Columnists
February 2, 2015
Staff calling in sick could be a symptom of management malaise
by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace
If your office seems strangely quiet this morning it might be due to the fact today is ‘national sickie day’. The first Monday in February is the day of the year which traditionally sees the highest number of workers calling in sick. It’s been argued that many of these people could in fact be looking […]
January 28, 2015
How well designed office hives can foster swarm intelligence
by Lee Parsons • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design
A beehive in your back-garden is hardly ideal, nor is stumbling across an ants’ nest while searching for a picnic spot. However, these swarms have become the inspiration for a revolutionary new way of working. Swarm intelligence describes how a group of people find effective solutions to difficult problems and their ability to adapt automatically to changing environments […]
January 26, 2015
Messy offices really are far less productive than those with clear desk policies
by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, News
I used to have a boss whose solution to dealing with all his paper-based correspondence was to simply let the detritus build up. When he couldn’t see his desk any more, he would draw his hand across the desk and dump the whole lot into the bin. Invariably he’d miss something important and would often have to search the […]
January 23, 2015
Good communication is essential to ensure workplace health and safety
by Mike James • Comment, Facilities management, Legal news, Wellbeing, Workplace
Last week the HSE marked its 40th anniversary with a series of warnings about the continuing importance of maintaining health and safety. While the number of people killed at work has fallen dramatically since the HSE was launched, it’s important employers don’t get complacent. A lack of education among the workforce about the adequate measures to take when […]
January 22, 2015
How can we leave the open plan behind while desktop work endures?
by Sara Bean • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design
With all the chatter regarding BYOD and wearable tech, you’d think that the average worker must roam free. Yet worldwide, over three quarters (79 percent) of office workers still use a desktop computer; just over a third (36 percent) have devices that allow for mobility and only 39 percent of office workers can work from alternative places […]
January 9, 2015
O2’s dogmatic approach to flexible working sends the wrong signals
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design
Although we would normally offer the findings of a survey without comment, preferring readers to add their own pinch of salt, it’s sometimes interesting to question the way research is presented. This week a study by O2 claimed that in the six months since nearly all full time UK workers were granted the right to […]
January 8, 2015
We all need to embrace the opportunities presented by BIM
by Michael Page • Architecture, Comment, Technology, Workplace design
Described as ‘key to growth in the sector’ by chief construction adviser, Peter Hansford and increasingly recognised as a much more collaborative and efficient way of working, Building Information Modelling (BIM) continues to gather supporters from across the industry, yet there is a percentage of people who are still keeping their heads down and hoping it will […]
December 17, 2014
Flexible working is best built on the foundations of a great office
by Charles Marks • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design
It’s getting on for two years since Yahoo’s much talked about decision in 2013 to ban its staff from homeworking but, in many ways, the fallout has continued ever since. Certainly a lot of commentary on the subject refers back to CEO Marissa Mayer’s trend bucking decision. This can only be because it was a defining event in […]
December 15, 2014
Wearable tech will change the workplace in unexpected ways
by Mark Eltringham • Comment
The idea that we are all about to be supplanted by a new generation of artificially intelligent robot overlords has been in the news a great deal recently, partly as a result of Stephen Hawking’s recent pessimistic intervention on the subject. Whatever the truth of this apocalyptic musing, a more imminent generation of tech products […]
December 12, 2014
Can the workplace environment change an organisation’s culture?
by Adam Burtt-Jones • Comment, Workplace design
It is rare that organisations are totally satisfied with their current culture. They will often see what can be improved and at the same time recognise that these improvements will inevitably stem from a change in behaviour or the attitude of their employees. What is important to remember is that a change in the design […]
February 9, 2015
The open plan remains an important office design element
by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design
For half a century the default office design model in large parts of the world has been the open plan. Even though that continues to be the case, a growing number of voices are questioning this hegemony and suggesting there may be better ways of designing offices that balance the advantages of the open plan while […]