February 13, 2014

No pay rise for a while? Get used to it, says the CIPD

The Chartered Institiute of Personnel and Development has today released a report analysing the most sustained and severe fall in real wages since at least the Second World War, and warns that the decline will not be reversed until there is a substantial improvement in the UK’s productivity. The report is accompanied by new survey data showing many employees expect pay rises in 2014 to be below inflation – a repeat of their experience in 2013. ‘Have we seen the end of the pay rise?‘, which is the third in a series of four Megatrends surveys exploring the future of work and the economic challenges which lie ahead, examines the effects of average weekly earnings that are now between 7.8 percent and 10.2 percent lower in real terms than they were five years ago, in January 2009, leading to a sustained squeeze on household finances.

June 13, 2024

Right now, GenAI mostly produces cheap grey goo for a perpetual present

by Mark Eltringham • AI, Comment, Technology

I keep hearing that Generative AI will unleash human creativity. Based on the contents of my inbox, I can tell you that is not yet the case. It is increasingly full of GenAI generated press releases and comment pieces that consist of a small amount of gibberish, a larger quantity of stuff that reads likes it’s been written by a non-native speaker, and an even larger amount of bland, clichéd C0nTeNt. More →

June 12, 2024

We only have to look at the natural world to boost our mental health

by Whitney Fleming • Comment, Wellbeing

It is becoming increasingly clear that spending time in nature can benefit our mental health and wellbeing. But a new study shows that you don’t have to actually be in nature to reap the rewards. Simply directing your gaze towards natural elements, even in the middle of a city, can enhance wellbeing. Our paper, published in the journal People and Nature, used eye-tracking technology to explore how focusing on natural versus man-made elements affects mental health. More →

May 9, 2024

Bisley redesigns showroom for Clerkenwell Design Week to showcase new directions

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Furniture

Visitors to British furniture manufacturer Bisley’s Dallington Street showroom during Clerkenwell Design Week (21-23 May 2024), are invited to explore a completely redesigned space, illustrating an expanded offering for the home, workplace, leisure and hospitality that goes far beyond the storage essentials for which Bisley is famous, highlighting the brand’s continued evolution. More →

May 3, 2024

Commercial real estate lending hits ten year low

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

New lending for commercial real estate fell 33 per cent last year to its lowest level since 2013, according to the latest bi-annual report from Bayes Business School, (formerly Cass). Researched and written by Dr Nicole Lux, Senior Research Fellow at Bayes Business School, City, University of London, the report also shows that a significant portion (42 per cent) of the £170 billion of loans outstanding will have to be refinanced within 12 months. Dr Lux expects that will cause ongoing stress in the market. More →

April 24, 2024

Wellbeing at an ‘all-time low’ claims report

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

A new report published by Dialogue Health Technologies Inc., claims that overall wellbeing is at a low point as people struggle with lifestyle challenges around sleep and physical activity. Wellbeing Report: A benchmark for Canadian health, based on data gathered through Dialogue’s Wellbeing Score benchmarking thousands of people across Canada, is indicative of trends seen across the globe. More →

April 18, 2024

Majority of young professionals feel happy about embracing AI in their lives

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology

More than half of young professionals feel comfortable or very confident about the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in various aspects of daily life, while only 15 percent reported feeling unsettled or scared about the prospect, according to new research from CEMS, the Global Alliance in Management Education. Half (50 percent) also stated that social media impacts their life positively, while only just over a quarter (27 percent) feel that social media has a negative impact on their lives. Overall, 70 percent of graduates said that they feel optimistic about the future. More →

April 15, 2024

Open competition launched to find design team for new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, News, Workplace design

The Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, Real Estate Company ADM, the City of Helsinki and SAFA the Finnish Association of Architects have launched an international, open design competition to find a design team for a new 10,050 sq m (GFA) museum building in Helsinki’s South Harbour. The new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki, Finland, is planned to open in 2030 and will combine the Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki. These institutions were successfully merged in January 2024, and the new museum will retain and grow the staff of both its predecessors. More →

April 9, 2024

Being furloughed affected people’s sense of time and relationship with work

by Victoria J E Jones • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Between March 2020 and September 2021, millions of workers furloughed under the UK government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme lived what for many of us is a dream: being paid not to work. Through interviews, I’ve researched the impact of this time on 35 people who were furloughed under the scheme. I found that for some, furlough created opportunities for reflection and growth, but for most of my interviewees it was a time of uncertainty and disorientation. More →

April 9, 2024

The significance of women’s health is increasingly acknowledged in the modern workplace

by Olga Kokshagina • Comment, Wellbeing

Women, on average, outlive men but, as reported by the World Economic Forum (WEF, 2024), spend approximately 25 percent of their lives in poor health. According to the WEF, addressing the disparities in women’s health could dramatically reduce this statistic, enhancing the lives of billions globally. Notably, strategic improvements in women’s healthcare could add an average of seven days of healthy living per year for each woman, cumulatively offering more than 500 additional healthy days over a lifetime. This progression not only promises to elevate the quality of life for women but also holds the potential to boost the global economy by at least $1 trillion annually by 2040. More →

March 13, 2024

Forty percent of companies calling staff back to the office five days a week

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Two in five companies are returning to a five-days-in-the-office work week, according to new data from Virgin Media O2. The Telecoms giant’s Movers Index suggest that around 40 percent of firms now require five-day-a-week office work. Meanwhile, 92 percent of companies had some kind of mandatory in-office policy. Wednesday remains the top day for office work, with about three quarters of office workers coming in for the midweek. More →

March 9, 2024

Industry: the art of working from anywhere

by Eugenia Anastassiou • Comment, Everything Omni, Flexible working

Walking into Bristol-based artist Gail Reid’s studio, I literally stopped in my tracks! There it was a painting of everything I had been researching and writing about with workplace strategist Chris Kane for our book “Where Is My Office?” both pre-and post-pandemic. Gail, was a Semi-Finalist in this year’s Sky Art’s Portrait Artist Of The Year – alas she didn’t make the final – although she impressed everyone with her talent and charisma. She also impressed me in managing to convey via the very traditional medium of an oil painting, a quintessential 21st century phenomenon – working from anywhere. More →