Search Results for: tech

Quarter of British workers have a side hustle as well as their main job

Quarter of British workers have a side hustle as well as their main job

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Academics at Henley Business School have revealed a growing trend in ‘side hustles’ which shows that as many as 1 in 4 people in the UK are running at least one business project alongside their main day job, contributing an estimated £72 billion to the UK economy. Henley has published a white paper on the emerging side hustle economy. Its study of over 500 business leaders and 1,100 UK adults found the trend is now happening at an unprecedented pace across the UK.  A side hustle is defined as a secondary business or job that brings in, or has potential to bring in, extra income. 73 of people who start a side hustle do so to follow a passion or explore a new challenge, but there are financial benefits too, with side businesses contributing 20 percent to side hustlers’ income.

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Hong Kong Central remains most expensive office market in the World, according To CBRE

Hong Kong Central remains most expensive office market in the World, according To CBRE

by • News, Property

Hong Kong Central remains the most expensive office market in the world, according to CBRE’s annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs report. Hong Kong Central’s overall prime occupancy costs of US$307 per sq. ft. per year topped the “most expensive” list, followed by London West End (US$235 per sq. ft.), Beijing Finance Street (US$201 per sq. ft.), Hong Kong Kowloon (US$190 per sq. ft.) and Beijing Central Business District (US$189 per sq. ft.).

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Why a Google office simply does not work for everybody

Why a Google office simply does not work for everybody 0

by • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

The open plan office versus closed debate rages on, and rather than running out of steam in the face of all of the evidence and reasoned argument put forward one one side or the other by many industry thought-leaders, it seems to have nine lives. Those grand and ground-breaking  new offices occupied by the world’s tech giants seem to be particularly popular examples of why highly open and transparent workplaces do, or don’t work, especially those headline-grabbing offices created around the world by Google. This public debate has led to some very interesting and insightful discussions in various forums (to which I have contributed), inspiring me to synthesise the key themes into four reasons why a Google office is not necessarily the right type of office for your organisation. Many thanks in particular are due to David Rostie and Kay Sargent for their valuable online contributions to the debates which inspired this article.

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Why you should definitely stand in meetings (and not care what others think about it)

Why you should definitely stand in meetings (and not care what others think about it)

by • Features, Wellbeing

People who stand in meetings may enjoy a number of health benefits, but it can also make them feel self-conscious, anxious about how others perceive them, and disengaged from the meeting. These findings, taken from our recent study, suggest that efforts to encourage office workers to sit less and move more must acknowledge the realities of the workplace that conspire to keep people chained to their seats. Sitting has been linked to adverse health outcomes, including increased risk of obesity, heart disease, some cancers, and poorer mental health. While some evidence suggests that the harms of sitting can be offset by at least one daily hour of moderate physical activity, this seems an unrealistic target. (more…)

UK firms may be lagging those of other nations in offering flexible working

UK firms may be lagging those of other nations in offering flexible working

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

The UK lags behind other nations in the shift to remote and flexible working, putting more emphasis on effective meetings to coordinate scattered teams, a new report, ‘The Modern Workplace 2018: People, Places & Technology’ by software company Condeco has found. The research claims that across the world workers are in the midst of a shift to flexible and remote working – spending more time working from home, on the move or from multiple locations. However, the UK is significantly behind in embracing these trends, which could negatively affect worker satisfaction as well as holding back firms who are competing for the best international staff.

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Ten demonstrable truths about the workplace you may not know

Ten demonstrable truths about the workplace you may not know

by • Comment, Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

workplace designThe science of the workplace has gained a lot of interest over the last few years, highlighting recurring patterns of human behaviour as well as how organisational behaviour relates to office design. In theory, knowledge from this growing body of research could be used to inform design. In practice, this is rarely the case. A survey of 420 architects and designers highlighted a large gap between research and practice: while 80 percent of respondents agreed that more evidence was needed on the impact of design, 68 percent admitted they never reviewed literature and 71 percent said they never engaged in any sort of post-occupancy evaluation. Only 5 percent undertake a formal POE and just 1 percent do so in a rigorous fashion. Not a single practitioner reported a report on the occupied scheme, despite its importance in understanding the impact of a design.

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Small flexible workspace operators are biggest winners as trend for coworking continues to grow

Small flexible workspace operators are biggest winners as trend for coworking continues to grow

by • News, Property

While the likes of WeWork have dominated the headlines over the past year, the number of smaller, more niche coworking operators, has grown significantly and now makes up 83 percent of the total flexible workspace market. The latest research from The Instant Group, which claims to be the world’s largest flexible workspace provider, suggests that the number of centres in the market run by smaller independent operators has grown to 83 percent of the London market. The increase of 20+ desk enquiries is evidence of growing demand as larger firms have started exploring flexible options rather than taking more conventional leases.

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How limiting non-work related web use affects security and productivity

How limiting non-work related web use affects security and productivity

by • News, Technology

Spiceworks has announced the results of a new survey examining the use of web filtering in the workplace and the implications of restricting certain online behaviours. The results indicate among organisations that don’t restrict non-work related web use, most employees (58 percent) spend at least four hours per week, the equivalent of 26 workdays per year, on websites unrelated to their job. In other words, based on the median U.S. salary of $45,812, these organisations are paying full-time employees approximately $4,500 per year to spend 10 percent of their time consuming non-work-related web content.

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London seen as most desirable city in the world to work, but the UK falls in country standings

London seen as most desirable city in the world to work, but the UK falls in country standings

by • News, Property, Workplace

A comprehensive study into global talent mobility claims that London is the most desirable city for overseas workers worldwide, beating New York, Berlin and Barcelona. In the four years since the first study conducted by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and totaljobs, the UK has dropped three places in overall attractiveness, from second to fifth in the country rankings. Decoding Global Talent 2018 (registration required), claims to be one of the most expansive studies every undertaken into workforce migration trends. Shining a spotlight on the UK’s attractiveness to global talent, the research reveals the world’s most desirable destinations for work.

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UK employers aim to accelerate digital innovation, despite some cultural resistance

UK employers aim to accelerate digital innovation, despite some cultural resistance

by • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

UK employers aim to accelerate digital innovation, despite some cultural resistanceThe way to measure an employer’s speed of innovation includes how they find talent, their appraisal process, how employees recommend the organisation they work for to others, and how much employees collaborate, claims a new European study by Cornerstone OnDemand and IDC. “Future Culture: Building a Culture of Innovation in the Age of Digital Transformation” explores the relationship between European organisations’ speed of innovation and talent management, with the research showing that firms with a steady stream of new products and services are more likely to have an ongoing feedback process with employees, rather than an annual performance review, while organisations with a slower rate of innovation often use coaching and mentoring to develop employees.

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Global employers focus on mobile talent to help support new ways of working

Global employers focus on mobile talent to help support new ways of working

by • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

Global employers focus on mobile talent to support future ways of workingThe digital era, ageing populations, skills shortages, and unpredictable political and economic contexts are persuading multinationals to focus more on mobile talent, new ways of working and assessing the cost of expatriate packages for international employees that are critical to the future of work. This is according to Mercer’s 24th annual Cost of Living Survey which reveals that factors such as instability of housing markets and fluctuating inflation, currencies and prices for goods and services, are impacting the cost of doing business in various cities around the world. UK cities have significantly risen in the ranking this year. (more…)

Leading with purpose is the signature strength of a great leader

Leading with purpose is the signature strength of a great leader

by • Comment, Workplace

David was a reluctant leader. We were introduced through his HR Director; however, he was not happy to see me. He didn’t believe in personal development and he didn’t want to spend time with a coach. He also didn’t have a lot of choice as he’d recently attended an assessment centre to inform his future and there were some consistent themes about his leadership style that needed to be addressed. Key comments included his hypercritical style that would cut people down, unrealistic pace that gave people no time to deliver quality and a tendency to be overly directive which would crush people’s freedom.

 

Know your past to understand your future

Early in our relationship I asked him about his philosophy about leadership to learn why he did what he did and what he thought about the value of his role. It was a short conversation. David’s response was that he wasn’t a leader, he was a technocrat (although he was already accountable for over 3,000 people), and his role was to deliver the numbers. I realized that going head on into leadership was not the answer. I suggested that we step back and explore what had shaped his career so far and to explore implications for his future. He agreed and quickly told me that his life had been uneventful and therefore it would be a short conversation. Two hours later we were still in the middle of running through David’s life experience and we had to reschedule for the next day. Three more hours and David had painted a rich picture of his lifeline and the impact on his career and leadership.

There were three key values that stood out from his story – doing the right thing, setting high standards and getting the job done. These were paramount for David, strongly influenced by his father who had been a significant role model. When we looked at his purpose David was less clear. He knew that he thrived on change and challenging the status quo. He was at his best when required to achieve stretching targets. He was passionate about showing loyalty to others, including friends and family. We explored his purpose until he arrived at an end point, ”Being a creator of opportunity”. This resonated wholeheartedly and ignited his fire.

 

Leading leaders

I asked David what it would be like if rather than thinking traditionally about adopting a leadership role he committed to being purpose-led? He was unsure at first because it didn’t seem tangible enough. I followed up by challenging him to define what being purpose-led would look like if he was to follow being a creator of opportunity on a daily basis? He described the following:

• seek new horizons for the company to grow;
• encourage people to develop and succeed;
• embrace problems as a way to learn and continuously improve;
• build relationships to develop better outcomes;
• stay energized to be at the top of his game;
• leave a legacy for the company, products and people to be in a better place than when he arrived.

By connecting with the evidence of being purpose-led, David tapped into his own internal drive to be the best he could be. I then asked him to consider what would happen if these six factors became the backbone of his own leadership framework. He got it. For the first time David was able to make an authentic linkage between what was most important to him and leadership, rather than it appearing like a dry theoretical concept.

Next, we evolved his framework into a living and breathing way of leading. We created a map which gave him the clarity about what his leadership could look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David found that by putting his purpose at the heart of his leadership he was able to integrate what was most important for him and remove previous conflict about how to lead.

 

What is your purpose?

Purpose is the catalyst for personal meaning and reason for being. Your purpose is the glue that binds teams together and the inspiration that enables organizations to outperform. It is the meeting point between your passion and your talent. When you are on purpose you unlock the necessary skillset to thrive in today’s complex world.

So, what is your purpose? To discover your purpose requires an open mind and a genuine willingness focused on peak experiences in your life. Here are three steps to help you find your purpose:

1. Identify peak moments. Ask yourself, when have you been at your best? Most fulfilled? Happiest? For instance, playing sports, travelling the world, hitting goals.
2. Make meaning. What was it about these events that made them so significant? For example, unleashing passion, learning new things and achieving success.
3. Define your why. Reflect upon why your big themes inspire you and how you would describe your ultimate reason for existence.

Once you have found your purpose you are in a position to define what success would look like to be purpose-led. Translating your success measures into actions enables you to lead with purpose every-day. This will become what you are known for, what you are appreciated for and what will bring you ultimate fulfilment.

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Ben Renshaw is a leadership thinker, speaker, coach and author of eight books, including  LEAD! and SuperCoaching. https://www.benrenshaw.com  His new book, Purpose, is now available. 

 

 

 

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