Search Results for: mental

September 29, 2016

Worldwide progress in creating sustainable building regulations is slow ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The level of transparency in the reporting of the environmental performance of commercial real estate is growing across the world, but the pace of new sustainable building regulations remains slow. That is the key finding of JLL’s Real Estate Environmental Sustainability Index, which measures the availability of a range of environmental transparency tools in 37 countries. Whilst 17 countries have improved their overall scores since the last survey two years ago, 13 have remained static and three have declined. Half of all country index improvements have been driven by the introduction of voluntary minimum energy efficiency standards for existing buildings. This year France topped the Index for the first time, thanks to the consistent roll-out of mandates to transition to a low carbon economy. Japan has moved up from the transparent group to join France, Australia and the UK in the highly transparent group.

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September 28, 2016

UK commercial property market ‘back to normal’ after Brexit vote ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

The UK’s commercial property market remains robust in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union, although a weaker economic outlook may see some prices dip over the next two years, ratings agency Moody’s claims in a new report. The news comes as commercial property fund Standard Life announced that it has reopened trading, which was suspended in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote. Moody’s said that the June 23 vote still has the potential to create significant uncertainty in the longer term, but that the fundamentals underpinning the UK commercial property market remain sound. Much will depend on the country’s broader economic prospects, Moody’s claims. If unemployment remains low and jobs growth continues, these two factors will do much to maintain demand for both domestic and commercial property although London’s market may be affected even if the national economy is robust, as firms may choose to relocate anyway.

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September 21, 2016

Innovative and ambitious disabled employees still face discrimination ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Disabled employees outperform all other groups in terms of innovation and professional ambition, according to new data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) in its paper, Attitudes to Employability and Talent. The report, which explores attitudes towards employability and responsibilities for career development in the UK, includes the attributes associated with employment and career success. Individuals with disabilities ranked more highly than any other group in the categories of ‘Brings new and innovative ideas’ and ‘A great desire to develop’. The group also scored particularly highly in the categories of ‘Fits with organisational values’, ‘Good work ethic’, ‘Reliable’, and ‘Positive attitude to work’. However, when quizzed on current approaches to recruiting from diverse workforce groups, only 11 percent of respondents said they actively target individuals with disabilities during recruitment. This is despite the fact that over half (51 percent) currently employ professionals with physical and mental health conditions. (more…)

September 19, 2016

North America leading the way in adopting healthier buildings ⁰

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

While building owners, developers, managers and investors in North America are showing increasing interest in practices that prioritise the physical, mental and social well-being of tenants and occupants, European buildings have fewer spaces created with wellness in mind. The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings 2016, by Dodge Data & Analytics and the World Green Building Council, produced in partnership with the Canada Green Building Council and Delos, says the top five healthier building features currently in use include better lighting, products that enhance thermal comfort, spaces that enhance social interaction, enhanced air quality and products that enhance acoustical comfort. However, in an analysis of global trends in health and wellbeing, European respondents reported less frequent use of spaces that enhance tenant mood, spaces that enhance social interaction or spaces that create opportunities for physical activity than their North American or Asian counterparts.

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September 15, 2016

Call for work life balance to help preserve relationships and health ⁰

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

More than a third of UK workers (35 percent) say that their work schedule is detrimental to their relationship with their partner, nearly one in five (18 per cent) say their job has caused arguments, and eight per cent admit that work was a major factor in the breakdown of their relationship. This is according to research, commissioned by Coople that suggests the extent to which work is ruining relationships, causing arguments with partners and even taking a toll on sex lives. Nearly one in 10 (nine per cent) say the pressures faced at work has had a negative impact on their sex life and one in five (20 per cent) report their work has led to a decline in their health and wellbeing, citing stress and depression. Unsurprisingly, the survey also found that 54 per cent of people value a good work life balance in a job the most, above wages, career progression, doing something meaningful in their work or any employee benefits.

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September 14, 2016

Study shows how a green city in the desert still has much to teach the world ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Environment, Facilities management, Knowledge

A much publicised but occasionally troubled green city in the United Arab Emirates without light switches or water taps has much to teach people around the world about saving energy and precious resources, claims a new study from researchers at Birmingham University. With its low-rise and energy efficient buildings, smart metering, excellent public transport and extensive use of renewable energy, the 2,000 citizens of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, are living in a place which is a ‘green’ example to city planners around the globe, claims the report. There are no light switches or water taps in Masdar City. Movement sensors control lighting and water in order to cut electricity and water consumption by 51 percent and 55 percent respectively. Masdar is a mixed use development that is the world’s first city designed to be ‘zero carbon’ and ‘zero waste’. Masdar City is a large-scale mixed use development which lies 17 kilometres south-east of the city of Abu Dhabi.

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September 13, 2016

The future of London depends on cohesion, flexible working and infrastructure ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Features, News, Products, Technology

The future of London is the subject of a new and wide ranging collection of essays from Think Tank Localis. It includes contributions from the likes of Boris Johnson, Terry Farrell, Peter Bazalgette and Justine Roberts. Its core theme is that while London has established itself as one of the world’s great financial and cultural powerhouses over the last thirty years, it now faces a number of new challenges and intransigent problems that it must address in a new globalised era. These have taken on a new perspective as the UK prepares to negotiate a new relationship with the EU, something which the report repeats was not the choice of Londoners, but which did perhaps reveal a neglect of the rest of the UK as the Government focused too much attention and investment on the capital. So, while the report focuses on London it also tries to create a vision of a London better integrated with the needs of the rest of the UK and based on a new partnership with the EU.

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September 9, 2016

Office property sector leads global real estate market in sustainability ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Wellbeing

The global real estate market is showing signs of improvement across all areas of environmental, social and governance performance (ESG) including a 1.2 percent reduction in energy consumption, 2 percent reduction in GHG emissions and close to 1 percent reduction in water use. It is also placing greater focus on occupant health and well-being. This is according to the latest data compiled by GRESB, a benchmarking organisation for real estate companies and funds which evaluates sustainability practices in the global real estate sector. In the results for the 2016 GRESB Real Estate, Developer and Debt assessments, which analyses the sustainability performance of more than 1,100 real estate portfolios of both private equity and listed companies, Australian entities outperformed all other regions with an average score of 74, which is 14 points above the global average; and office companies and funds outperformed other property types with an average score of 66.

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September 3, 2016

Electrosensitivity and the question of whether WiFi may be making us ill ⁰

by Mike James • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing

Electrosensitivity is a particularly 21st century disease. Also known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) or Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance (IEI), it is a condition that is said to arise as a result of exposure to the low-level electromagnetic fields that now surround us, such as those that emanate from mobile and wireless technology, power lines and fluorescent and low-energy lighting. According to the Wireless Protection Organisation, symptoms of electrosensitivity can be far reaching, affecting us physically, cognitively and emotionally. Specific signs and symptoms may include: fatigue, faintness and sleep problems; headache, eye pain and visual disturbances, earache, tinnitus, toothache; skin irritation, tingling and burning; chest pain and irregular heart beat; aches, pains and numbness in joints, bones and muscles in arms and legs; lack of concentration, memory loss; and tress and irritability and depression

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September 2, 2016

Younger people less keen on recycling at work, especially coffee cups ⁰

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

The younger generation have a reputation for being pretty keen on addressing environmental issues, but new data alleges they’re not as open to changing their behaviours. There’s actually a clear generational gap when it comes to attitudes towards recycling at work and it’s the older generation who make more effort, a new survey suggests. It claims that younger people are around 16 percent less likely to recycle at work with just 64 percent of people aged 18-24 prepared to adhere to their employers’ recycling policies. One particular cause of concern is the fact that 2.5 billion coffee cups are thrown away each year, leading the Liberal Democrats to recently call for action to be taken to address the fact that only one in 400 cups are recycled. The survey, which was carried out by commercial waste recycling services provider Direct365, claims that 72 percent of people do actually recycle items at work overall.

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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.

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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.