Search Results for: inclusive

July 11, 2018

Avenue HQ is named as Coworking Space of the Year by IPSE

Liverpool’s Avenue HQ has been crowned ‘National Co-Working Space of the Year’ by The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE). The award claims to ‘recognise and celebrate the important role coworking spaces play in creating a nurturing, inclusive and stimulating environment for the UK’s 4.8 million-strong self-employed workforce’. The coworking industry is booming globally as companies of all sizes recognise the importance of working environment on employee and business performance. Pioneered by start-ups, entrepreneurs and freelancers, a growing number of companies, large and small, are incorporating the concept and rapidly reaping the benefits.

July 10, 2018

Employers welcome multi-generational workforce but worry about increased risk of conflict

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Improved living standards, deflating pension pots and legal protection against age discrimination have all helped to nudge up the retirement age. The result is that for the first time since the Industrial Revolution five generations of employees are now working side by side. According to a new survey, two thirds of organisations (66 per cent) say that an age diverse workforce helped the company to have a more comprehensive skillset and knowledge base and more than seven in ten (71 per cent) felt that a multi-generational workforce brought contrasting views to their organisation. However, in the YouGov survey of middle market businesses commissioned by RSM, four in ten companies (41 per cent) said that a multi-generational workforce also increased the risk of conflict in the workplace. More →

July 6, 2018

A storm brewing around the workplace and facilities management

by Cathy Hayward • Comment, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

In Shakespeare’s plays, the sky often goes dark and a storm starts to brew as a prelude to tragedy or violence creating a sense of foreboding. And so it was at today’s BIFM AGM in the lead-up to the special resolution to change the name of the institute from the British Institute of Facilities Management to the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management. After a fire alarm test appositely kicked off the event, sun poured through the windows and ceiling panes of the Friends Meeting House in Manchester as BIFM chairman Steve Roots gave an update on the institute’s performance in 2017 and plans for 2018. As he introduced the format for the three ordinary resolutions, the sun dipped behind a cloud and the room was plunged into gloom causing murmurs of nervous laughter among the 80-strong audience. More →

July 5, 2018

BIFM members vote in favour of change of name

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News

Members of the British Institute of Facilities Management have today voted to approve its Board’s recommendation to change the Institute’s name to the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM). A Manifesto for Change unveiled by Chairman Steve Roots on 1 March which set out to reframe facilities management by emphasising its ability to make a real contribution to organisations’ performance has been resoundingly supported by members who today voted overwhelmingly to adopt the new name.

June 19, 2018

Many fathers are unaware of their parental leave rights

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Nearly half (46 percent) of working fathers are unaware they are entitled to take shared parental leave on the arrival of a child, according to new research. The survey, conducted by Aviva, also claims that one in 10 dads (11 percent) took no time off whatsoever when their most recent child arrived. Businesses are therefore being urged to do more to make sure their male staff know their rights, to enable them to spend precious time with their newborn or adopted children. Crucially, the survey of UK parents with dependent children found that 86 percent of fathers would have taken more time off at the arrival of their children, but felt restricted by financial factors and employer constraints.

June 6, 2018

Not funny. Women twice as likely to be negatively affected by workplace banter as men

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

One in 10 women blame workplace banter for causing mental health issues and are twice as likely as men to have been negatively affected by workplace banter, according to a new report by The Institute of Leadership & Management. Banter: Just a bit of fun or crossing the line? found that more women (twice as many at 20 percent) were made to feel less confident than their male colleagues due to the negative banter they experienced and 10 percent of women said banter has had a negative impact on their mental health, compared to just three percent of men. The survey also revealed that those at the mid-way point in their careers (31-40 years) are most affected by banter. This age group reported loss in confidence, drops in performance and poor mental health due to experiencing negative banter. They also said they avoided work situations and skipped work socials. The findings showed that over a third of graduate trainees have been left embarrassed by banter and people (over 1 in 4) in their first job are more likely to avoid work socials than any other group as a result of banter.

June 1, 2018

Opening the door to a new workplace experience for everybody

by Omar Ramirez • Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

There’s no one way to approach diversity and inclusion initiatives. However, we’re very lucky as fellow professionals involved in creating a great workplace experience for everybody to be able to take an active and vital role in improving the setting for these initiatives. If you work at a company that is embracing diversity and inclusion, what I have set out in this commentary is simply a group of thought starters based on previous experience, pain points, and ways you could easily push forward to make spaces that better accommodate all users. At a time when 69 percent of executives rate diversity and inclusion as an important issue, it’s important for we workplace professionals to take the initiative.

May 29, 2018

Are these the UK’s best coworking spaces?

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property

IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, has announced the 12 longlisted finalists for the 2018 Coworking Space of the Year award. The award has been launched to recognise the role coworking spaces play in ‘creating a nurturing, inclusive and stimulating environment for the UK’s thriving 4.8 million-strong self-employed workforce;. The venues were judged on a range of criteria including the quality of facilities and staff, the innovation, creativity and distinctiveness of their venue, the passion and commitment to their members and the freelancing community, and the price and value of its membership packages. Intriguingly, only one is in London.

May 1, 2018

No surprises in new report on future workplace trends

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The latest Global Workplace Trends report from Sodexo focuses on the ‘workplace experience’ and how it affects levels of engagement, wellbeing and corporate performance. It’s an undemanding study that sets out seven trends covering familiar themes in a familiar way, even though the authors claim it offers ‘fresh insights’. As well as the idea of ‘experience’, it touches on ideas about the intersections of digital and physical space and the implications for people and organisations as well as the workplace professions. It uses the standard vocabulary, various buzzwords and the usual presuppositions to look at the impact of Millennials, AI, the sharing economy and so on. The visuals are the usual parade of smiling, diverse – but no unattractive, disabled and old – hipsters sharing screens and being creative in sun-dappled interiors. Sauce it with some virtue signals and it’s job done.

April 24, 2018

Globalisation prompts increase in number of CEOs from abroad at FTSE companies

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Globalisation is leading to a growing trend amongst FTSE listed companies to hire senior leaders from abroad as organisations look for leaders with international experience. Although UK CEOs remain the first choice, with 60 percent of CEOs who were appointed through internal promotion last year being British, according to the Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO Tracker, UK companies are now increasing the number of global CEOs within the FTSE 100. In practise this means that the total number of UK CEOs leading the FTSE 100 has slipped to 61 of the total 100 companies from 65 a year ago. Nearly half (47 percent) of those CEOs who were hired externally for the top position were of other nationalities and of the 14 new CEO hires made this year, eight were of UK heritage, while six are leaders from the rest of the globe, edging the dial ever closer to a 50/50 split.

April 12, 2018

Poor company culture is costing the UK economy £23.6 billion per year

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new report claims that a third of people (34 percent) who leave their job, do so because of perceived poor company culture. The report, authored by breatheHR claims the associated cost of bad company culture is around £23.6 billion per year. The survey of 2,500 people analysed in The Culture Economy, also suggests that well over half of SME leaders (60 percent) consider company culture as a ‘nice to have’ in their business.This mindset has a number of knock-on effects. According to the Chartered Management Institute, effective leadership could improve Britain’s productivity by 23 percent. However, with over half (53 percent) of employees surveyed who distrust their senior management, thinking their bosses ‘didn’t appear to know what they were doing’, there is some work to be done.

March 30, 2018

CIPD to co-chair Government’s flexible working task force

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The CIPD has been invited to co-chair the UK Government’s new Flexible Working Task Force. The task force has been established by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to promote wider understanding and implementation of inclusive flexible work and working practices, bringing together policy-makers, employer groups, Unions and employee representative groups, research groups and professional bodies. More →