February 21, 2022

ORGATEC TOKYO premiere already fully booked

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

As an spin-off of the leading trade fair ORGATEC in Cologne, ORGATEC TOKYO promises a full-flavoured start to the ORGATEC year 2022. More than 80 leading brands will be showcasing their products and services at the inaugural ORGATEC TOKYO event, which runs from 26 to 28 April. Around six weeks before ORGATEC Tokyo opens its doors, the trade fair has already chalked up its first success: the entire Tokyo Big Sight, South Halls 1+2 exhibition space set aside for ORGATEC Tokyo is now fully booked. Leading brands such as Kokuyo, Okamura, Itoki, Uchida, Plus, Karimoku, Knoll, Wilkhahn, USM, UniFor, Kvadrat, Arper (pictured), Cassina and Häfele have confirmed they will be present. More →

February 20, 2022

Firms will need to build bridges with employees as they adapt to hybrid working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

As we enter a new phase of working life following the short term changes made to cope with the pandemic, the three key priorities for the 1,300 employers surveyed by the Benefits & Human Resources Consulting operation of Gallagher for its 2021/2022 State of the Sector report (registration) are: the need to re-engage their teams around purpose, strategy and values (53 percent); the need to adapt communication channels to engage the workforce better as they move to newly implemented models of hybrid working (39 percent); and the need to enhance people manager communications (31 percent). More →

February 20, 2022

New flooring design from IVC explores the principles of architectural geometry

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Flooring

The new Contour carpet tile collection from IVC Commercial applies the principles of architectural geometry to carpet tile flooring design in two styles to mix and match with other collections. In Perspective, biomorphic principles express the structural integrity of honeycomb, while View is a design of intersecting lines that explores geometrical projection. More →

February 18, 2022

Hybrid working now just a fact of life for those people able to work flexibly

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Hybrid working has become commonplace for those employees able to work from home, a survey of firms has suggested. More than 80 percent of people said their employers had adopted hybrid working, most of them since the pandemic, according to the survey for the Chartered Institute of Management (CMI). However a majority of business are also actively encouraging employees to return to the office as part of their new working culture. More →

February 15, 2022

Despite the talk of the Great Resignation, most people actually enjoy their jobs

by Neil Franklin • Jobs, News, Workplace

While many people may be busy considering their career options as part of the ‘Great Resignation’, a new poll claims that the majority of Brits actually enjoy their jobs. According to data from HR software provider CIPHR around two-thirds (65 percent) of the 1,031 employees polled said they either love or like their current jobs (19 percent and 46 percent respectively). CIPHR took the findings of how people feel about their jobs and grouped people with related job titles together (using the Office for National Statistics’ standard occupational classifications) to compile a list of the UK’s best-loved – and also least-liked – occupations: www.ciphr.com/uks-favourite-jobs. More →

February 15, 2022

The opportunities and challenges of new technologies for AML

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Technology

Back in 2021 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put out a paper on the opportunities and challenges that new technologies are bringing to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) efforts. If you are unaware of who the FATF is it may be worth your while to investigate farther into it. For now, though, let it be known that they are an independent inter-governmental body that defines the rules and procedures that need to be in place to prevent these two criminal activities. More →

February 15, 2022

Skills crisis intensifies as demand for white collar jobs outstrips supply

by Neil Franklin • Jobs, News

Demand for people to fill permanent and contracted white-collar jobs while the UK continues to battle a skills crisis. That’s according to the latest Recruitment Trends Snapshot report from The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). The data provided by Bullhorn, claims that demand for contractors was also up year-on-year, increasing 38 percent. Month-on-month figures also showed a spike in jobs, with permanent and contract vacancies increasing 104 percent and 78 percent between December and January, which can be attributed to a bounce back following a seasonal lull. More →

February 14, 2022

Costa Coffee opts for My Work Booth to offer mobile workers a bookable quiet space

by Freddie Steele • Company news

My Work Booth has collaborated with Costa Coffee to fulfil the need of mobile workers for confidential meeting spaces in public areas. The pilot scheme sees the introduction of the four Framery Pods into Costa locations in London and Manchester, providing a sound proofed environment for concentrated working and confidential meetings/calls bookable via the My Work Booth app. More →

February 11, 2022

Women demand employer support to work through menopause

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Research commissioned by Gympass claims that many women are struggling to work through menopause, with empathy and support at the office in short supply. According to the survey, 81 percent of the women aged 45-64 say their employer doesn’t provide help and 66 percent didn’t feel able to speak to their boss about the challenges they face at work. More →

February 8, 2022

Remote work monitoring software used by four in five employers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

According to a new report from Instant Offices (registration), four in five employers whose staff are offered hybrid or remote work are already using employee monitoring tools to track work performance and activity. According to the study: 78 percent of companies report using employee monitoring software to track worker performance and online activity; 73 percent say stored recordings of calls, emails, and messages have affected team members’ performance reviews; over 50 percent say they are implementing non-traditional monitoring techniques; and 94 percent of employers track emails. More →

February 7, 2022

New issue of IN Magazine is now online

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Premium Content

The January 2022 issue of IN Magazine is now online. In this issue we: visit what is claimed to be the best office in the world; consider whether the experience of our daily lives is shaped more by maintenance than design; challenge the idea of people as blank slates; look at a new generation of datacentre design; explore the regional flex office market; ask how rising energy costs will impact remote workers; talk to manufacturers using waste and unwanted materials to create new products; hear from Robert Bolton of KPMG on a new era for HR; and learn about how intentional design applies to the workplace. All back issues of IN Magazine are available here.

February 7, 2022

Half of unemployed men aged 50+ out of work for at least a year

by Jayne Smith • Jobs, News, Workplace

There were nearly 200,000 men aged 50 and older out of work between September and November 2021 – an increase of 24 percent in two years – and 50 percent of them were unemployed for at least a year, according to new analysis from Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for older people. Rest Less analysed the latest labour market data from the Office of National Statistics to find that unemployed men aged 50+ are significantly more likely to be in long-term unemployment, defined as out of work for at least a year, than any other age group. More →