Search Results for: office

December 6, 2018

Groundbreaking study links productivity to air quality

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing

A new study of UK indoor office environments has found a direct correlation between the quality of the air in offices and its effect on workplace productivity. The two-year research initiative, backed by facilities company EMCOR and carried out by academics at Oxford Brookes University and LCMB Building Performance found that workers were able to work up to 60 percent faster in lower CO2 concentrations. It revealed that an increased intake of CO2 can lead to poor decision making, slower reaction times and increased tiredness among employees. Currently, UK productivity is 26.2 percent lower than Germany based on GDP per hour worked – and 22.8 percent less than France. Yet despite ten years of tactics to help close the gap, this is the first time environmental factors have been considered. More →

December 6, 2018

Constant switching between tasks kills productivity

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report claims that the modern habit of switching constantly between tasks is draining productivity. In a study of live desktop activity, the results suggest employees are forced to switch between up to 35 job-critical applications nearly once a minute – or more than 1,100 times every day – adding unnecessary complexity that reduces efficiency and frustrates workers. The study from Pegasystems analysed nearly 5 million hours of desktop activity of operational support employees – who primarily perform routine back office, data entry, or contact centre tasks – at Global 2000 companies from January to September 2018.

December 6, 2018

Siemens new Swiss campus showcases workplace technology and use of BIM in construction

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Company news, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

Siemens AG has officially opened its new campus in Zug, Switzerland. The Siemens Zug campus features a new office building with 1,000 work spaces and a newly constructed production building. The investment volume for new buildings, renovations and related measures amounts to CHF 250 million. The campus is the international headquarters of the Siemens Building Technologies (BT) Division, which has 29,000 employees. Construction of the office and production buildings began in May 2016 and was completed in July 2018. The Siemens Zug campus is one of the first new projects to use Building Information Modeling (BIM) for design and construction. The digital twin – a 3D model of the building, enhanced with technical information relevant for later operations – is the foundation for efficient, cost-optimised and forward-looking building management. More →

December 5, 2018

Government report calls time on late payments, addresses productivity puzzle

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property

The culture of late payment by large firms has led to the failure of many small businesses in the UK and prevented even more from thriving and improving their productivity, according to a parliamentary select committee report published today. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee has called on the government to enforce tougher measures on large firms who treat small businesses “disgracefully” by enforcing long payment terms or paying their suppliers late. The Small businesses and productivity report said that, for an SME to succeed, it is crucial they are paid fairly and on time.

December 5, 2018

New guidance on labour standards and workers rights published

by Neil Franklin • News

The International Bar Association Global Employment Institute and the International Organisation of Employers have published new guidance for firms on International Labour Standards (ILS). The ILS are legal instruments, set by the International Labour Organization (ILO) which protect basic workers rights and address the need for sustainable enterprises to create jobs. They are either conventions, which are legally binding international treaties or recommendations which serve as non-binding guidelines.

December 5, 2018

Firms and employees need to do more to address climate change

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, News

A new report claims to have found a lack of commitment amongst UK businesses to address their impact on the environment and contribution to climate change, with only 10 percent having set a carbon reduction target, while just under half of companies (49 percent) use even the most basic sustainability measures, such as recycling bins for office waste.

December 4, 2018

I’m a designer and I job share with an AI

by Ceilidh Higgins • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

Thomas Edison is credited with the phrase “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration” and I believe there is no field where this applies more than architecture and design. So often people assume that interior design is such a fun, creative job – that it’s all about drawing, colours and furniture, something like being paid to colour in and shop – when today being a designer is just as much about people management, psychology, project management, documentation, checking codes and standards and managing contracts. It’s also often about a culture that expects long hours and being always available to the job. “It’s not work when you are passionate about it?” is common. But what if instead we could all work less hours and job share with our computers?

December 4, 2018

Majority of UK employees want Britain to adopt French out-of-hours email ban

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

Over a third (35 percent) of UK workers continue to work when then get home from the office, claims research from Insurance2go into whether British workers are struggling to stick to working within their designated office hours. The survey found that a third (35 percent) of continue to answer work email or conduct work tasks on their personal mobile phones when they get home from work, a quarter (25 percent) do the same during their lunch break, and just under a quarter (23 percent) have said they work on their personal handsets on their commute. Meanwhile, across the channel, French employees have been given the legal right to ignore work emails outside of working hours, with companies of over 50 workers providing a charter of good conduct, setting out the hours when staff are not supposed to send or answer emails. When asked if the UK should follow-suit, 65 percent of workers were in favour, implying a strain on British staff and an expectation to be ‘always on’ even in non-working hours.

November 30, 2018

How the way we interact with technology is changing the way we think

by Charles Marks • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

We are all familiar with the emoticon, the little symbol we use to strengthen whatever it is we really mean or would like to convey in a text, chat, message or email. The symbols have become more important as these forms of communication have supplanted some forms of face to face contact. Researchers have now learned that our brains no longer treat emoticons as a form of punctuation, but have started to respond to it as if it were a real face. A study published in the journal Social Neuroscience found that the part of the brain that is activated when we look at real faces is now triggered by smileys too. It’s yet another example of how our brains are adapting to the changing demands placed on them by technology, a subject that not only has profound implications for the way we relate to technology but also the way we work and the ways we design and manage our surroundings and especially how we maintain focus and interact with our colleagues.

November 30, 2018

Economy could achieve significant economic boost by addressing skills gaps in younger people

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

The UK could boost GDP by around £40 billion a year in the long run if it reduces the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) to match Germany, the best performing EU country. Despite making improvements in recent years, the UK only ranks 19th out of 35 countries across the OECD on a PwC index based on a range of indicators of youth employment, education and training. But this is slightly better than the UK’s ranking of 21st across the OECD on a similar PwC index for older workers released earlier this year. Across England NEET rates vary significantly, reflecting the disparity in educational attainment and job opportunities across the country. In 2017, the West Midlands had the highest NEET rate for 19-24 year olds at 16.7 percent, followed by the North East by 16.3 percent. Meanwhile the South East and South West have the lowest rates, both at 11.5 percent (see table below). More →

November 29, 2018

OECD, UN Environment and World Bank call for a radical shift in infrastructure thinking

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Environment, News

The OECD, UN Environment and World Bank Group have this week called on leaders of G20 countries to do more to enable a radical shift of investment into low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure as a way to limit the impact of climate change. Delivering a new report, Financing Climate Futures: Rethinking Infrastructure, to the G20 at its Summit in Buenos Aires, the three International Organisations said governments need to adopt a more transformative agenda on low-carbon, climate-resilient investments if they are to meet the Paris Agreement goal of cutting CO₂emissions to net zero in the second half of the century and build resilience to climate change.

November 28, 2018

Line up of speakers announced for Workplace Trends: Research Spring Summit

by Maggie Procopi • Events, Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace design

The research-driven Workplace Trends Spring Summit returns for 2019. We have two sessions with invited guest speakers, our keynote and the after lunch debate. Following a recent Call for Abstracts and a blind peer review by our two moderators for the day, Nigel Oseland (Workplace Unlimited) and Mark Eltringham (Workplace Insight), the remaining sessions have now been filled with the highest ranked submissions.