May 10, 2022
Six South of England and South Wales workplaces have been recognised at the annual British Council for Offices’ (BCO) Regional Awards. The South of England and South Wales Awards Dinner returned in-person at We the Curious at Bristol Harbourside, recognising the highest quality developments in the South of England and South Wales and setting the standard for excellence in the office sector across the UK. More →
May 2, 2022
Six workplaces across the North of England and Northern Ireland have been recognised at the annual British Council for Offices (BCO) Regional Awards today. The Northern BCO Awards dinner returned in-person to the Kimpton Clocktower in Manchester, recognising the North’s highest quality developments and setting the standard for excellence in the office sector across the UK. More →
April 28, 2022
Even before the pandemic, statistics were making the case for workplaces to be made up of more intelligent buildings. This includes the fact that offices generally operate at around 55-60 percent utilisation, and as we return to the office are currently at 45 percent utilisation. From presenteeism to absenteeism and many other factors in between, workplaces have seldom been utilised by entire workforces at the same time. However, the prevailing approach has been for firms to drive an office setup with one-to-one desking – a seat for every employee, even though five in 10 would not be in at any one time. More →
April 13, 2022
The idea of the cargo cult derives from anthropological observations made about the behaviour of societies that encounter more technologically advanced societies. In particular it is rooted in those rituals and objects created by Pacific islanders in an attempt to attract modern goods and technology and generally earn favour with people who they thought could prevent terrible events. More →
March 29, 2022
The first Omnirama event on the 23rd of March launched the series exploring different factors challenging the world of work in a time of prevailing uncertainty. Underlying Ominirama’s raison d’etre is that recent events have turned the status quo on its head with some major structural and systemic changes taking place. Nobody seems to have any clear idea of how to deal with this enormous transformation in the ways we work All the playbooks and all the guidance that we have all relied upon for so many years have now gone out the window. More →
March 18, 2022
If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Woody Allen’s wise observation could have been made for this year. But it’s not just true for plans that go awry, but also those that go right in unexpected ways. For example, what better time to publish a book about the links between flexible working and wellbeing than in April 2020 as large swathes of the population were adjusting to completely remote work, many of them for the first time? More →
March 3, 2022
British Land has signed 34 new deals totalling 238,000 sq ft across its central London campuses. Since the half year results, nine businesses have signed 125,000 sq ft at newly refurbished buildings at Broadgate. New occupiers include customer engagement platform, Braze (49,000 sq ft, Exchange House); proprietary trading firm, Maven Securities (38,000 sq ft, 155 Bishopsgate); US-based law firm, Jenner & Block LLP (13,000 sq ft, 10 Exchange Square) and markets’ infrastructure and technology platform, Symphony (7,000 sq ft, 135 Bishopsgate). More →
February 23, 2022
Employers who have embraced flexible working policies have seen a 20 percent improvement in employee recruitment and retention compared to two years ago, according to new global research from Targus. According to the poll, seventy percent of senior business decision-makers say flexible working policies and working environments are positively impacting recruitment and a further 76 percent say it’s positively impacting employee retention. More →
February 14, 2022
A new framework from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has been designed to improve building use, support flexible working and put people at the heart of decision making about commercial property. RICS says the International Building Operation Standard will provide organisations an interactive easy-to-use framework, supported by an assessment tool, to measure and benchmark building performance, by collecting consistent data to satisfy the latest needs of occupiers, investors, advisors and end users. More →
January 21, 2022
Companies are unprepared for the structural shift to flexible working and must do more to create responsible, personalised and experiential workplaces, a new report from JLL suggests. Intensive experimentation and piloting are needed to achieve flexible working models that will deliver a unique workplace experience for all. The JLL research claims that globally organisations are looking to continue flexibility for where and when people work with 82 percent expecting employees to work remotely into the future at least part of the time – spending on average two days every week away from the office. Yet 48 percent of organisations in Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) still have not developed a future of work programme to meet the rising demands and expectations of their staff for greater work flexibility, exceptional and sustainable workplaces and increased wellbeing. More →
January 20, 2022
Putting in overtime often comes at a cost of stress, burnout and depression. But extra work doesn’t always negatively affect wellbeing. In fact, according to recent research from academics ESCP Business School, it could be the opposite. According to the study, the crucial difference lies in the motivation behind the long hours, whether they stem from an inner desire or external pressures. More →
May 12, 2022
From commuting to computers, finding balance in the hybrid workplace
by Anni Hallila • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing