January 22, 2024

Woven Image adds five new colours to its acoustic offering

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Furniture

The allure of the natural world is the inspiration for Woven Image’s extended colour palette with 5 new colours: dusk, mint, butter, cayenne and nutmeg. By embracing the ongoing evolution of colour and textural finishes in the built environment, these portfolio refreshments from Woven Image support interior designers and architects to deliver sustainable, acoustic solutions that evoke moods of relaxation and happiness through clever function and aesthetics. More →

January 21, 2024

Senator Group opens new showroom in Dubai

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Furniture

Dubai has long been the destination of choice to showcase the most iconic of British Designs, and now it is the home to The Senator Group’s newest showroom. The 3700 square foot space is nestled in Dubai’s Marina Plaza, a 28-story tower with panoramic views of the marina, city, and desert. Visitors to the showroom will fully experience, ‘The Social Office’, which blends the Senator and Allermuir brands to create a fluid and flexible contemporary working space. The concept was developed to address the challenges of every organisation, how can we align people and space efficiently, to nurture productivity and culture? How can we create human-centred environments with the right mix of focus, privacy, and collaboration? More →

January 18, 2024

British workers don’t want people to think of them as ambitious

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Ambition is a word now out of favour in the British workplace, according to Randstad’s latest global Workmonitor survey [registration] with workers in the UK less willing to describe themselves as ambitious than workers in other countries. The research, which surveyed 27,000 workers in 34 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas, shows that while more than half (56 percent) of workers globally consider themselves to be ambitious, only 42 percent of workers in the UK do. Workers in other countries — including China (80 percent), Malaysia (73 percent), and India (90 percent) — are more likely to describe themselves as “having career ambition”. More →

January 18, 2024

Entries now open for the Sustainable Design Collective Annual Awards

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Environment, Furniture

The Sustainable Design Collective (SDC) – a think tank of leading design professionals working in the office workplace sector – has opened entries for its annual awards. The announcement follows confirmation of the dates for the second SD Forum to be held on 25th April at the Crypt on the Green in Clerkenwell, London. Free to enter, the Awards are designed to champion ‘best practice’ and highlight innovations leading to greater sustainability within the office workplace. There are three categories: New build and retrofit projects; New products and materials; Innovation including new services or IT solutions as well as collaborations with not-for-profit organisations. More →

January 18, 2024

People have some very interesting views about their own productivity, and that of everybody else

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Just as everybody thinks they are a better than average driver or more intelligent than average, a new survey from HR and payroll software provider Ciphr suggests that employees self-rate their own productivity far higher than they rate other people’s productivity levels. They also think that people working in HR, marketing, and senior management roles are the least productive. According to the poll, UK employees perceive HR teams as being particularly unproductive, compared to other colleagues and departments in their organisations. More →

January 18, 2024

Office trends may come and go, but some values (such as good ergonomics) are eternal

by Luke Munro • Company news

In 2024, Wellworking celebrates 25 years of being in business, a milestone I’m proud of in such a competitive market. A lot has changed over that time, and I’m excited by just how much working habits will transform over the next few decades too. When I first established the company in 1999, it was called Home Working Solutions as I felt there were increasing numbers of people working from home that needed appropriate furniture to do that. It was important to me that they had access to quality ergonomic products as I felt that people working from home had very few options on offer at the time. More →

January 17, 2024

CEOs remain optimistic about short term growth, quarter are planning to replace people with AI

by Neil Franklin • AI, Business, News, Technology

The proportion of CEOs who believe global economic growth will improve over the next 12-months has more than doubled. At the same time, the proportion of CEOs concerned about their long-term business viability has risen to 45 percent as tech and climate pressures accelerate, according to PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey. However the survey, published to coincide with the annual World Economic Forum jamboree in Davos, also reports that artificial intelligence will result in dramatic job losses in 2024 and beyond. A quarter intend to cut their headcounts by at least five percent “due to generative AI. More →

January 17, 2024

A divine spark of inspiration for office occupiers and designers

by Mark Eltringham • Briefing, Premium Content, Workplace design

Organisations are having to rethink the form and function of their offices in ways unprecedented in their relatively short history. And perhaps the biggest challenge is to create places to work that reflect the organisation’s culture and the needs of the people who work there (some of the time). One possible framework for aligning an office design model with the culture of the organisation is presented in a supplement published in the current issue of IN Magazine called Gods of Work. Published in partnership with Modus, it draws on management and organisational theory and established models of office design to suggest solutions to some of the challenges facing organisations as they rethink the way they work. The office of the future for most organisations will be smaller, but much better and we hope this becomes an invaluable guide for those setting out on that path.

January 16, 2024

Herman Miller expands OE1 Workspace Collection

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Furniture

Introducing the OE1 Sit-Stand Table and other essential pieces for agile workspaces. The OE1 Workspace Collection from Herman Miller, designed by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin of London-based Industrial Facility is being updated to include new productivity-enhancing solutions. More →

January 16, 2024

The average day off includes about two and a half hours of work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A recent study by Forbes Advisor claims that a quarter (25 percent) of UK employees will work between three and four hours on days when they are officially “off the clock”. The survey found that the average Brit will spend up to two-and-a-half hours working while technically having a day off on holiday or leave. More →

January 16, 2024

Employers must act to offer more choices to people

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Henley Business School’s World of Work Institute has published a new report on what it calls The Omniployment Era The report claims to identify which what a post-Covid, post-Great Resignation workforce looks like. The study identifies six distinct worker ‘segments’* in the UK workforce and quantifies what attracts and retains them in jobs, and provides advice to businesses on how to build a strong workforce. More →

January 16, 2024

Technology is stealing your time in ways you may not realise

by Ruth Ogden, Joanna Witowska and Vanda Cernohorská • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier. Smart phones provide a palm-size window to the world, enabling us to do almost anything at the touch of a button. Smart homes look after themselves, and virtual meetings mean that for many, time spent commuting is a thing of the past. So we should have more free time. Time which is now spent sleeping, relaxing or simply doing nothing – right? More →