Search Results for: media

December 11, 2014

New report uncovers habits and habitats of London’s workplace tribes

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Workplace

City workers have been proven to ‘work hard and play hard’ more than those in other areas of Greater London, according to an extensive study of the capital’s office workers. Those in the Square Mile have the longest hours (45.3), spend most nights out drinking (two) and as a consequence suffer from the highest number of hangovers on a weekly basis. The findings are part of a research project by Avanta Serviced Office Group, to reveal the contrasting habits, characteristics and lifestyles of those working in different areas. The study questioned over 1,500 office workers across the city and found: City of London workers are most likely to ‘work hard and play hard’, often snoozing in the workplace at lunchtime to catch up on their sleep; weary West Enders are out-shopped by workers in the City; Islington is the cycling and social media capital of London; and Croydon has the most office romances.

December 10, 2014

Barclays converts underutilised offices into free co-working spaces

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design

Social enterprises, business start-ups and community groups will be offered free co-working space by Barclays as part of an initiative called Hatch, developed in partnership with charity 3Space. The programme aims to transform underutilised Barclays’ properties into office space for social entrepreneurs, early stage local businesses and community groups, charities and other qualifying organisations. The first Hatch project has opened its doors in Oxford (above), with a further three set to open in 2015. 3Space claim that Hatch will provide for a unique combination of creative, social and community needs, helping more people get their business ideas off the ground, experiment and share ideas as well as access advice on business and technology. The spaces should also provide a central hub for communities, hosting local events and meetings.

December 4, 2014

Most people will continue to work in traditional offices for foreseeable future

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

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The office remains the favoured location for work worldwide but there remains an ongoing mismatch between perceptions of the productivity and performance of flexible working employees and the reality, says a major new report from Dell and Intel. According to the Global Evolving Workplace Report based on a survey of nearly 5,000 employees worldwide, the idea that remote workers are less productive is particularly apparent in developed countries. In the UK, people are two times more likely to believe that colleagues who work from home are less rather than more productive. In Germany, 75 percent of respondents saw the ability to work from home as a special privilege. Meanwhile, of those employees surveyed in developing countries, over one-third (34 percent) see home workers as more productive, compared to 32 percent who believe they get less done.

December 3, 2014

Focus on the wellbeing of the occupants of the office, not that of the building

by Maciej Markowski • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace

If you ask a typical corporation about their real estate strategy you will most probably hear a lot about rationalisation, minimising cost and synergy. Real estate strategy should include all these but a cost-cutting approach can be very short-sighted. Staff costs usually account to about 90 per cent of the business operating cost, while any improvement in staff’s productivity will have a stronger and more positive outcome than any cost saving on a building. The recently released World Green Building Council (WGBC) report Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices developed with the support of JLL, Lend Lease and Skanska, clearly shows that the design of an office has a strong impact on the health, wellbeing and productivity of its occupants. It describes the impact of acoustics, interior layout, look & feel, amenities, air quality, thermal comfort, location, daylight and user control on occupants. But it doesn’t stop there.

November 24, 2014

Derry is the latest city to offer free Wi-Fi in all public places

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Flooring, News, Technology

The City of Derry in Northern Ireland has announced that it is to introduce free Wi-Fi in all public places. The local council is to work with local business owners to introduce the programme in conjunction with the national Super Connected Cities scheme funded by the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s Urban Broadband Fund. Full rollout of the programme is expected by the first half of next year and will be accessible to anybody who registers for unlimited access to the city’s network. The initiative claims that it ‘is geared towards increasing digital engagement and energising cultural and economic activity within the city. The network will be available for free public use, with the benefits of being easy to connect, filtered for user protection and scalable for future expansion.’ Derry is Northern Ireland’s second largest city and has in recent years focused inward investment on the digital sector. Last week, we reported on how the Italian Government is looking to offer free Wi-Fi in all public places across the country.

November 24, 2014

Arup and UCL report offers up lessons from smart cities pioneers

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Knowledge, News, Technology

A new report published by engineering and design consultancy Arup and University College London claims that the pioneers of the smart cities movement need to take a more strategic approach to ensure that their spending on IT infrastructure is effective in meeting their objectives. The report Delivering the Smart City: Governing Cities in the Digital Age is based on research of eight cities including London and Bristol in the UK alongside a number of other prominent global cities such as Chicago, Barcelona, Stockholm and Hong Kong. The report found that the cities spend an average of 6 percent of their expenditure on IT services and technology, which amounts to approximately £23 million per city across the study and is roughly equivalent to the amount budgeted in the financial services sector worldwide. While the authors welcome this as a sign that tech spending is taken seriously, they also claim that more could be done to target this spending effectively and tailored to the specific needs of each city depending on factors such as its ‘ecosystem’, culture and governance. It believes that the lessons from this are appropriate to all cities, not just those already pursuing a smart agenda.

November 13, 2014

Case Study: AutoTrader motors into its new Manchester digital playground

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

Even in the context of a rapidly declining print market, the decision to end AutoTrader’s 37-year history as a printed magazine was not an easy one to take. At its height, Auto Trader had a circulation of 368,000, but in June 2013 the final printed copy rolled off the presses and the business began its new incarnation as a purely digital platform. Of course, this transformation was a long time in the making and had actually begun ten years earlier. By the time the print room lights went out, all of Auto Trader’s revenues had not only migrated online, but experienced significant growth too. It is Auto Trader’s growth during this process of transformation that is considered so unique in the publishing world and is proof that the business’ aspiration to be at the forefront of the digital marketplace is not just a wide-eyed intention. The website boasts 11.5million unique users, carrying out more than 140 million searches across mobile, table and desktop devices and the business is set to launch an extensive TV advertising campaign on boxing day.

November 6, 2014

Unethical behaviour at work may reflect a blame culture with little trust or integrity

by Sara Bean • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

In the same week Mind revealed that many workers are reluctant to admit to feeling stressed, comes data which shows high levels of unethical behaviour in Britain’s workplaces. And the two pieces of research are not unrelated. In a survey of over 1,600 managers by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), almost three quarters (72%) had witnessed employees lying to cover their mistakes, with the same number reporting their colleagues cut corners and delivered substandard work. A further 68% had seen people badmouthing team members behind their backs. The fault lies in workplaces that foster a blame culture, where staff are worried about owning up to mistakes. This causes undue stress and people taking a combative, rather than collaborative approach. The findings formed part of ILM’s ‘The truth about trust’ report into trust and integrity in the UK workplace, which highlights the business benefits of high-trust high-integrity working environments. More →

November 2, 2014

The safety regulations to consider when designing a new workspace

by Tom Grey • Comment, Legal news, Property

There’s no doubt about it, designing and managing a new workspace is a challenge at the best of times. With so many different aspects to consider, designers must create a space that is both aesthetically pleasing to work in, while ensuring that the safety of the people working in the building, and the public exposed to the redesign work, is being prioritised. Designing and managing a building project is a lengthy process that requires meticulous planning to make sure you are fully equipped. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is frequently assessing the safety credentials of refurbishment projects and has demonstrated in the past that it is not afraid to dish out hefty fines to companies that fail to abide by the UK’s health and safety laws. Avoid any unwanted surprises by doing your homework, completing a risk assessment and creating a strategy of how you will complete the project in a safe, efficient manner.

October 29, 2014

Prejudice against those with mental ill health still prevails in the workplace

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The overwhelming majority (94%) of business leaders admit there is a prejudice in their organisation towards people with mental health issues, and despite claims by 88 per cent of employers that they are trying to encourage an open culture of discussion around mental health – as many as seven in ten (70%) employees don’t feel they can speak candidly about such issues or concerns. These are the results of a new study, Breaking the Silence, from Bupa, which identifies a disconnect between what leaders think they are doing to support good mental health, and what employees say they are actually experiencing. While three quarters (76%) of business leaders know that creating a mentally healthy workforce makes good business sense, leaders are not as understanding as they believe. Employers admit to labelling employees with mental health conditions unpredictable (27%), erratic (22%) and weak (22%). Meanwhile, almost half (47%) report treading on eggshells around employees who have experienced a mental health condition and one in five leaders (22%) avoid talking to them altogether. More →

October 27, 2014

Majority of UK SMEs believe technology can help rebalance the economy

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

The UK’s small and medium sized businesses believe that the regional divide in the economy can be bridged to a large extent by technology, according to a new report from Brother UK. According to the report, Regional Attitudes to Growth and Competitiveness, carried out in conjunction with Cardiff University and based on a survey of 600 SMEs around the country, over half (57 percent) believe technology was the key driver of their region’s competitiveness and only one in ten say the competitiveness of their region has declined since the start of the recession. Over two thirds (71 percent) believe technology can improve regional competitiveness and slightly more (73 percent) believe it’s possible to service customers and clients across multiple regions efficiently from their current location. The survey also claims that because each company spends an average of 244 working days a year on business travel and the UK has the second highest annual business travel spend of any Western European nation, despite its comparatively small size, many firms are turning to technology to enhance their competitiveness.

October 20, 2014

If you want to reduce the cost of your office, move to a creative area

by Maciej Markowski • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Technology

Clerkenwell Design Week

“First we shape our buildings, thereafter our buildings shape us.” Winston Churchill, House of Commons opening speech. Buildings do indeed shape us, but what seems to affect us even more is the neighbourhood. It’s the immediate environment as opposed to buildings that is much harder to create. It needs numerous factors to influence it, among them the two most precious components– the right people and enough time. Politicians all over the world dream of creating zones that will draw the most innovative companies. But it seems that most of them grow organically – the Silicon Valley in California, the Silicon Alley in New York and the Silicon Roundabout in London. The combination of low rents, proximity to the centre of a dynamic metropolis and interesting culture made the East London neighbourhood of Shoreditch, Clerkenwell and Aldgate a perfect magnet for some of the world’s most exciting companies. So should you think about relocating there too? Here are some things to consider. More →