Columnists
April 9, 2018
How the UK car industry is driving the future of workplace design
by Paul Dunn • Comment, Workplace design
The British car industry has grabbed numerous headlines since the Brexit referendum due declining car sales and the uncertainty of its economic and regulatory prospects. In spite of these mounting concerns, the industry continues to invest in the design of its workplaces, not only by creating inviting and engaging places to work, but also by […]
April 2, 2018
Take up of shared parental leave is held back by cultural inertia
by Paul Kelly • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace
A recent report by the House of Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee, Fathers and the workplace, has brought into sharp focus the problems fathers have juggling participation in family life with their employment obligations. We are moving away from the traditional gender stereotypes of the father being the breadwinner and the mother being responsible for […]
March 26, 2018
A growing number of employers are driving demand for independent professionals
by Adam Gates • Comment, Workplace
A new industrial revolution is underway, with almost every organisation on the frontline. Executive leaders, notably HR Directors, are grappling with what this means for the structure and design of their companies and the composition of their people. Changing business models, new technologies to access people, skills and capabilities, are common threads, with widespread implications […]
March 21, 2018
There are at least some reasons to be optimistic about the UK’s tech sector post Brexit
by Gary Chandler • Comment, Property, Technology, Workplace design
Making detailed predictions about the economic consequences of Brexit has proved a mug’s game many time over the past couple of years. The most accurate summation of what is happening might be ‘mixed’. Most recently, a report from the CBI has highlighted the resilience of many sectors while bemoaning a lack of skills in the […]
March 20, 2018
Enter the MIPIM bandwagon, towed by pink elephants
by Anna King • Comment, Property, Technology
The old adage “once you spot a bandwagon, it’s probably too late to jump on” was certainly true at this year’s MIPIM if only for the increase in journalists sent by the national press (allegedly) hoping to catch a glimpse of men behaving badly and weaving tales of excess. Whilst the message of #TimesUp was […]
March 15, 2018
What the Chancellor’s Spring Statement means for the employment landscape
by Oliver Shaw • Comment, Workplace
It may only have lasted 26 minutes, but chancellor Philip Hammond’s inaugural Spring Statement included a number of very encouraging points. Critics were quick to criticise Philip Hammond’s first Spring Statement. But that is perhaps simply the nature of politics. If an impartial party carefully dissects the 26-minute speech, there are undoubtedly many positives to […]
March 13, 2018
Many office furniture firms remain confused about social media and online communication
by Colin Watson • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design
At Watson King we surveyed the websites of the Top 100 European manufacturers of office furniture products, the results showed that 13 percent use no form of social media at all and 25 percent use less than three types. There are also some surprising results on which the most popular channels are. There is evidence […]
March 8, 2018
Data, AI and the commercial property sector – what’s the connection?
by Nick Riesel • Comment, Property, Technology
The property industry is not the first to be permeated by artificial intelligence, and it is far from being the last. Machine learning is working its way into various sectors, but it’s proving to be of great use particularly in the property sector, providing a helping hand for humans to help reach their professional goals. […]
March 5, 2018
About time we simply accepted that coworking and flexible working are the new normal
by Sarah King • Comment, Coworking, Flexible working, Workplace design
Ask someone to list innovative companies which have become notable disruptors in their market and they invariably respond with two names – Uber and Airbnb. That is because both brands are positioned squarely and successfully at the retail consumer: for people who use a taxi or take an occasional short break in a foreign city, […]
March 2, 2018
Employment law is out of step with flexible work and the changing workplace
by Leon Deakin • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace
Anyone who works in employment law or HR is certainly living through interesting times. With the removal of employment tribunal fees, litigation over the correct calculation of holiday pay and Brexit planning there is much to keep us busy. In addition, In addition, the impending GDPR is highly topical. However, for me, the most intellectually […]
April 24, 2018
Elon Musk is right, meetings distort both time and space
by Arjun Kaicker • Comment, Workplace design
I’ve walked out of hundreds of meetings. Not stormed out or sneaked out, just casually walked out. Over a decade I probably walked out of a couple of meetings a week, or about 1000 meetings in all. If this saved 30 minutes per meeting that’s about 3 months of full time work. And I never […]