Columnists
May 7, 2015
Understanding and overcoming the objections to sit stand workstations
by Marc Bird • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design
In Sweden, sit-stand working is so commonplace that our Nordic colleagues are perplexed by how slow the UK has been to catch up. The expectation of varying working positions throughout the day is so widespread across Scandinavia that over 80 percent of Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Norwegian office workers already use sit stand workstations, and […]
May 5, 2015
A responsible approach needed for the design and build of London’s towers 0
by Paul Chilton • Architecture, Comment, Property
There are currently over 260 new towers either proposed, approved or under construction in Greater London, a 12 per cent increase on last year. There has been much debate and concern about the impact of the design and build of so many new towers on the capital and in particular the visual impact. The Skyline Campaign […]
April 30, 2015
Three workplace issues that could help to shape the general election 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Technology
With only a week to go until the general election, nobody seems clear on what exactly will happen at the polls, least of all the voters. The BBC’s political correspondent has described it as the Vanilla Election, with the major parties paralysed by the closeness of the race into not doing anything bold or imaginative […]
April 28, 2015
Why it’s time for more companies to roll the dice for gamification 0
by Maciej Markowski • Case studies, Comment, Workplace
As was reported recently, gamification remains practically unknown to many managers yet companies like Nike, Microsoft, Samsung and eBay are beginning to see it as a useful tool. Generally adopted by marketing and sales professionals, gamification can also influence behaviour, increase productivity and improve wellbeing. Gamification is all around us, even if we don’t always notice it. […]
April 23, 2015
Is it now time to take a stand on sitting in the workplace? 0
by Steve Taylor • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design
The search for wellbeing is taking over the workplace as companies look to attract and retain the very best talent. Bosting health, happiness and productivity in the office environment is now paramount to counter potential negative health effects and growing discontent from office workers. A key factor in this topic is the ill-effects caused by […]
April 23, 2015
How local approaches to ergonomics redefine worldwide standards
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design
We live in the Global Village, Marshall McLuhan’s construct of an electronically contracted world in which attitudes, cultures and our political, business and legislative framework begin to pull together. And yet still each nation is characterised by the little differences that set it apart from its neighbours and even nations on the other side of […]
April 12, 2015
A preview of this year’s Milan International Furniture Fair 0
by Justin Miller • Comment, Events, Furniture, Workplace design
One of the least remarked upon consequences of the digital revolution of the past two decades has been its impact on the world of exhibitions. Not so long ago, these were one of the few ways people had of finding out about new products, firms, services and technologies. Now we can find as much as […]
April 9, 2015
Why Facebook and other tech giants still apply mainstream office design ideas 0
by Charles Marks • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design
This week Facebook moved into its new offices in Menlo Park, California. As you might expect they are somewhat out of the ordinary. Designed by Frank Gehry, they are bright, open and loaded with quirky and colourful design ideas. Yet upon closer inspection their underlying office design principles are often resolutely mainstream, not least the […]
April 9, 2015
Video: Perry Timms lays down some thoughts on the future of work 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace
[embedplusvideo height=”226″ width=”350″ editlink=”https://bit.ly/1H5dW1V” standard=”https://www.youtube.com/v/qGH7nkXNm_k?fs=1&vq=hd720″ vars=”ytid=qGH7nkXNm_k&width=350&height=226&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=0&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep4799″ /] Regular readers will know we’re not too fond of the F Word at Insight. This isn’t because we think there is nothing to talk about when it comes to the future (what else did you think we meant?) of work and workplaces. We just believe that the […]
April 8, 2015
Managing the Millennials should be no different to the other generations
by Emma Parry • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace
There is much debate about the way the group known as Millennials should be treated. Millennials, those born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, are viewed as different to my peers, Generation X (those born in the 60s and 70s), and certainly vastly different in outlook to the post-war Baby Boomers and the […]
April 8, 2015
Sino might: a review of the CIFF office design show in Guangzhou
by John Sacks • Comment, Furniture, Products, Workplace design
Guangzhou, about two hours by train from Hong Kong, is China’s third city. It is a sprawling metropolis. Apart from a cluster of skyscrapers and the busy, broad sweep of the Pearl River which carves the city into districts, it has few redeeming features. Unlike the previous years’ office design shows hosted in Guangzhou, the heavy rain […]
May 8, 2015
The world’s enduring addiction to the joy and misery of commuting
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Work&Place, Workplace
Commuting is one of the most complained about yet least explored facets of our working lives. This is in spite of the fact that it consumes so much of people’s time, energy and money, is presented as one of the main arguments for more flexible working practices and is so closely linked to our wellbeing. Yet […]