Search Results for: tech

May 14, 2015

Expert advice issued on managing mental health in the workplace

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Mental health can affect people’s personal lives, wellbeing and morale. But it can also impact on their performance at work and be costly for businesses. That’s the message from Acas, which, to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, has issued a guide to managing mental health in the workplace. It advocates creating an environment where people feel confident they can disclose conditions to employers; that employers be aware of any changes in behaviour that might suggest they’re having problems; and suggests that if a problem is being caused by work, look into ways of facilitating changes, such as offering flexible working opportunities. It is also suggested that wellness initiatives which encourage healthy eating, exercise and mindfulness can also help to reduce the severity of mental ill health.

May 13, 2015

The May issue of Work&Place is available for you to read online

by Mark Eltringham • News, Premium Content, Work&Place

The May issue of Work&Place is now available to view online in two formats. If there is a theme for this quarter’s issue, it is the intersection of the different physical and technological spaces which make up the modern workplace. This not only throws up fascinating topics and ideas, it also has profound implications for the way we create, manage and inhabit these spaces and is also eroding many of the old demarcations between professions. The issue maintains its international perspective and features many of the world’s most prominent workplace thinkers. Of course, this is not a one way street and you can join the discussion with the Work&Place contributors and many others. We hope that you will take up this opportunity to ask questions, challenge the writers, or to make a related point at the Work&Place LinkedIn Group or via Twitter.

May 12, 2015

Commuting costs the UK £148 billion annually, claims new report

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

In spite of the growth of flexible working in the UK, commuting to an office each day costs British workers and the national economy some £148 billion annually. That is the key finding of a new report from recruitment firm Randstad. The study claims that an average commute for staff in the UK covers around 22 miles, taking around 43 minutes. The report claims that the time spent commuting continues to increase as people move further away from their main place of work, especially in the South East and North West of England. London workers – unsurprisingly – spend more than anybody else on commuting. There are also major differences across sectors with the workers in financial services, accountancy and IT industries subject to the most costly commutes.

May 11, 2015

Nearly a third of Brits would rather lose a finger than their broadband connection

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

According to a report by technology comparison website Cable.co.uk, nearly a third of British people say they would rather live without one of their fingers than without access to the internet and a further quarter couldn’t choose between the two. According to the study of 2,500 British residents, when asked if they had to live their life without either one of their fingers (the report doesn’t say which, although that would surely make a difference) or their internet connection which would they choose, one in three (29 percent) said they would rather lose a finger, while a further 25 percent claim they couldn’t decide between the two. They’re not alone in believing in the indispensability of broadband. In February, a House of Lords committee recommended reclassifying broadband as a public utility.

May 11, 2015

Does declining productivity spell the end for IT and property directors?

by John Blackwell • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Technology, Work&Place

When it comes to increasing organisational output, which in turn directly relates to real wage growth and higher living standards, the only determinant is productivity, measured in terms of output per hour worked. This is at the heart of all businesses and is essential for growth. The basic facts on productivity are clear. For over a decade, productivity has been painfully weak across all the major economies. The UK has performed particularly badly, with productivity having declined by 3.7 percent since 2008. A recent OECD report went as far as saying: “weak labour productivity since 2004 has been holding back real wages and well-being. The sustainability of economic expansion and further progress in living standards rest on boosting productivity growth, which is a key challenge for the coming years”.

May 11, 2015

Big Data set to transform facilities management, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Technology

A new report available at www.researchandmarkets.com claims that the facilities management sector is set to become one of the main beneficiaries of Big Data Analytics, despite the fact that it is ‘not traditionally known as a high-tech industry’. The authors of the report, Big Data Analytics in Facilities Management claim that Big Data analytics (BDA) is ‘a powerful driver for change in business and operational models to enable better informed, smarter, and faster decisions…and leaders of integrated facilities management are at the forefront of exploring trends, technologies, and wider opportunities in pursuit of greater business value. The report mentions firms such Accenture, Google, Microsoft and Planon to show the impact of Big Data on intelligent facilities management.

May 10, 2015

How the US judiciary is slashing costs with effective facilities management

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Public Sector, Technology, Workplace design

It’s not just the UK public sector that is looking to achieve major restrictions in its expenditure on property through the use of technology, shared space and more efficient facilities management practices. According to a report from the Judicial Conference of the United States, organisations in the nationwide US judiciary have achieved significant savings with an ‘aggressive space and rent reduction initiative’. The judicial branch across the nation claims to have achieved nearly 30 percent of its target of reducing building space by 3 percent over the next three years. Federal courts are reducing space by ‘closing or downsizing facilities; closing, reducing, or finding different uses for circuit libraries; releasing under-utilised space; and using technology and mobility to share space when possible’.

May 8, 2015

The death of the office has been overstated but it is changing, study confirms

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design

The implications for the property industry of more efficient space planning models and the uptake of flexible working are laid bare in a new report from planning and design consultancy Nathaniel, Lichfield and Partners (NLP). The headline figure from the report, Workspace Futures: The changing dynamics of office locations is that the office stock in England and Wales rose by 17 percent in the twelve years to 2012 while the numbers of office based staff increased by around 21 percent. The report includes details on how these trends affect 11 key locations including Manchester, Cambridge, Bristol, Newcastle and Reading and concludes that while ‘the death of the office has been largely overstated’, the market is undergoing structural changes that need to be addressed by developers and government.

May 8, 2015

Cautious welcome by IoD to plans for a Digital Single Market across Europe

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Technology

The Institute of Directors has given a cautious welcome to the plans announced by the European Commission this week to create a Digital Single Market across Europe. At present, online barriers means businesses are not fully benefitting from digital tools; there is less opportunity for cross border selling and Internet companies and start-ups are unable to take full advantage of growth opportunities online. The aim of the Digital Single Market is to remove regulatory walls and eventually move from 28 national markets to a single one. According to the European Commission, a fully functional Digital Single Market could contribute €415 billion per year to the economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

May 7, 2015

Learning needs to be linked to overall business strategies says the CIPD

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

The CIPD has warned that Learning and Development (L&D) professionals need to link learning more directly to their organisation’s business strategies. This follows the results of its annual L&D survey which found that by limiting their focus to learner and manager feedback, just 7 per cent of L&D professionals evaluate the impact of their initiatives on the business. This lack of evaluation can contribute to skills gaps being undetected, particularly in the use of new learning technologies such as Gamification. The CIPD is urging L&D professionals to look beyond trainee satisfaction and measure initiatives in terms of how they add value to the organisation and society in general. This latest research follows the publication of a report by Skillsoft last week which revealed that 55 per cent of employers admitted they were more likely to recruit externally to address skills shortages.

May 7, 2015

Understanding and overcoming the objections to sit stand workstations

by Marc Bird • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design

In Sweden, sit-stand working is so commonplace that our Nordic colleagues are perplexed by how slow the UK has been to catch up. The expectation of varying working positions throughout the day is so widespread across Scandinavia that over 80 percent of Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Norwegian office workers already use sit stand workstations, and offering employees a height adjustable work station is now mandatory in Denmark. Despite sit-stand working still being in its infancy in the UK, with only 2 percent of knowledge workers having access to height adjustable workstations, there is plenty of compelling evidence, and a groundswell of expert opinion, to suggest that the UK office is going to have to get off its backside pretty soon.

May 5, 2015

A responsible approach needed for the design and build of London’s towers ⁰

by Paul Chilton • Architecture, Comment, Property

There are currently over 260 new towers either proposed, approved or under construction in Greater London, a 12 per cent increase on last year. There has been much debate and concern about the impact of the design and build of so many new towers on the capital and in particular the visual impact. The Skyline Campaign was launched last year with signatures from over 80 public figures hoping to halt the ‘destruction’ of London’s skyline. London is a busy city, on a small island with limited space. Towers allow us to create residential and commercial property using a minimal amount of land. However it is vital that new buildings that are tall enough to have a visual impact have the right design, are in the right place, and are built at the right time.