Search Results for: freelance

October 31, 2016

Newsletter: Self-image problem + Top tech trends for 2017 + Offices more productive places? ⁰

by Sara Bean • Case studies, Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; Steven Lambert argues millennials’ love of mod cons may make them dislike noisy open offices; Cathy Hayward describes a tech giant’s One Team approach to workplace management and design; and Mark Eltringham says FM is not alone in thinking that it doesn’t shout loudly enough. The majority of people prefer working in an office; Gartner highlights the top technology trends; a belief Brexit could improve European commercial real estate investment opportunities; and the majority of freelancers don’t want more employment rights. Automation could swallow a sixth of public sector jobs; flexible working behind growing popularity of self-employment; and corporate real estate sector is reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions and water usage. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

October 28, 2016

Round up: seven things you should read this week ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Flexible working, Technology

Marina Gorbis on our obsession with the non-existent skills gap

Flip Chart Rick on low pay for freelancers and why it matters to everybody

Martin Ford on the risks faced by people who sit in front of a computer – and they’re not physical

McKinsey’s extensive report on the gig economy

Janine Dixon on the disconnect between economic success and wage growth

Huw Price on preparing for the era of machines

Scott Wyatt on how science is transforming cities

October 22, 2016

Uberification of work + Future of coworking + Quest for productivity ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

In this week’s Newsletter; Anthony Brown argues Uber’s success lends a name for a process that is reshaping the commercial property sector; Mike James wonders where the gig economy and zero hours contracts are taking us; and Mark Eltringham discusses the interaction of people and technology. Two new reports highlight the growth of the freelance workforce in the UK and US; researchers analyse the impact of coworking from a corporate real estate (CRE) perspective; Barclays presents its vision of the workforce of the future; and Herman Miller unveils a new Aeron chair. The latest stage of the UK’s BIM Task Group programme is officially launched; responses to a government enquiry reveal the barriers the built environment still presents to disabled people; and a combination of financial, mental and physical health problems affect many workers. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

October 18, 2016

The global uberification of commercial property and the workplace ⁰

by Anthony Brown • Facilities management, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Technology doesn’t just transform the world, it reshapes our language. So, we all need to get used to the word uberification as well as the idea of it. Based on the success of the on demand taxi service Uber, the word refers to the way a product or service becomes available to customers on demand via the Internet. Customers book a service only at the point of consumption. This represents an entirely new commercial model and is the defining characteristic of the new 21st Century economy. Uber may have provided the tipping point, going from start up to market valuation of $66 billion in just 7 years, but its success has given us a name for a process that is reshaping businesses and customer experiences across the entire economy, including in the commercial property sector.

October 7, 2016

Are we seeing the workification of home or the homification of work? ⁰

by Anna King • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Thinking and theories about working environments continue to be much debated, of course. As part of this ongoing discussion, Bisley recently hosted an event at its London showroom to continue the aspects of the debate that focus on how offices seem to be morphing in to homes, and how our homes are, conversely, functioning as places of work. The panel discussion was led by Professor Jeremy Myerson of The Royal College of Art and WORKTECH Academy. He was joined by Kirstin Furber – People Director at BBC Worldwide, Sebastian Conran – a leading product and furniture designer, David Barrett – Head Buyer of Living, Dining and Home Office at John Lewis and Amelia Coward – Founder and Creative Director at Bombus.com.

September 22, 2016

The dramatic rise of the online gig economy revealed in new study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News

There has been a rapid increase in the online gig economy worldwide, according to new research from the University of Oxford. The study is based on the results of the University’s Online Labour Index which measures vacancies and activity on websites and apps related to the gig economy. It found that employers in the US are the biggest users of the online gig economy, defined as the use of workers procured over the internet for short term, piecemeal and project based work. Between May and September, US firms posted 52 percent of vacancies on the platforms followed by the UK at 6.3 percent, India at 5.9 percent, and Australia at 5.7 percent. The market grew by 9 percent over the tested period with growth fastest in the UK which saw a 14 percent increase in activity. The data also showed that software development and technology are currently the most sought-after skills. Creative and multimedia work is the second largest category, followed by clerical and data entry work.

September 4, 2016

Bisley release details of The Workification of Home event ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Events, Flexible working

On 14th September, Bisley is hosting a panel discussion at its showroom led by Professor Jeremy Myerson of the Royal Academy of Art. The event is called The Workification of Home – the future trend for the flexible workforce? Jeremy will be joined by a panel of experts to debate the blurring boundaries between our domestic and professional lives, the rise of the freelance economy, tech start ups, mobile technology and the trend for co-working, The panel will debate how these factors have penetrated the culture, design and expectation of where, when and how we want to work and how workers can manage and maintain a successful work/life blend, by creating effective and conducive spaces in the home. Joining Jeremy are: Kirstin Furber – People Director at BBC Worldwide; Sebastian Conran- Leading product and furniture designer; David Barrett – Buyer of Living, Dining and Home office at John Lewis; Amelia Coward – Founder and Creative Director at Bombus.com. The event takes place at 6pm on the 14th September at the Bisley Showroom, Great Portland Street, London.

September 1, 2016

New report sets out four key challenges for the workforce of the future ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report from The Future Laboratory and UBS Wealth Management claims to identify the key factors that will drive workplace change in the near future. According to The Future of the Workforce report, the next two decades will see the way we work completely reshaped by forces such as artificial intelligence and an increasingly multigenerational workforce. The report claims that the entry of more Millennials into the workplace, their differing values to older workers, a growing propensity to turn freelance and the dissolution of the old bonds of loyalty could mean that employers struggle to create a strong culture. The report also claims that there will be a growing emphasis on the provision of wellness programmes, driven partly by growing demand from employees as well as a greater focus on improving productivity from employers. It also suggests that employers need to act to remove any biases they may have to appeal to the values of the new generation of workers.

August 30, 2016

Only 7 percent of workers say they’re most productive working in an office ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Fewer interruptions from colleagues, fewer distractions make home the preferred place for maximum productivity, claims a new study from recruitment consultancy FlexJobs. The survey of more than 3,000 respondents interested in work flexibility claims that only 7 percent of workers say the office and traditional work hours form the best time and place for optimum productivity. More than half (51 percent) of people reported that their home is their preferred place to work. Eight percent said they would choose a coffee shop, coworking space, library, or other place besides the office and another eight percent would choose the office but only outside regular hours. 26 percent go to the office during regular hours to complete important work only because it’s not an option to go elsewhere. According to the survey, around two-thirds (65 percent) of workers think they would be more productive working from home than working in a traditional workplace.

July 29, 2016

The gig economy must be harnessed to address skill shortages and uncertainty ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The legal status of people working in the gig economy must be clarified so that businesses and individuals can thrive, according to a new report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). Gig economy – The Uberisation of Work (registration needed) explores the impact of digital work platforms such as Upwork, Task Rabbit and Freelancer.com, which act as ‘marketplaces matching freelancers with a wide range of project-based work’. The report suggests that almost a third of all UK employers will use these kinds of digital work platforms by 2021. The REC has called on policy-makers to ensure that the gig economy is fair to self-employed workers and businesses, and to secure benefits for the UK wider economy. The report claims that this will become increasingly important as the gig economy becomes more mainstream, adding £45 billion to the UK economy and creating work for 766,000 people.

July 15, 2016

Substantial growth in 21st Century self employment in the UK ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

The 21st Century has seen an explosion of self employment in the UK, and most people who have become self employed have done so for positive reasons, claims a new report from the UK Government’s Office for National Statistics. According to the Trends in Self Employment Report, there are now more than 4.7 million people classified as self employed, around 15 percent of the workforce. There has been a marked upturn since the 2008 recession, an increase of 730,000 over that period. The trend to self employment has been evident since the turn of the Millennium when around 3.2 million people were classified as self employed. Between 2001 and 2015, part time self employment grew by 88 percent, compared to 25 percent for full time work, partly because of the growing number of workers choosing part time self employment before retirement. The report describes the changes as structural, which suggests that the growth will continue.

July 2, 2016

Beyond monoculture + Future shock + Confusion over productivity ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Insight Briefings, Newsletter, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; Mark Eltringham pays tribute to futurologist Alvin Toffler who died this week and is famed for introducing the concept ‘Future shock’; and Charles Marks looks at the ways our noisy world was foretold by some of the 20^th centuries’ greatest minds. A study finds that people find meetings more useful than is widely reported; many office workers struggle to understand the meaning of productivity; and spending on workplace technology doubled over the past five years. Older workers – not millennials – are most positive about working freelance; more US over 65s are working now than at any time; and agile workers report the highest levels of productivity. You can download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design which examines the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.