Columnists
September 1, 2015
A third of British workers believe their jobs have no meaning 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace
Here’s a cheery little snippet to welcome you back to work after your holidays and/or washed out Bank Holiday weekend. More than a third of British workers say their job is making no meaningful contribution to the world, claims a report from researchers YouGov. According to the study of just over 900 British workers, around 37 […]
August 28, 2015
The reason offices will always be needed is tied up with human nature
by Nigel Sikora • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design
People have a tendency to confuse what is possible with what will happen. This appears to be a particular issue when we consider the effects of new technology. Hence the enduring talk of the death of the office, which technology makes possible but which people make impossible. One of the key areas of research that […]
August 20, 2015
81 percent of women and over half of men experience sexism at work 0
by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Workplace
What’s the difference between office banter and comments which can make people feel uncomfortable at work? That’s the issue which has plagued the workplace for aeons, and the age of so-called political correctness has not made the situation any clearer. Legislation may be in place to protect staff from discrimination or victimisation, but as some […]
August 18, 2015
That story about sexist air conditioning systems…roundly debunked 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace
The main story of the silly season so far has been that one about the inherent sexism of air conditioning systems from a week or two back. Based on a study published in the esoteric journal Nature Climate Change, it appeared that standards for heating and ventilation in building systems were founded on the metabolic […]
August 17, 2015
What Edward T Hall (and Jerry Seinfeld) can teach us about stress and design
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design
Work-related stress is the biggest cause of working days lost in the UK. According to the HSE’s most recent statistics, around 11.3 million days were lost to it in 2013/14, the most significant cause of absenteeism. The reasons for this are clear in the minds of many: the demands made on us by employers are […]
August 14, 2015
Far from being on board, older women still face recruitment bias 0
by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Workplace
The news that the Davies review has met its 25 per cent target for female representation on boards, and is now considering setting a target that a quarter of executives at FTSE 100 companies should be female, has been met with approval by the Institute of Directors, which said it was right that the focus is […]
August 6, 2015
Three quarters of employees admit to taking work on holiday with them 0
by Sara Bean • Comment, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace
More evidence if we needed it that people are reluctant to leave work behind, with the latest data from Peninsula revealing that 76 percent of employees admit to taking work on holiday with them. An even greater number make themselves available by email and phone, with 81 percent confessing to frequently responding to work emails and […]
August 5, 2015
Using office relocation as a vehicle for positive organisational change 0
by Lee Parsons • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design
The impact of office relocation can no longer be solely measured in immediately tangible terms. This doesn’t mean market factors can be dismissed, especially given CBRE’s recent announcement that office vacancies are at an all-time low while rents skyrocket and favourable terms for tenants erode. However, in an era where 67 percent of workplaces cite employee attraction […]
August 2, 2015
Female bosses enhance workforce engagement and motivation
by Gill Buchanan • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace
As businesses begin to ease out of recession they are starting to feel more confident in the economy and look at how they can increase spend. But while companies adjust to their new found growth they must ensure that their employees are reassured that they have a voice and, more importantly, are listened to. At […]
July 30, 2015
Far from dying out, the office is becoming more essential than ever
by Luke Finch • Comment, Technology, Workplace design
Samsung recently released a new report which explores how our offices might look in the year 2025. The death of the office has been predicted over and over again, however the Samsung Smarter Futures Report goes against the grain and predicts that the office could actually become more important than ever. Driven by the adoption of smart technology the […]
July 28, 2015
Beyond branding – how workplace design can express a firm’s culture
by Gary Chandler • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design
When it comes to the incorporation of branding and identity into a workplace, there is a simple option, which is to produce a design that faithfully incorporates the firm’s logos, colours and straplines in the interior. There’s nothing wrong with this, except for the fact that it is literally superficial and so may miss the […]
September 2, 2015
We need to do more than pay lip service to workplace wellbeing 0
by Ann Clarke • Case studies, Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
Too many companies continue to talk about employees as their ‘greatest asset’ yet their fine words are not always not borne out in their behaviour, be that through working culture, remuneration or environment. With more and more investors using employee wellness and engagement as a barometer for the health, stability and culture of the business […]