July 18, 2019
With a recent report from Henley Business School highlighting that a shorter working week could add to businesses’ bottom lines through increased staff productivity and uplift in staff physical and mental health, a study from ADP (registration) has further emphasised these findings. ADP’s research claims almost two-thirds of UK workers (61 percent) would opt for a four day week at work if they had the choice. More →
July 17, 2019
Team-based collaborative work is increasing as people in the UK now spend 55 percent of their time working with others, according to new Steelcase research. This global trend toward collaboration is critical for organisations which need to quickly generate new ideas and solve complex problems; yet, the new study suggests many workplaces do not support this team-based work. More →
July 17, 2019
Revisiting a company motto or philosophy is necessary in an ever-changing world, but it can disrupt people’s sense of “who we are” and should be carefully managed to ensure the firm continues to thrive in the future, according to new research from UCL School of Management. The study was based on the study of a large database of corporate mottos of long-established Japanese firms. It focused on 25 cases still in operation today, using a combination of archival and interview data to investigate when, why, and how they had revised their historical mottos in times of change. The findings are reported in an article forthcoming in the Strategic Management Journal. More →
July 16, 2019
Unily has released a report analysing the trends and issues shaping the workplace of tomorrow. The report, ‘Future of the Workplace 2030+’, has been co-created with the futurist Anne Lise Kjaer, a regular on the TED Talks circuit best known for the book The Trend Management Toolkit. Looking at the transformation of our working lives over the next 10 years and beyond, the report explores both the challenges and the opportunities as companies prepare for a new wave of technological advances and a new generation of workers. It sets out specific challenges including how to incorporate Generation Z in the workplace, integrate new technology and face greater scrutiny of organisational values. It also suggests that new jobs will emerge such as ‘Vice President of No’, ‘Professional Rebel’ and ‘Ideas Broker’. More →
July 12, 2019
A new urban model is emerging worldwide – transforming the way cities design and use physical space, generate economic wealth, consume and dispose of resources, exploit and sustain the natural ecosystems they need, and prepare for the future. This emerging new urban paradigm has profound implications for players who care about and depend on the design of a city’s built infrastructure – including architects, engineers, builders, real estate developers, and office building tenants. More →
July 12, 2019
Companies owned by families pay more attention to issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR), such as sustainability and environmental issues, according to research from Vlerick Business School, but the research also found that attention to CSR decreases as the company is handed down to the next generations. Dr. Kerstin Fehre, Professor of Strategy at Vlerick Business School, alongside Dr. Florian Weber from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, studied family firms and the attention they gave to CSR compared to non-family firms. The study, published in the journal Business Ethics: A European Review, used over a hundred of the largest HDAX listed companies in Germany and analysed messages to shareholders published in annual reports. More →
July 11, 2019
There is a typically telling and intelligent Pixar moment in the film A Bug’s Life in which an already well-lubricated mosquito goes up to a bar and orders a ‘Bloody Mary, O Positive’. The barman plonks a droplet of blood down on the bar. The mosquito sinks his proboscis into it, sucks it down in one go and promptly falls over. The mosquito doesn’t need a glass because that is for animals who have a problem with gravity. For insects, the major force in their lives isn’t gravity, but surface tension. More →
July 10, 2019
While it’s stated full-time working hours in the UK should be around 38-40 hours per week, today’s hyperconnected world means it’s easier than ever to be ‘on the clock’ outside this timeframe. Constant access to emails and the corresponding ‘telepressure’ to respond quickly to customers and colleagues means the line between ‘work time’ and ‘me time’ is blurred. This has led to the coining of a new term for the rising epidemic of stress linked to this need to be connected to work. It’s called work separation anxiety.
July 10, 2019
July 8, 2019
Volkswagen has opened its new ‘We Campus’ in Berlin and claims that the agile working principles used in its design will transform the working lives and output of the 900 people at the facility. The campus will bring together about experts from Volkswagen and other firms who have previously worked at different locations. Volkswagen claims that the centre will be an essential part of what it calls the We ecosystem, which includes an electric car sharing service WeShare which has been launched in Berlin with 1,500 e-Golf cars. Volkswagen also plans to create new future-oriented jobs at the campus. More →
July 5, 2019
A four day working week could save UK businesses an estimated £104 billion annually, while improving productivity and their environmental performance according to new research from Henley Business School. The research claims that a shorter working week on the same pay could add to businesses’ bottom lines through increased staff productivity and an uplift in staff physical and mental health, whilst also resulting in a cleaner environmental footprint. Henley’s ‘Four Better or Four Worse?’ white paper exploring the issue claims that of those businesses who have already adopted a four day week, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) have reported improvements in staff productivity. More →
July 18, 2019
Ergonomics regulations are no longer fit for purpose
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Legal news, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design
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