September 8, 2023

HLW launches brand experience team – brandx

brandx, a global team shaping the standard for innovative wayfinding strategies, signage systems, and brand experiences, is pleased to announce its official launch as a specialty partner of international architecture and design firm HLW. In a world where individuals are exposed to thousands of visual messages every day, brandx cuts through the clutter by creating intuitive connections that redefine how users safely and efficiently interact with brands, as well as their physical surroundings. (more…)

September 7, 2023

AI is giving business leaders the heebie-jeebies, new poll suggests

by Jayne Smith • News

An overwhelming majority of business leaders (94 percent) admit to some form of ‘tech anxiety’ when it comes to AI and other technology, according to a new survey from Kin + Carta. This anxiety is on the rise as the pace of digital and technological change accelerates, and is prompting top executives to invest more in digital transformation, according to the survey. The report defines tech anxiety as the feeling senior leaders have as a result of the rapid pace of advancements in technology that are causing concern when it comes to how their business operates. While the top source of that anxiety is cyber security (cited by 24 percent of respondents), close behind, and rounding out the top three, are concerns over AI and machine learning (19 percent), and anxieties about sustainability strategy and tracking (17 percent). (more…)

September 7, 2023

Narcissistic leaders cause employees undue stress in crisis situations

by Neil Franklin • Business, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Vulnerable narcissistic leaders are especially likely to make employees irritated during crisis situations, reveals new research from NEOMA Business School. Birgit Schyns, Distinguished Professor of People & Organisations at NEOMA, and co-authors analysed survey data on workers in the UK education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents reported their levels of irritation and Coronavirus-related worry in five weekly surveys, as well as their experiences with vulnerable narcissistic leadership – an unstable form of leadership characterised by covert feelings of entitlement. (more…)

September 7, 2023

Exploring the gender pay gap in Germany: a closer look at salary inequality

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace

In Germany, just like in numerous other nations, the gender pay gap remains a subject of significant worry and discussion. The persistent issue of unequal pay between men and women, where women frequently earn less than their male colleagues for the same job, persists. This article seeks to explore the gender pay gap in Germany in more detail, investigating the underlying factors that contribute to this gap and considering possible remedies to tackle this problem. (more…)

September 5, 2023

Breaking eggs and a two thousand year quest to make the most of each day

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

The fracturing of time and place underlies every one of the great workplace issues of our time. Everything that springs from this – the where, when, how, what and why of work – is defined by the shattering of any fixed idea we may once have had of a time and a place to work. Because the challenge to these traditional ideas is now so inextricably linked in our minds with new technology, we might often forget that people have been asking questions about how we can get the most out of each day for thousands of years. Tempus fugit after all, and as a consequence we’ve always known that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. (more…)

September 5, 2023

Working from home won’t last forever… will it?

by Zain Ali • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

Have we all gone a little OTT on RTO? The so-called return to office and pushback on working from home seems to be the must-talk topic on workplace strategy right now; a heated debate ignited by Zoom’s recent call to reduce remote working days for its employees. Many have been surprised at how polarising this decision has become. Who would have thought that a global business asking employees to work from the office two days a week could cause such controversy? Even if that business does specialise in video calls for remote work? (more…)

September 4, 2023

Scottish government to trial public sector four day week

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The Scottish government is to trial a four day working week for many civil servants. The experiment is set to last for a year and a number of departments and public sector bodies have been invited to take part. After twelve months, if the trial proves successful, the four day week scheme could be extended to include a wider range of central government bodies, councils and quangos. (more…)

August 30, 2023

Remote working putting pressure on around half of personal relationships

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The impact of remote working from a home at the same time as a partner is the subject of a new survey from coworking provider HomeWork Workspace. The firm argues that ‘while the initial days of remote work may have felt like a honeymoon phase for many couples, the reality of being together all the time has proven to be a challenge for a significant number’. To back up this claim, the poll suggests that around one in 10 (11 percent) respondents say that their relationship with their partner has improved thanks to homeworking, and 28 percent say that they have always enjoyed – and still do enjoy – working from home together. But the picture isn’t as rosy for others. (more…)

August 30, 2023

A surprising number of employees wouldn’t mind having an AI as their ‘boss’

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

According to a new poll from the Asana Work Innovation Lab, nearly two-thirds of executives of executives think that artificial intelligence will help their companies reach their objectives. The report also suggests that 36 percent of employees in the United States and United Kingdom already use AI at work at least weekly. And a perhaps surprising number of people wouldn’t mind having their work graded by artificial intelligence or even having a robot as their ‘boss’. (more…)

August 30, 2023

Commercial Interiors UK appoints new managing director

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Commercial Interiors UK (CIUK), the Trade Association for the UK’s Commercial Interiors Sector has appointed Sean Holt as its new Managing Director. As the new Managing Director, Sean will be responsible for leading a dedicated team to deliver the revised strategy of CIUK following its recent re branding from BCFA, improving member engagement and benefits, increasing membership and growing the CIUK events portfolio whilst working closely with its media partner Design Insider to build on its growing reputation as the premier online portal dedicated to commercial interior designers and architects. (more…)

August 25, 2023

Show some Summer loving for the new issue of Works magazine

by Mick Jordan • News, Workplace design, Works Magazine

Take a little time out from your well-earned summer break (or your ongoing nose to the grindstone) with the latest issue of Works Magazine. Issue 7 features all the relevant news, features, products, businesses and people from the world of the workplace, including an exciting new initiative from Works and sister title, IN. (more…)

August 24, 2023

Passionate firms make more progress in teamwork, research finds

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Passionate firms perform higher in terms of team progress, regardless of whether that passion is focused on one or multiple team activities, finds new research from Aalto University School of Business. According to Associate Professor Ewald Kibler, Head of the Entrepreneurship Unit at Aalto, and postdoctoral researcher Bernadetta A. Ginting-Szczesny, team entrepreneurial passion (TEP) plays an important role in business ventures as it can positively impact team outcomes and venture performance. Analysing survey data on 326 individuals from 107 teams at Finnish SMEs, they suggest having a shared passion helps teams work together toward a common goal while maintaining focus and motivation. (more…)