Columnists
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]