November 23, 2023

Half of work related illness is down to stress, depression or anxiety

Nearly two million workers in Great Britain reported suffering from work-related ill health in 2022/23, according the latest annual statistical report from the UK’s Health and Safety Executive. The statistics reveal that 1.8 million workers reported they were suffering from work-related ill health in 2022/23, with approximately half of the cases down to stress, depression or anxiety. In the recent years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of self-reported work-related ill health had been broadly flat, but the current rate is higher than 2018/19. More →

November 22, 2023

Business leaders who screw up struggle to own up and learn from their mistakes

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Leaders making mistakes can be costly not only to the organisation, but also to their own job security, which makes it difficult for them to admit when there’s been an error. However, new research from emlyon business school shows that there are some techniques CEOs can use to frame these mistakes, in order to ensure they keep their jobs, but also make changes in their organisation. When there is this clear trade-off between admitting a mistake and potentially losing power and control in the organisation, it is important that CEOs use their language effectively to create a safe space for themselves in the organisation – but how can they do so? More →

November 21, 2023

Most business leaders think generative AI will be a boon for employees

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Four out of five (81 percent) business leaders in the UK say Generative AI will benefit their employees, according to new research from LinkedIn. The top ways that UK executives believe Generative AI will benefit employees is by removing boring, repetitive tasks (64 percent), increasing productivity (52 percent) and freeing up time for bigger and more creative thinking (59 percent), according to the poll. One in three (31 percent) also believe that the rise of Generative AI will create brand new roles at their organisation. More →

November 15, 2023

Firms make lots of noise about social mobility but don’t always act on it

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new report on social mobility, conducted by the charity Making The Leap, claims that only a third of employers (35 percent) took any action on the retention and inclusion of job candidates from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds (LSEB) candidates this year. This is down from 53 percent in 2022, showing a significant decline in prioritising a key element of social mobility, and significantly lower than those that say they are focussed on recruiting candidates. More →

November 14, 2023

Republished: The brain-dead megaphone of work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Working lives

There is nothing new about any of this. And yet it’s all new. I’ve spent months talking to people who really know their stuff about work and workplaces and underlying nearly all of those conversations is the following paradox. They know about flexible working, the under-utilisation of space, the twenty minute neighbourhood, the work ecosystem, universal basic income, the digital workspace, the office as club, all the rest of it. Heard it all before, often many times, over many years. Some of them have been living it too, and yet… More →

November 12, 2023

Bisley launches new showroom in Dubai

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Bisley, the south Wales based office furniture designer and manufacturer, is consolidating its success in the Middle East region with the launch of a new Dubai showroom, the largest showroom in its global portfolio. Located in Dubai’s central business district, the new showroom joins others in Bisley’s global portfolio including New York, Paris, and Dusseldorf, and follows the summer 2023 launch of Bisley’s Manchester showroom, its first in the north of the UK, designed to service significant market growth in the northern and Scottish markets. More →

November 10, 2023

The challenge for fit-out firms is to deliver best value despite supply chain challenges

by Kevin P'ng • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

The past year has been a challenging one for London’s commercial fit-out market. Whilst industry supply and demand dynamics may have found a level of equilibrium since the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, economic disruptions, and an unstable domestic policy environment continue to have an impact. In tandem with this, the commercial fit-out market is adapting to changing needs; from accommodating hybrid working models to growing demands for sustainability and reuse, the workplaces of today are ever changing. More →

November 9, 2023

Economies need to cut carbon emissions by 7 percent annually to hit Paris target

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News

In the lead-up to the UN’s COP28 climate conference, the world’s largest CEO-led community committed to accelerating the net-zero transition is calling on businesses and governments to further slash global carbon emissions to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals. According to a report by the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), emissions must be cut back by 7 percent each year from now until 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as agreed in Paris in 2015. More →

November 7, 2023

Angry, stressed and worried. The utter state of the UK workforce in 2023

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

Gallup has published its 2023 Gallup Global Emotions report [registration] – a study of employee sentiment in the UK workforce. According to the report’s Negative Experience Index, which tracks how many people experience daily sadness, anger, stress, worry, and physical pain, full-time UK employees are experiencing historically high levels of daily negative experiences. This latest Gallup data claims that full-time UK employees scored a 32 on Gallup’s Negative Experience Index. This is up substantially from 23 in 2020. Full-time employees in the UK are now some of the most emotionally distressed in Europe, second only to employees in Malta. More →

October 17, 2023

Workplace wellness and eye health deemed essential for millennials and Gen-Z workers

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Generation Z and millennials make up a huge part of the workforce and are only continuing to grow, and with this increase, more is being asked from the workplaces that employ them. Workplace wellness is becoming increasingly essential, especially as employee well-being decreases and affects trust in employers’ efforts. With significant economic woes and work setup changes affecting professional life, 64 percent of the UK workforce would say their overall well-being is low. As such, Gen-Z and millennial workers are demanding a greater focus on workplace wellness initiatives. More →

October 16, 2023

Projects from Portugal, Belgium and France winners of the 2023 ULI Europe Awards for Excellence

by Freddie Steele • Architecture, Company news

Three built environment projects that have, respectively, restored an historic market building in Porto, delivered 182 individual school projects in Flanders, and created a hybrid, mixed use flagship development in Paris, have been announced as winners in the 2023 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Europe Awards for Excellence. The awards set out to recognise outstanding built environment projects in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, celebrating excellence in land use practice across the entire development process, from planning and construction to economics, management, sustainability and resiliency, community impact, and architecture and design. More →

October 16, 2023

London Real Estate Forum makes the right noises, but will be judged on action

by Helen Parton • Comment, Events, Property

This year’s London Real Estate Forum (LREF), held from 27-28 September at the Barbican, had a general air of optimism but tempered with the uncertainty of a general election in the next twelve months and elements of political and economic uncertainty globally. The day began with a state of the market discussion chaired by dRMM’s Sadie Morgan, with challenges facing the industry identified as the current valuation of the office market, the rate of housebuilding and the government’s lack of investment in infrastructure – the event coinciding with the furore over the cancelling of the northern part of HS2. More →