raising a family, are increasingly frustrated. The research shows […]