Columnists
November 9, 2016
Will Brexit mean business as usual for employment law? 0
by Michael Farrelly • Comment, Legal news, Workplace
The decision by the UK electorate to leave the European Union has created widespread uncertainty in almost all areas of law, with employment law particularly affected. A large amount of present UK employment law has its base in EU law, which means a withdrawal from the EU could result in UK employment rights no longer […]
November 4, 2016
Lack of flexible working a major reason for junior staff’s discontent 0
by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace
As we highlighted last month, it seems that flexible working is becoming the 21st century equivalent of the ‘executive washroom,’ with only the more senior members of staff being afforded that perk. Now a new survey suggests that a lack of opportunity for agile working is one of the reasons why junior members of staff are […]
October 25, 2016
Millennials have just the same needs for peace and quiet as everybody else 0
by Steven Lambert • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
Asked for the dream millennial workplace, most people would probably envision a brightly coloured open environment with pool tables, bean bag chairs and maybe a small basketball court. But it turns out that young people in the workplace have the same psychological requirements as the old crowd, and may even be more sensitive to distractions. A […]
October 24, 2016
How and why employee fitness became part of the corporate agenda 0
by Michael Page • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
As the national obesity crisis worsens and a regular flow of statistics inform us that we’re a nation in trouble, with no demographic escaping the threat, we seem to have become obsessed with how fit or unfit we are. This is reflected in our growing interest in how many calories we consume and how much […]
October 19, 2016
Where are zero hours contracts and the gig economy taking us? 0
by Mike James • Comment, Flexible working
Zero-hours contracts have had a bad time in the press. Mike Ashley, founder of Sports Direct, has taken a pounding after uproar over workers conditions, and after vehemently defending his position, he is remarkably making a U-turn, ditching the controversial zero-hours employment arrangements. A large number of companies new also turning their backs on zero […]
October 7, 2016
Are we seeing the workification of home or the homification of work? 0
by Anna King • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design
Thinking and theories about working environments continue to be much debated, of course. As part of this ongoing discussion, Bisley recently hosted an event at its London showroom to continue the aspects of the debate that focus on how offices seem to be morphing in to homes, and how our homes are, conversely, functioning as […]
October 5, 2016
An enlightened approach is needed for the new era of artificial intelligence 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology
One of the explanations for both Brexit and the once implausible idea of an obvious demagogue like Donald Trump assuming the world’s highest office is that we now live in a post rational world. In plain parlance this was best summarised by Michael Gove’s proclamation during the Brexit debate that we have all had enough […]
October 4, 2016
Motherhood or livelihood? Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace 0
by Tar Tumber • Comment, Legal news, Wellbeing, Workplace
Recent research by the Commons Women and Equalities Committee suggests that around 54,000 expectant and new mothers have no choice but to leave work due to pregnancy discrimination or concerns over the safety of their children; and shockingly, this figure has doubled in the last decade alone. Other research carried out by the Equality & […]
September 27, 2016
Businesses failing to look at workplace effectiveness in the right way 0
by Tim Oldman • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design
This month, the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Carolyn Fairbairn, suggested that productivity growth across all parts of the UK economy should be the number one priority for business and government. And the CBI isn’t alone in emphasising the importance of honing in on and tackling the ongoing productivity problem. According to […]
September 10, 2016
Home working myths + Millennial’s needs + Global sustainability 0
by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Workplace, Workplace design
In this week’s Newsletter; Mark Eltringham finds some global patterns in office design, but many local differences; suggests we stop treating Generation Y as an alien species; and shares a new report which suggests that younger people are in fact people after all. A new study finds that the perceived benefits of working from home disappear […]
November 10, 2016
If we want to maximise productivity and wellbeing, how many hours should we work? 0
by Mike James • Comment, Flexible working
Some people cling to the idea that if you want to get more work done, the obvious solution is to put in more hours. But if that’s true, why are a number of companies in Sweden reducing their working schedule from eight hours a day to six? Is Sweden that economically successful that they can […]