September 26, 2019
Despite a seeming shift towards companies embracing more collaborative workplace environments across Europe, the benefits of ‘hot-desking’ and open plan working seem to still be contentious for many workers. With this in mind, Savills, in association with YouGov, has conducted a survey of 11,000 office workers across the continent to understand just What Workers Want. More →
September 26, 2019
A new report published jointly by Instant Group and Area addresses the issue of how ensure workplaces address the physical, technological and personal needs of the growing number of people who have a choice about where they work. The report explores what employers can do to ensure that the workplace is still a place where people want to be.
September 25, 2019
Around a quarter of firms worldwide and mid-sized companies are shifting permanent roles to contingent work positions this year to remain agile, according to a report from Randstad Sourceright. The quarterly Talent Trends study (registration), based on responses from executives, HR managers and other professionals across 17 markets worldwide, claims that businesses are using gig and freelance workers to fill formerly permanent positions. More →
September 19, 2019
Flexible working, sharing information about local clean air routes and incentivising active travel are just some of the ideas being put to businesses today as new research suggests employers need to do more to address the issue of air quality and pollution for staff both in the workplace and on their commute. More →
September 18, 2019
Unless the Government steps up efforts to manage the transition to automation, many people and entire regions of the UK face being left behind and British businesses could find themselves becoming less competitive, says the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee in a report published today.
More →
September 18, 2019
More than half of all female professionals – 57 percent – have never attempted to negotiate a pay rise, according to a new report from professional recruitment firm Robert Walters. Its findings suggest that men are 23 percent more likely to negotiate a pay rise across all stages of their career, even though the amount that negotiators pitch for is not far removed from their female counterparts. More →
September 17, 2019
It’s interesting to watch what happens when politicians – even more so than normal people – are faced with evidence they don’t like. And it’s especially interesting when they asked for the evidence in the first place. You can pick your own examples but it was interesting to note Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell’s immediate and decidedly lukewarm response to his own report into the wisdom of introducing a 4 day week, which concluded that the idea is ‘not realistic or even desirable’. More →
September 12, 2019
An overwhelming majority (83 percent) of UK office employees are unable to concentrate in meetings for over 45 minutes, yet research from Sharp reveals that the average meeting lasts 49 minutes. This finding was supported by 55 percent of those surveyed, who claimed that work meetings are too long. This dissatisfaction appears to be caused by the difficulty in sustaining concentration in long meetings, with only 36 percent of UK employees indicating they are able to concentrate for a full 30 minutes. More →
September 9, 2019
As many as 120 million workers in the world’s 12 largest economies may need to be retrained or reskilled over the next three years as a result of the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, according to a new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) study. It also suggests that only 41 percent of CEOs surveyed say that they have the people, skills and resources required to execute their business strategies.
September 6, 2019
Hot-desking is a scourge on modern work. That’s the only conclusion you will draw by reading ‘The hidden hell of hot-desking is much worse than you think’ (published in the FT on 28 July 2019) and dozens more like it that continue to appear in national media and top business titles. The piece contends that organisations are using the guise of agile working to excuse their cost-saving prerogative. In reality it is a penny-pinching ploy that “strips people of their own desk and casts them out to the noisy, chaotic wasteland of shared work spots,” or so we’re told. More →
September 6, 2019
The debate on open plan versus enclosed offices rages on, but workplace design is not a such a simple dichotomy. Furthermore, office occupants clearly have different workplace preferences depending on factors like personality, personalisation, flexibility and sense of belonging etc. Herman Miller and Workplace Trends sponsored Workplace Unlimited to conduct a short on-line survey to help unravel some of the more personal factors underlying preferences in the modern office that are often forgotten or ignored. More →
September 10, 2019
Are coworking spaces really all the same?
by Uri Bar-Joseph • Comment, Coworking, Technology, Workplace design
More →