Columnists
March 21, 2019
Interiors are not enough to win the war for talent
by Ben Capper • Comment, Workplace design
I often refer to Google and Facebook in my blog, due to their influence on workplace design. Many consider them to be workplace interior’s holy grail. But today’s big employers are competing with one another on a much broader set of principles. Cool interiors alone just won’t cut it. Zürich, like many European cities is […]
March 18, 2019
Artificial Intelligence is transforming the workforce as we know it
by Dennis Spaeth • AI, Comment, Technology
It may seem like an inevitable fact of administrative positions that anyone who fills them will be subjected to a never-ending litany of repetitive tasks. Employees in these jobs often don’t receive work that engages their brains or peaks their interests. Rather than flexing their critical thinking skills, these workers are resigned to completing the […]
March 17, 2019
Time to unlearn the time management system you learned at school
by Steve Hartert • Comment, Technology
Picture a workplace where everyone follows rigorous to-do lists. Employees are told what to do, how long to spend on it, and in what order to tackle their projects. Then, picture a workplace where there are no to-do lists, no project deadlines, and no estimations of how long projects will take. Employees tackle work in […]
March 15, 2019
When exactly did busyness become a sign of status?
by Francesca Langton Kendall • Comment, Wellbeing
When exactly did “busyness” become a status? At work, in our personal lives and online, the competition to “live our best lives” and “hustle harder” is being taken to the extreme. Neuroscientists refer to busyness as a state of “cognitive overload.” This state can hinder our productivity, as well as our abilities to think clearly, […]
March 14, 2019
The negative entropy of workplace design and management
March 14, 2019
Mobile working is a recipe for business success
by Sally Elliott • Comment, Technology, Workplace design
Today, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing the face of work as we know it: introducing AI and automation to the workplace and creating a drastic shift in the skills required by organisations today. As automation increasingly frees employees up from the repetitive, process work that can so often dominate their day-to-day, organisations are instead […]
March 8, 2019
On International Woman’s Day – why advancing women is still not a business priority
by Sara Bean • Comment, Legal news, News, Workplace
It has probably not escaped your notice that today is International Woman’s Day, which for Workplace Insight means a plethora of studies on the topic of women/jobs/salaries and ways women might work differently to men. We’ve decided not to waste anyone’s time and ignored most of them (particularly the patronizing ones on how ladies are […]
March 6, 2019
Beware the great apex fallacy of workplace design 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Furniture, Technology, Workplace design
Of all the memes and narratives that corrupt public discourse about workplace design, the most pernicious is the one that suggests there is a linear evolution to some grand end point called the Office of the Future. There is a natural human inclination to buy this sort of idea, fed by an assumption that what […]
March 6, 2019
It’s not a skills gap, it’s a diversity gap
by Agata Nowakowska • Comment, Workplace
As digital transformation impacts organisations in every industry, the workplace as we know it is evolving fast. For IT leaders, the accelerated rate of technological change means the pressure is on to deliver, manage and secure new platforms. But the wider ramifications of digitalisation projects are proving profound, leaving business executives facing a dilemma.
March 5, 2019
Designing a better workforce: how workplace design can impact wellbeing
by Mary Lawrence • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
In a recent survey, 95 percent of office workers said their physical work environment is important for their wellbeing and mental health. However, half believe their current working environment does not have a positive effect on their mental health, wellbeing, mood and productivity. The issue of employee wellbeing has risen up business’ agendas in recent […]
March 28, 2019
The rise of the digital workplace is transforming the physical office
by Giles Fuchs • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design
A recent survey by Gartner predicts that one in five workers will have an AI bot as their co-worker by 2022. It’s almost impossible to talk about the future of the workplace without mention of AI or robotics, and is therefore hardly surprising that there is a feeling of apprehension amongst workers. PwC’s 21st global […]