Search Results for: development

October 13, 2016

London needs to adapt to the changing world of work, claims think tank ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Cities, News, Property, Workplace design

Think Tank New London Architecture (NLA) which creates a forum for debate on the built environment, has launched its findings and recommendations from its landmark WRK / LDN Insight study on work and workplaces in London. NLA calls on central government, the Mayor of London and other stakeholders in the capital to act to maintain the capital’s position as a preeminent commercial centre. The report claims that, as the digital economy continues to expand, new suppliers of workspace are rapidly emerging – from co-working providers to ‘fab labs’, makerspaces, incubators and innovation centres. The insight study concludes that the affordable business space that currently supports these industries is at risk. London needs new innovative mixed-use models of city planning to support these changes and adapt to the changing world of work.

October 12, 2016

Government set to extend groundbreaking One Public Sector Estate programme ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Government has announced that it is to further extend its groundbreaking One Public Sector Estate scheme which supports local authorities and public sector bodies in the sharing and divestment of underutilised property. The Cabinet Office and Local Government Association have issued a joint announcement that 159 councils will join the next phase of the One Public Estate programme and that £7.5 million has been awarded to 37 partnerships made up of councils and public sector bodies. The funding will support cross public sector partnerships to work collaboratively on land and property initiatives leading to new jobs, new homes, joined up public services and savings for the taxpayer. The programme was initially launched in 2013 and has been extended to a number of local authorities and public sector bodies since

October 12, 2016

Majority of workers believe their workplace is making them ill ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

A huge number of employees (87 percent) blame their workplace for making them ill, with only 25 percent saying they feel healthy at work on a regular basis, claims a new survey from Healthcare provider Benenden. In addition, half of those surveyed (50 percent) said they felt depressed at work, with just 40 percent admitting they are happy in their place of work. The survey of 2,000 employed people reveals that nearly half of workers still go into work, despite being ill. And whether ill or not, once in work, those surveyed confessed to having regular health issues, with backache (84 percent) eye strain (42 percent) and regular migraines (27 percent) all being part of working life. In addition, just under half of respondents (at 44 percent), reported being regularly stressed at work, with a further 91 percent feeling tired several times a week at their desk. Nearly two thirds of workers (58 percent) said that work worries keep them awake at night.

October 4, 2016

Disconnect between employers and staff on attitudes to mental health ¹

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

There is a massive difference between employers’ perception of the way in which they address mental health in the workplace and those of their staff, according to a new report being published today. While the majority (97 percent) of senior managers believe that they are accessible if employees want to talk about mental health problems, almost half (49 percent) of employees would not talk to their manager about an issue. The findings from the Mental Health at Work report, by the charity Business in the Community are that more than three quarters (77 percent) of employees have experienced symptoms of poor mental health in their lives, and for 62 percent of employees work has been a contributing factor to their symptoms. Despite this, over half of employees (56 percent) who disclosed symptoms of said that their employer took no mitigating actions and only 22 percent of managers have had relevant mental health training at work.

September 29, 2016

Up to a quarter of employers fail to monitor sickness absence ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of employers still don’t record, monitor or even bother to manage sickness absence within their organisation, claims research from Group Risk Development (GRiD). Staff absence has remained static or is improving for the majority of employers, and of those that did record staff absence, 25 percent of companies say their absence has improved over the last 12 months, while for 10 percent it has worsened. Over half (55 percent) of employers said that, on average, their employees take five or fewer days off sick each year, 4 percent said on average their employees took more than 15 days off. It’s stating the obvious but given the fact so many employers disregard absence management, GRiD advises that the starting point is for companies to establish an absence policy. Their staff need to know what action to take if absent – such as who to call, and any absence needs to be recorded and monitored; as when companies know why their staff take time off work they can put appropriate measures in place.

September 28, 2016

Apple agrees to lease half million sq. ft. office at Battersea Power Station ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property, Technology

Apple has confirmed the rumours that began in the Spring of this year by announcing that it is to relocate its UK headquarters from its current base in the West End along with several other sites to the redeveloped Battersea Power Station. The site’s developers say that Apple will become the largest office tenant at the £9 billion Battersea Power Station mixed use development occupying approximately 500,000 sq. ft. across 6 floors of the central Boiler House inside the iconic building. Apple is expected to move into the Power Station in 2021 at which time the office will account for circa 40 percent of the total office space in the whole development. 1400 Apple employees from existing offices around London will relocate to one of London’s best known landmarks. Apple has added, that this is a great opportunity to have its entire team working and collaborating in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighbourhood rich with history.

September 27, 2016

Businesses failing to look at workplace effectiveness in the right way ⁰

by Tim Oldman • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

This month, the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Carolyn Fairbairn, suggested that productivity growth across all parts of the UK economy should be the number one priority for business and government. And the CBI isn’t alone in emphasising the importance of honing in on and tackling the ongoing productivity problem. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) economic forecast summary, published earlier this summer, productivity has been exceptionally weak since 2007 and doesn’t show much sign of abating nearly ten years later. Labour productivity per employee has failed to markedly rise since the global downturn and the UK is still miles behind the G7 average – that’s according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) quarterly figures and CBI data. So, to echo Fairbairn, reviving British productivity is essential to sustain growth and living standards.

September 22, 2016

The dramatic rise of the online gig economy revealed in new study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News

There has been a rapid increase in the online gig economy worldwide, according to new research from the University of Oxford. The study is based on the results of the University’s Online Labour Index which measures vacancies and activity on websites and apps related to the gig economy. It found that employers in the US are the biggest users of the online gig economy, defined as the use of workers procured over the internet for short term, piecemeal and project based work. Between May and September, US firms posted 52 percent of vacancies on the platforms followed by the UK at 6.3 percent, India at 5.9 percent, and Australia at 5.7 percent. The market grew by 9 percent over the tested period with growth fastest in the UK which saw a 14 percent increase in activity. The data also showed that software development and technology are currently the most sought-after skills. Creative and multimedia work is the second largest category, followed by clerical and data entry work.

September 22, 2016

Overwork lead employees to sandwich in lunch at their desks ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

New data suggests the further decline of the traditional UK workers’ lunch hour, as 42 percent of employees say they do not take their full lunch hour, and nearly sixty (59 percent) take less than 30 minutes. With the majority of people continuing to work during what was traditionally a break from the working routine, despite not being paid for it, the survey by healthcare advisors Benenden claims workers aren’t maximising the little time they do take, as around one in four eat at their desk five times a week with 40 percent blaming ‘too much work’. Only one fifth of those in work, take their full allotted lunch hour, and despite a boom in healthy living, there are only a small minority of workers (7 percent) who choose to exercise in their down-time. Meanwhile over half (56 percent) of respondents stated that work gets in the way of keeping active, with more than 73 percent of people saying that their employer doesn’t actively encourage it.

September 21, 2016

Innovative and ambitious disabled employees still face discrimination ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Disabled employees outperform all other groups in terms of innovation and professional ambition, according to new data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) in its paper, Attitudes to Employability and Talent. The report, which explores attitudes towards employability and responsibilities for career development in the UK, includes the attributes associated with employment and career success. Individuals with disabilities ranked more highly than any other group in the categories of ‘Brings new and innovative ideas’ and ‘A great desire to develop’. The group also scored particularly highly in the categories of ‘Fits with organisational values’, ‘Good work ethic’, ‘Reliable’, and ‘Positive attitude to work’. However, when quizzed on current approaches to recruiting from diverse workforce groups, only 11 percent of respondents said they actively target individuals with disabilities during recruitment. This is despite the fact that over half (51 percent) currently employ professionals with physical and mental health conditions. More →

September 21, 2016

Millennials no different from their elders in attitudes to the workplace ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

The portrait often drawn of Millennials is that of a generation which is keen to stand out from that of its elders, and which is difficult to pin down. They’re said to have difficulty accepting a hierarchical structure and no longer view their salary as the only motivating factor but instead are looking for a sense of accomplishment in their work. Yet as we reported recently, the behaviour and expectations of this younger generation has in fact stayed fairly constant. For them, the ideal company has attributes which are actually fairly similar to those cited by their more experienced colleagues. The result of the latest Edenred-Ipsos barometer into the under 30s suggests that for employers, the issue is not so much about dealing with this generation independently of the others, but rather globally rethinking leadership challenges in an environment which is increasingly digitalized, horizontal and multi-task oriented, taking into account individual countries’ cultural differences.

September 20, 2016

Employers will promote internal talent to meet Brexit challenge ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Bosses are divided on whether staff morale will suffer following Brexit, with 48 percent of respondents to a recent survey believing it will and 51 percent expecting no change, despite 74 percent of organisations believing employees are at least ‘somewhat concerned’ by the impact of the vote. Though the majority of companies (82 percent) believe it is their duty to keep employees informed of the potential impact of Brexit on their organisations, few (11 percent) have started communicating openly. The report by Mercer, Planning for Brexit – Talent Implications, also suggests the while the true impact of potential changes to immigration policy remains unknown so far, talent availability is being seen as a top long-term challenge. Over half (58 percent) of companies think their workforce plans will change in the longer term and the majority (66 percent) anticipate a stronger focus on developing and promoting talent from within to compensate for a possible lack of access to wider talent pools.