Search Results for: tech

The provision of cycling facilities in offices is failing to meet a growing demand

The provision of cycling facilities in offices is failing to meet a growing demand

by • Facilities management, Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The quality of the cycling facilities being offered by many workplaces are currently falling short and risk undermining a Government drive to increase the number of people cycling to work; as according to new research published by the British Council for Offices, 16 percent of office workers claim that inadequate facilities are discouraging them from considering commuting by bike. In April, the Department for Transport stated an aim to double the number of cycling stages, defined as a change in the form of transport as part of a longer “trip” (e.g. cycling to the train station before catching a train to work), from 0.8 billion stages in 2013 to 1.6 billion in 2025. However, new research, commissioned by the British Council for Offices and carried out by Remit Consulting, finds that whilst 83 percent of workplaces in the UK offer some form of bike storage, less than half (47 percent) of this is covered and secure. Improved parking facilities could help increase numbers of those cycling to work, with 16 percent of office workers surveyed saying that better bike storage would encourage them to do so.

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What we may be missing about IBM’s decision on flexible working

What we may be missing about IBM’s decision on flexible working 0

by • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Workplace design

In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that IBM had announced that it was obliging a significant number of its staff to give up on remote working and instead move back to corporate offices, many of them regional hubs. Although we had been aware of the change in policy since February, the issue only went viral as a result of the WSJ story. Comparisons were quickly made with Yahoo’s poorly received decision to summon staff back to its corporate HQ in 2013 and commentators expressed dismay that such a major corporation would be willing to return to the command and control structures of a previous era, especially given its sector and track record of encouraging flexible working. What such commentary missed was a particular nuance of the story that might suggest this is more of a continuation of existing IBM policy than they have been given credit for.

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The world has its say on the Taylor Review into modern working practices

The world has its say on the Taylor Review into modern working practices 0

by • Features, Flexible working, Legal news

Yesterday, the much-awaited Taylor Review into modern working practices was finally published. And by modern working practices, the report focussed primarily on what has become known as the gig economy. People have been speculating about the contents of the report for months and things ramped up last week after a partial leak to the media. So, things were already bubbling under nicely before the actual publication of the document brought things to a boil yesterday. Assuming the government do more than kick the whole thing into the long grass, always a possibility, debate will continue for a while. We’ll let politicians do their thing with it, but here are a few of the initial reactions from interested parties and the experts. More →

Taylor Review on Modern Working Practices and the gig economy is published

Taylor Review on Modern Working Practices and the gig economy is published 0

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The long awaited UK government commissioned report into modern working practices and the so-called gig economy has been published at last. The Taylor Review was commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy last year and there has been a great deal of speculation regarding its content ever since, especially last week after parts were apparently leaked to the media. You can follow the pile in now on Twitter and the festering pits of ignorance, prejudice and bile known as newspaper comment sections. Or you can read it here before you draw your own conclusions. We’ll be having our say tomorrow and sharing the thoughts of various organisations into its contents. The report was authored by Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the RSA and considers the implications of new forms of working, especially with regard to the gig economy and freelance work on worker rights and responsibilities, as well as on employer freedoms and obligations. It sets out seven key principles to address the challenges facing the UK labour market, set out below.

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Creativity is the new productivity in the modern era of work and workplaces

Creativity is the new productivity in the modern era of work and workplaces 0

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

Creativity is often thought of as a quality unique to artistic geniuses. When in reality, it is present in all of us, and something that can be enhanced and nurtured, given the right tools and environment. Creativity is the innate human ability to generate ideas, solve difficult problems and exploit new opportunities — it is the fuel for innovation. Many of today’s most pressing business problems require creative thinking to solve them, and creativity is an essential ingredient for business growth. However, 77 percent of CEOs name creativity as their company’s number one skill shortage (20th CEO survey, PWC, 2017). Being agile is critical in a world that is changing rapidly, with disruptive technology, globalisation and an increasingly complex landscape all playing a part. More than ever, supporting creativity at work is an essential part of driving value for both businesses and society. In days gone by, instead of focusing on their organisation’s creative output, most business leaders were obsessed with near-term goals such as productivity, efficiency, cost-cutting and reducing waste. But the landscape has shifted and creativity is emerging as an important dimension of productivity.

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Google launches initiative to humanise artificial intelligence

Google launches initiative to humanise artificial intelligence 0

by • AI, News, Technology

Google has announced a new initiative that aims to improve the ways humans and artificial intelligence interact in both their personal and professional lives. Called the People + AI Research (PAIR) initiative, The programme will look to ensure that advances in machine learning and technical performance in areas such as speech recognition, image search and translation are better aligned with the needs of people. The project will bring together researchers across Google to study and redesign the ways people interact with AI systems. According to Google, the goal isn’t just to publish research but also create open source tools for experts in the field to use and completely redefine the way we think about artificial intelligence.

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Serviced and coworking offices top London leasing market for the first time

Serviced and coworking offices top London leasing market for the first time 0

by • Coworking, Flexible working, News, Property

 Serviced and coworking office space providers have accounted for the largest share of space leased in Central London for the first time, according to new research from Cushman & Wakefield. During the first half of 2017, serviced office or co-working providers – such as WeWork and The Office Group – accounted for 884,235 sq ft of newly-leased office space in central London. The second quarter of the year in particular witnessed a dramatic escalation in activity by serviced office and co-working providers with 651,540 sq ft leased – around a quarter of central London’s take-up across April, May and June. This was more than London’s traditionally dominant occupational sub-sectors such as technology, media and financial services. The H1 2017 total is more than serviced office and coworking providers accounted for in the whole of 2016 (853,178 sq ft). and is just a deal or two shy of the sector’s average annual take-up between 2012 and 2016 (908,972). It seems certain therefore that serviced office and co-working providers will this year surpass their record annual volume of 1,267,926 sq ft set in 2014, according to the firm.

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Third of UK workers are dealing with anxiety, depression or stress

Third of UK workers are dealing with anxiety, depression or stress 0

by • News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

One in three (34 percent) UK workers are dealing with anxiety, depression or stress, which is affecting their ability to carry out their day-to-day roles, claims a new report. Two in five (39 percent) have taken time off work or reduced their responsibilities because of their health, and of those, 39 percent did not feel comfortable telling their employer about the issue according to the PwC research. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) think their organisation does not take employee wellbeing seriously and more than half (54 percent) work for companies which do not offer health benefits such as counselling, health screening and subsidised gym memberships. The research suggests that Health and wellbeing has a significant impact on performance with four out of five workers (83 percent) believing that their wellbeing influences how productive they are. Pressures such as dealing with customers and clients, and long hours have the biggest impact on workplace wellbeing. The survey respondents also indicated a belief that technology can play a part in addressing health, with almost half saying they would be open to using an app to improve their wellbeing.

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Twenty-first century construction is increasingly environmentally friendly

Twenty-first century construction is increasingly environmentally friendly 0

by • Environment, Facilities management

One thing is clear — within the next 20 years, we will reach our peak capacity in terms of oil consumption as a planet. Although, as demand for oil appears to increase year upon year, the global production of oil appears to decrease. As a result of this growing problem, the construction industry still derives most of its energy sources from oil-based fuels. Throughout the Western world, it is evident that the construction sector is heavily reliant upon crude oils. The reason for this is that without them, the construction process would not be able to function in its current form. This is however, having a detrimental impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Within the UK, 50 percent of carbon emissions are accounted for by the construction industry and machinery within the production process.

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“World first” biophilic design research project to explore impact of nature on buildings and people

“World first” biophilic design research project to explore impact of nature on buildings and people 0

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

biophilic designBRE have launched The Biophilic Office project, a ‘groundbreaking’ office refurbishment in test conditions that will seek to provide quantified evidence on the benefits of biophilic design on health, wellbeing and productivity of office occupants. The project centres on a 650 sq. m. 1980s office building on the BRE campus in Watford, which will be refurbished according to biophilic design principles. BRE are partnering with architect and interior designer Oliver Heath, who will lead on the design element of the refurbished building.

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UK remains stuck in stubborn low productivity trap

UK remains stuck in stubborn low productivity trap 0

by • News, Workplace

The persistently low productivity of UK workers has dropped back to pre-financial crisis levels, according to official figures. Hourly output fell 0.5 percent in the first three months of the year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports in its latest update. At the end of 2016, productivity returned to the level seen before the 2008 recession. But it has now slipped back again and is 0.4 percent below the peak recorded at the end of 2007, according to the ONS. It was the first quarterly fall in productivity since the end of 2015, according to the ONS. Economists have consistently warned that the UK’s low productivity continues to mean it lags behind its major trading partners such as the US, France and Germany.

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Digital workplace accelerates blurring of lines between IT, HR and finance roles

Digital workplace accelerates blurring of lines between IT, HR and finance roles 0

by • News, Technology, Workplace

To help ‘organisations thrive in a competitive digital marketplace’, Oracle and the MIT Technology Review have released a new study that highlights the importance of collaboration between finance and human resources (HR) teams with a unified cloud. The study, Finance and HR: The Cloud’s New Power Partnership, outlines how a ‘holistic view into finance and HR information’, delivered via cloud technology, empowers organisations to better manage continuous change in the workplace. Based on a global survey of 700 C-level executives and finance, HR, and IT managers, the study claims that a shared finance and HR cloud system is a critical component of successful transformation initiatives.

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