May 31, 2023

Office refurbishments rise to all time high in London

by Jayne Smith • Facilities management, News, Property

According to the latest London Office Crane Survey from Deloitte, London has seen the highest volume of new office refurbishments since records began in 2005, with 37 new schemes covering 3.2 million sq. ft. The volume of all projects including both office refurbishments and new space is up by almost 80 percent, with the West End continuing to lead the way. The report claims that over 10 million sq. ft. is now projected to be delivered during 2023, with this year on track to catch-up after several years of disruption. More →

May 28, 2023

Mandatory use of AI technology dampens people’s enthusiasm for the stuff

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Teams with a positive inclination towards artificial intelligence experienced a dampening effect on their enthusiasm to collaborate when forced to use AI technology, a new study has found. Researchers also found that teams with initial negative views about AI were in fact more likely to collaborate with AI when forced to use it. The research, which has been published in the academic journal Group & Organization Management, underscores the importance of trust in AI and how employers should introduce the growing technology into their businesses. More →

May 24, 2023

Europe not on track to deliver carbon neutral built environment by 2050

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Property

It has been one year today (24 May 2023), since the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) launched a new policy called the EU Policy Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, to help the European Union accelerate total decarbonisation of buildings and construction — the most heavily emitting sector in the world. Now WorldGBC and 12 European Green Building Councils (GBCs) are imploring the EU to implement the Roadmap’s principles at the scale and speed required through the announcement of BuildingLife2, a new project driving what it claims is greater transparency and accountability across the sector as it seeks to achieve the goal of a carbon neutral built environment. More →

May 17, 2023

Environmental concerns and wellbeing continue to dominate BCO Awards

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The BCO Awards for the South of England and South Wales have been announced, with recognition going to six office buildings across the region. Held at The City Hall in Cardiff, the BCO’s annual South of England and South Wales Awards Dinner claims to recognise projects that demonstrate best practice in office design, fit-out, operation and sustainability, setting the standard for excellence across the sector. More →

May 10, 2023

Majority of employees see themselves as cogs in corporate machinery

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

A significant majority (85 percent) of employees feel like they are just a cog in the machinery of their organisation and 43 percent have no idea how their performance contributes to business success, according to a new survey of employee experience and expectations. According to the new study [registration] from Oracle, HR leaders are struggling to keep up with changing employee expectations and this can have dire consequences for businesses. The survey of 1,000 employees and HR leaders across the United Kingdom (UK) found that despite current economic uncertainty, worker expectations are higher than ever, and HR leaders need help to get the employee experience right or risk losing profits and market share. More →

April 18, 2023

Employees 12 percent more likely to leave if employers don’t establish hybrid working norms

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

Organisations that lack explicit norms around hybrid working can increase the likelihood of an employee leaving by 12 percent, according to a new report from Gartner [paywall]. The report claims that the most successful hybrid models encompass three main categories of explicit norms that increase visibility, enable flexibility, and foster connections. More →

April 5, 2023

Zürich named as world’s leading smart city in list dominated by Asia and Europe

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Technology

Zürich has been named as the world’s leading smart city according to the latest annual Smart City Index published by IMD business school. Asian and European cities dominate this year’s top twenty. Among them, IMD names six “super champions” because they have been continuously improving their performance since 2019: Zürich, Oslo, Singapore, Beijing, Seoul and Hong Kong. More →

April 3, 2023

EU building data project to drive full decarbonisation in three European countries

by Neil Franklin • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Czechia, Ireland and Spain will be the first countries to participate in a new initiative which aims to boost the availability of quality building climate data, a critical step towards full decarbonisation of the heavily emitting construction sector, responsible for almost 40 percent of global carbon emissions. The INDICATE initiative will bring together governments, industry and academia to tackle one of the most common barriers to enacting policies which will ensure climate neutral construction: a lack of reliable and comprehensive emissions data for buildings. More →

April 3, 2023

NeoCon announces impressive growth ahead of its 2023 edition

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Events

The organisers of NeoCon have announced that seven new brands have signed on for permanent showrooms at the show’s venue THE MART in Chicago. Anda number of companies are extending their leases ahead of the 2023 edition of NeoCon, the leading commercial design trade show, which takes place from the 12th to the 14th of June. The brisk leasing activity, alongside a roster of new exhibitors, and a milestone building renovation project helmed by Gensler Chicago, reinforces THE MART as an important strategic hub for both emerging and established brands based in the US and abroad. More →

March 29, 2023

Work-related stress costing UK economy £28bn a year

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

New data and economic modelling from AXA UK and Centre for Business and Economic Research (Cebr) claims that people are struggling with burnout and work-related stress, with an estimated £28bn lost last year due to poor mental health at work. The majority of this cost is due to loss of working days because of stress, burnout and general poor mental health, with businesses losing 23.3m working days as a result of these issues. More →

March 27, 2023

The five ages of the office and the man who shaped the way we talk about them

by Rob Harris • Features, Flexible working, Workplace design

The office has passed through five ages. The ‘coffee houses’ of the 17th century, yielded to the ‘clerical factories’ of the 19th as machines revolutionised work. After the Second World War, the ‘corporate offices’ of global corporations and William Whyte’s Organization Man dominated the scene. Following the launch of IBM’s PC in the early-1980s, we saw the rise of ‘digital offices’ in the 1990s, complete with internet, email and social media. And for the past few years we have been moving inexorably towards the latest age: ‘network offices’. Each age was shorter than its predecessor: both the digital and network ages began less than a career span ago. More →

March 24, 2023

Company culture is one of the hardest but most valuable things to get right after a merger

by Siobhan Byrnes • Business, Comment

Like never before, 2021 saw record-breaking levels of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity globally, a trend that continued into 2022 until a challenging macroeconomic landscape resulted in a sharp decline in activity. This was mainly because businesses waited to see what the coming months would bring. Whilst experts believe that M&A activity won’t return to levels seen in 2021, they do expect an increase as markets adapt, recover, and look for ways to increase profit. And that has major consequences for company culture, which is so important to get right in the mergers and acquisition process. More →