Columnists
April 22, 2024
AI is not coming for your job. But it will make it better
by Barry Murphy • AI, Comment, Technology, Workplace
“Artificial intelligence will outsmart humans, resolve all IT and business problems, and humans will not be needed in the workforce!” These are some of the most common misconceptions that too many companies and workforces currently have around AI and automation. To date, workforces have been inclined to broach AI with apprehension due to concerns that […]
April 19, 2024
We can have a dramatic impact on people’s lives with simple, small and cost-free changes
by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
London, the crouching monster, like every other monster has to breathe, and breathe it does in its own obscure, malignant way. Its vital oxygen is composed of suburban working men and women of all kinds, who every morning are sucked up through an infinitely complicated respiratory apparatus of trains and termini into the mighty congested […]
April 19, 2024
Roboquitting is the latest workplace trend to emerge in the era of hybrid working
by Marvin Gort • Comment, Flexible working, Technology
The era of hybrid working has driven many changes in the way people work. And the latest workplace trend to emerge is something called roboquitting. It takes advantage of remote work and AI to allow people to automate parts of their jobs, freeing them for side hustles and more free time. It builds on the […]
April 18, 2024
A look back at The Stoddart Review: the once and future guide to workplace productivity?
by Rachel Houghton • Comment, Workplace design
The Stoddart Review, published in 2016, was one of the most significant reports of recent years to explore the role of the workplace for employee productivity in extensive detail and why the office environment was key for productivity purposes. There has been a huge shift in the world of work since then. What we once […]
April 17, 2024
From pixels to patterns: the unprecedented surge in screen time
by Dr Jennifer Tsai • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing
Technology has transformed our personal relationships by making communication more accessible than ever before. But, are we implementing best practices to ensure a positive and sustainable relationship with our technological devices? In today’s digital age, screens have become an integral part of our daily lives. From smartphones and tablets to laptops and televisions, we are […]
April 11, 2024
A definitive new book on the madness of hybrid working goes one step beyond
by Paul Carder • Comment, Flexible working
In any crisis, there are people who spot an opportunity. One such opportunity, in early 2020, was to seize the term “hybrid” and apply it to the world of work and place. And for the past four years, we have seen the emergence of polarised commentators, arguing over two extremes; work from home, and ‘back […]
April 9, 2024
The significance of women’s health is increasingly acknowledged in the modern workplace
by Olga Kokshagina • Comment, Wellbeing
Women, on average, outlive men but, as reported by the World Economic Forum (WEF, 2024), spend approximately 25 percent of their lives in poor health. According to the WEF, addressing the disparities in women’s health could dramatically reduce this statistic, enhancing the lives of billions globally. Notably, strategic improvements in women’s healthcare could add an […]
April 7, 2024
The scale of the problem for the workplace
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design
There is a typically telling and intelligent Pixar moment in the film A Bug’s Life in which an already well-lubricated mosquito goes up to a bar and orders a ‘Bloody Mary, O Positive’. The barman plonks a droplet of blood down on the bar. The mosquito sinks his proboscis into it, sucks it down in […]
April 5, 2024
A just in time lesson about office design
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design
The nascent years of new ways of working in the late 80s and early 90s coincided with a widely held but soon to be discarded belief that the Japanese had cracked management practices. So it was perhaps inevitable that the principles of a process called just in time manufacturing – most famously applied in the […]
April 4, 2024
When it comes to the carbon conundrum, real change will come from collaboration
by Roger Olsen • Comment, Environment, Facilities management, Property, Wellbeing
Last week we launched our first white paper: Carbon Conundrum to Carbon Control and we were so delighted to be joined by a panel of experts across development, , engineering, design and consultancy. Through their discussion and with excellent engagement from our audience of developers, designers, contractors, agents, engineers and end users, there were a […]
April 2, 2024
All you need to know about the changes in employment law from 6 April 2024
by Jonathan Lord • Comment, Legal news, Workplace
There are a number of employment law changes coming into effect on 6 April 2024 that will impact SMEs the most. These modifications to employment law will profoundly influence the daily functions of businesses, especially during a period when SMEs face substantial economic challenges. It is essential for managers to revise their policies, engage with […]
April 23, 2024
Trust gap on AI in the workplace must be overcome if businesses are to get ahead
by Rob Smedley • AI, Comment, Technology, Workplace
With many AI firms increasingly pivoting towards developing specialised tools for easier integration into the workplace, it may come as a surprise that half of the companies Freeths recently surveyed have no plans at all to implement them, with only 15 percent reporting that investing in artificial intelligence tools for human resources was a strategic […]