Search Results for: working from home

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 11, 2016

Digital diversity hub launched by RICS to coincide with Coming Out Day ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News

Today is Coming Out Day and as part of a greater drive for diversity, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched a new digital hub designed to help its members create more inclusive workforces. To underscore the need for greater diversity, RICS cites a 2015 survey carried out by the Architects’ Journal, just 16 percent of gay employees believe the industry is inclusive of LGBT workers, up to a third feel that their sexuality creates barriers to career progression and 85 percent claim to have encountered homophobia at least once during their careers.

October 10, 2016

Just a quarter of workers would tell employers about mental ill health ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Almost half of UK workers (44 percent) know a colleague who has had to give up work because of stress, while more than a third of people (36 percent) say that colleagues have complained about feeling stressed to their employer, but received no support. As a result, most people (56 percent) don’t feel comfortable talking about depression or stress in the workplace. The fourth annual Employee Insight Report from Capita Employee Benefits, released to coincide with World Mental Health Day today (October 10) suggests that stigmas remain and companies should be doing more to encourage their workers to open up about mental health issues. The findings reveal that just 33 percent would feel comfortable talking to their employer if they have a mental health issue, like depression; 75 percent of respondents said they have felt stressed at work over the last 12 months but only 20 percent have taken time off work because of stress.

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

Nearly all UK cities lagging behind European average for productivity ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property, Public Sector, Technology

The UK’s major cities are lagging behind their European competitors in terms of skills, innovation and productivity, claims a new report from the Centre for Cities think tank. In Competing with the Continent, the authors argue that the onus is on the UK to come up to speed with the 330 cities covered in the report, especially if they want to compete in the new post Brexit European landscape. However, the report notes that the UK has a number of existing, structural advantages over other countries. UK cities generate around a fifth of Europe’s total economic output and contribute more to the national economy than cities in other countries. Major British cities contribute 60 percent of national GDP, compared to just 36 percent in Germany and 32 percent in Italy. The report shows that UK cities lag behind on a range of indicators including skills, innovation and productivity and a number have an industrial mix that has more in common with cities in Eastern Europe than those in the West.

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 12, 2016

Overwork and burnout affects all the generations in the workplace ⁰

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

Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers are all feeling overworked and burned out, which is motivating many to look for another job; and according to the latest Staples Business Advantage 2016 Workplace Index it’s the older workers who are most motivated at work by a sense of purpose, with Baby Boomers (46 percent) and Generation X (32 percent) having more of a sense of purpose at work than their younger Millennial counterparts (24 percent). Fifty percent of Millennials, 47 percent of Gen X, and 35 percent of Boomers however, say burnout is driving them to look for another job; with Boomers wishing their employer would decrease their workload and provide more time to complete tasks, while Gen X and Millennials are looking for a more flexible schedule and work-life blend. Aesthetics in the office are also key, regardless of age, as 51 percent of Millennials, 44 percent of Gen X, and 33 percent of Boomers would like to see more attention paid to office design.

September 8, 2016

What do Millennials and Gen Z want from work? The same as everybody else ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

More evidence that younger people are in fact people after all emerges with the publication of a new report from Randstad and Future Workplace. The study of over 4,000 individuals worldwide claims that despite widespread belief, 41 percent of Generation Z employees believe that collaborative, corporate offices combined with a degree of autonomy and flexibility is their preferred way to work. They prefer bosses with strong communication skills, value face to face meetings, are irritated by distractions and believe they will probably have a career focussed oln one specific sector. As a follow-up to a previous study conducted in 2014, the Gen Z & Millennials Collide@Work report focuses on the impact of Gen Z entering the workplace for the first time and how Millennials are engaging with them. Both studies claim that Gen Z and Millennials continue to prefer communicating with co-workers and managers in-person in lieu of email and phone.

September 7, 2016

Report published on employing older workers to help close labour gap ⁰

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

A new report – published to encourage employers to create more age friendly workplaces – warns of a widening labour gap in the UK. Between 2005 and 2015 the number of people working over the age of 50 in the UK increased by 2.5 million. By 2022, the UK economy will need to fill 14.5 million job vacancies created by people leaving the workforce and by new positions being created; but it is estimated that there will only be seven million young people available to fill them – leaving a labour shortage of 7.7 million people. Yet currently, one million older people who are not in work want to work and if just half of these were to move into employment GDP would increase by up to £88 billion a year. Business in the Community’s new report, Age in the Workplace, supported by the Centre for Ageing Better, advises employers on how to implement practical changes; such as introducing more flexible hours, which will help improve the recruitment and retention of older workers.

September 1, 2016

Commuting is making us more stressed and more fat, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The average UK commuter adds almost 800 calories to their diet every week as a result of their journey to and from work, according to our new report, Health in a Hurry, from the UK’s Royal Society for Public Health. The study of around 1,500 people claims that the average time spent commuting in the UK has increased in recent years to almost an hour a day, and suggests longer commutes are therefore potentially shortening lives. The report highlights the impact of travelling to and from work caused by forms of passive commuting including rail, bus and car. It says that this part of the daily routine has a huge impact on the public’s health and wellbeing with longer commute times associated with increased stress, higher blood pressure and BMI, and reduced time available for health-promoting activities such as cooking, exercising and sleeping. Commuters in London have an average journey of 79 minutes while it is just under 45 minutes for people living in Wales.

August 30, 2016

Overwork leads to sleeplessness and lower workplace productivity ⁰

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

A new study claims that there is a direct link between sleep and productivity. A survey of more than 97,000 employees in 33 industries and 139 countries from Global Corporate Challenge (GCC), found evidence of a link between sleep and performance. Currently, one in three adults regularly fail to get enough sleep, according to the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and Harvard Medical School estimates that the cost adds up to USD $63.2 billion annually. This includes money lost through absenteeism as well as the accidents, mistakes, and impaired productivity employees suffer when they do show up to work. And the one of the primary causes is working long hours and forms of presenteeism such as checking emails at home. To help combat this problem the report urges those at the top of the organisation to set an example and demonstrate that working long hours in exchange for reduced sleep is counterproductive and won’t be encouraged.

August 9, 2016

Watercooler moments are the key to workplace wellness claims study ⁰

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

The skills people require to perform at their optimum throughout the working day, such as patience, focus and diplomacy can be fuelled by the food they’ve eaten; while ‘the wrong kind of fuel can derail their whole day,’ a new academic report has found. And the study in the journal Food, Culture & Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research reveals that water is the main redeemer of ‘negative nutrition’ in the workplace; not only because it provides vital hydration for physical wellness but because it encourages people to walk to the watercooler or break out area to drink. According to the researchers, a culture of grabbing something quick to eat amid a mounting pile of to-dos at work often leads to making the wrong decisions when searching for something to eat in the workplace. Unplanned cakes and the emergence of ‘food altars’; central places for leftovers from work meetings or unhealthy snacks present workers with endless choice.