Columnists
January 29, 2016
Delivering the low-down on the sit-stand workstation phenomenon 0
by Ashley Hayward • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design
While the UK, US, Australia and other nations continue to treat them as something of a novelty, across Sweden, Norway and Finland, over 80 per cent of office workers use sit-stand desks. Offering employees a height adjustable work station is now mandatory in Denmark. However, sit-stand working is still in its infancy in the UK, […]
January 26, 2016
Could a sexy office help you seduce clients back to your place? 0
by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design
I am not suggesting that a cool or sexy office is all you need to drive business outcomes. Nor am I going to suggest that all you need to do to grow a successful business is to invest in a fully loaded, bells and whistles, technology laden, productivity enabling office environment. Not that all of […]
January 26, 2016
The road to Bali and other destinations for the world’s remote workers 0
by Georgi Georgiev • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Technology
The number of people who work from home or travel as freelancers has grown rapidly in the last 25 years. In 1990, as a percentage of the US population only 5 percent fit this classification, today it is closer to 30 percent. From photojournalists to graphic designers, to computer programmers – an increasing number of […]
January 14, 2016
The growing hysteria around employers’ ability to pry is not justified 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Legal news, Technology, Workplace
Two current media frenzies highlight just how paranoid we are becoming about the use of technology to monitor our behaviour and conversations. Last week bosses at the Daily Telegraph were found to have installed sensors under the desks of employees to find out when they were sitting at their desks. Yesterday, the world whipped itself […]
January 12, 2016
A cynic’s field guide to workplace terminology, part three 0
by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design
A New Year and a new chance for some people to heap more fresh corporate bullshit onto the already steaming pile. No matter how often writers like the ever excellent Lucy Kellaway mock and deride the propensity of people in organisations to apply cliches and nonsense in lieu of thought and imagination, we have to face […]
January 6, 2016
Two new studies that highlight the complexities of gender at work 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Knowledge, News, Workplace
The increasingly complex nature of the career and workplace choices made by men and women and the specific challenges they face is the subject of two pieces of research presented at this week’s British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Nottingham. The authors of the admittedly small scale studies conclude respectively that […]
December 21, 2015
From workplace wellness programmes to a positive workplace culture 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design
Research presented at the recent 2015 Global Wellness Summit (GWS) titled “The Future of Wellness at Work” forecasts that workplace wellness investment will “explode in the next 5 to 10 years”. Results from the research revealed that 87 percent of employees surveyed feel disengaged at work, with 38 percent experiencing excessive pressure and stress. Despite […]
December 18, 2015
A reminder to look beyond what we see every day of our working lives 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing
The Chartered Institute of Building has just announced the finalists of this year’s Art of Building Photographer of the Year. The competition attracts thousands of entries from around the world each year and you are free to vote on your favourite to determine this year’s winner. The image that struck me most from this year’s […]
February 3, 2016
HR managers must innovate to stay relevant in the evolving workplace 0
by Sara Bean • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace
As the workplace moves from the traditional 9-5 model, management needs to adapt accordingly. Facilities managers are already being forced to think outside the box, and now human resources and line managers must do the same. The latest CIPD/Workday HR Outlook leaders’ survey spells out the challenge; that new ways of working and operating is an […]