Search Results for: employees

Two-thirds of British workers more productive working in the office

Two-thirds of British workers more productive working in the office 0

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Office teamwork

Despite half (50 percent) of the British workforce saying they are equipped with the right tools and technology to enable them to work anywhere, half (50 percent) of respondents to a new survey stated that remote working can make them feel stressed, isolated or lonely (43 percent) and over half (53 percent) said that working out of the office makes them feel disconnected from colleagues. The survey from Peldon Rose, found that two-thirds (66 percent) of British workers say they work most productively in the office compared with a quarter (26 percent) who work most productively at home. The survey results also underline how vital close working relationships with colleagues are to employees’ happiness, wellbeing and productivity with nine in 10 (91 percent) of office workers stating they value their friendships within the workplace and 80 percent crediting their friendships with colleagues with helping them to be more productive at work – something they feel boosts their productivity even more than personal technology (66 percent).

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How tech giant EMC standardised the design and management of its office portfolio

How tech giant EMC standardised the design and management of its office portfolio 0

by • Case studies, Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

workplace-insight-imagesThis summer’s headlines have been full of discord, a cacophony of angry voices either directed at continental Europe, or at the Brexiters who voted for Britain to leave the European Union. But EMC, a global leader in information technology-as-a-service which has recently been acquired by Dell, is a leading light of European integration through its One Team approach to workplace management and design across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Over the past three years, the EMC Global Real Estate and Facilities Team (GREF), which supports more than 12,000 people in around 130 office locations across 50 countries in EMEA, has transformed from a group operating independently, to a fully-aligned team which provides a uniform and standardised approach to workplace delivery and management to enable greater business success.

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Millennials have just the same needs for peace and quiet as everybody else

Millennials have just the same needs for peace and quiet as everybody else 0

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

shhhAsked for the dream millennial workplace, most people would probably envision a brightly coloured open environment with pool tables, bean bag chairs and maybe a small basketball court. But it turns out that young people in the workplace have the same psychological requirements as the old crowd, and may even be more sensitive to distractions. A recent study by Oxford Economics suggests that distractions in the workplace are seriously hindering people’s ability to concentrate and perform, with little recognition from above. The transition to open offices since the end of the 20th century and the environmental factors they bring into play may be affecting people’s mental health, reducing employee happiness and thereby the bottom line of business performance.

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Corporate real estate sector continues to make progress in energy consumption, carbon emissions and water use

Corporate real estate sector continues to make progress in energy consumption, carbon emissions and water use 0

by • Environment, News, Property

marina_bayThe world’s leading corporate real estate owners and managers are making significant progress in reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions and water usage in their buildings, according to a new report from the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Greenprint Center for Building Performance. The Greenprint Performance Report, which measures and tracks the performance of more than 5,400 properties owned by Greenprint’s members, demonstrates a 3.4 percent reduction in energy consumption, a 3.9 percent reduction in carbon emissions and a 4.8 percent reduction in water use between 2014 and 2015. According to the study, since Greenprint started recording building performance in 2009, the energy consumed by members’ properties tracked by Greenprint has dropped 13.7 percent. Carbon emissions from those properties have decreased 16.5 percent; and water usage has dropped by 10.6 percent. The reductions occurred even as building occupancy rose, suggesting that greater space usage does not necessarily cause a decline in building performance.

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How and why employee fitness became part of the corporate agenda

How and why employee fitness became part of the corporate agenda 0

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

employee-fitness-muffin-topsAs the national obesity crisis worsens and a regular flow of statistics inform us that we’re a nation in trouble, with no demographic escaping the threat, we seem to have become obsessed with how fit or unfit we are. This is reflected in our growing interest in how many calories we consume and how much exercise we manage – right down to how many steps we take a day. No surprise then that this interest has started to manifest itself in the workplace where employee fitness appears to be an issue addressed in the boardroom. Last year, research carried out by The Workforce Institute at Kronos revealed that almost 75 per cent of workers (a total of 9,000 were questioned) believe that wearable technology, designed to capture vast amounts of biometric data and manage health risks, could lead to increased efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Measuring levels of physical activity is but a small part of the obsession with health and well-being which has infiltrated the workplace overall. There is also physical evidence, from the desks that we sit at to issues of bicycle storage and showering facilities, that we are mindful of our health.

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Triple threat to worker wellbeing is financial, mental and physical

Triple threat to worker wellbeing is financial, mental and physical 0

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Triple threat to worker wellbeingWorkers are under siege from a triple threat to their wellbeing, often dealing with a combination of financial, mental and physical health problems. Research from AXA PPP healthcare claims that over half (52 per cent) of nearly 2,500 workers polled had faced financial difficulties, while around a third say they’ve lived with mental ill health (36 per cent) or had problems with their physical health (30 per cent). Most workers (81 per cent) say that, when they’ve experienced difficulties with their mental health, their physical health has suffered too, while over half (52 per cent) admit that their finances have been adversely affected. Similarly, when facing problems with their physical health, 71 per cent say that they’ve also experienced difficulties with their mental health, while 40 per cent report that their finances have taken a turn for the worse. A sizeable proportion of employees who’ve had financial difficulties say that their mental health (76 per cent) and physical health (50 per cent) have also been adversely affected.

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Fifth of UK staff say stress at work negatively impacts their health

Fifth of UK staff say stress at work negatively impacts their health 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Stress at workOne in five people say their workload as having a negative impact on their health. Respondents to a survey of 2,000 UK workers state their jobs have caused them to suffer from depression and other stress-related illnesses. The research, commissioned by staffing app Coople, and carried out by OnePoll, claims that 30 per cent of respondents said work has made them unhappy and stressed, while more than a quarter (26 per cent) say their job causes arguments with their partner – 8 per cent of which say work has been the major factor in the breakdown of their relationship. Over half of those polled (51 per cent) have attributed a lacklustre social life to their work commitments; with 28 per cent working late, 18 per cent responding to emails out of hours and 10 per cent picking up calls outside of their hours.

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People with MS face ‘disturbing’ levels of workplace bullying and mistreatment

People with MS face ‘disturbing’ levels of workplace bullying and mistreatment 1

by • News, Wellbeing

bullyingA study by The MS Society claims that people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) are facing ‘disturbing’ levels of disability discrimination at work, as it releases new survey results. In the survey of 1,018 people living with MS, almost a quarter (24 percent) of respondents say their employer has treated them badly as a result of their condition, and a fifth (20 percent) say their work colleagues have done so. Of the people who say they have faced mistreatment from their employer, an overwhelming majority (91 percent) say their employers knew they had the condition. And 85 percent who faced mistreatment from their work colleagues say their colleagues were aware. The survey reveals distressing examples of mistreatment people have faced at work. This includes facing offensive and humiliating comments, feeling bullied, and being accused of looking too well to have an illness or disability. People also say they have lost out on promotions, been forced out of work unfairly, and have had requests for reasonable adjustments denied (adjustments to working practices or practical support to help people to continue to do their role effectively).

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Where are zero hours contracts and the gig economy taking us?

Where are zero hours contracts and the gig economy taking us? 0

by • Comment, Flexible working

gig-economyZero-hours contracts have had a bad time in the press. Mike Ashley, founder of Sports Direct, has taken a pounding after uproar over workers conditions, and after vehemently defending his position, he is remarkably making a U-turn, ditching the controversial zero-hours employment arrangements. A large number of companies new also turning their backs on zero hours, including Cineworld, Greene King and Wetherspoons. Casual work isn’t a new phenomenon. In fact, the secure, jobs-for-life of post-war Britain lasted merely a few decades. Prior to the 1940s casual work was the longstanding nemesis of the working class. The welfare state and the much-cherished political mantra of full employment emerged in a post-war, golden age. In the 1980s capitalism found its sway. Margaret Thatcher redefined worker’s rights, and it paved the way for employers to benefit again from a more flexible workforce and ultimately what we now refer to as the gig economy.

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Third of new parents in US feel bosses presume they’re less committed

Third of new parents in US feel bosses presume they’re less committed 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

working-parentsNearly 70 percent of expectant women and new parents say their employer tops the list of considerations when deciding to start a family. The new US-based study suggests that today’s generation of parents are determined to build families without postponing or abandoning career ambitions, but find themselves faced with an unfriendly and unsupportive environment at work. The third annual report in the Modern Family Index (MFI) series, commissioned by Bright Horizons Family Solutions found that women and men are waiting longer to have children, with the data showing births are down among women in their twenties and up for women over age 35. And though virtually all women surveyed are excited to return to work after a maternity leave, more than one in three new parents report feeling that their boss presumes they are now less committed to work and would prefer if they left.

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Staff engagement boosted by learning opportunities over benefits

Staff engagement boosted by learning opportunities over benefits 0

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Staff engagement

It is often assumed that salary, bonuses and office perks are essential to staff engagement as the most important criteria valued by employees, but a new survey suggests otherwise. Instead, the survey by totaljobs found that across all age groups and industries what people value far more than anything else is learning on the job, selected by almost all (97 percent) of 6,829 people questioned. Loyalty and variety in a role, valued by 93 percent of respondents, also came out strong, emphasising that for most people work is about a lot more than a pay check. The need to feel they are progressing, learning new things and the company appreciates their contribution were all important factors in how much people enjoy their jobs. The other things valued most by employees were  variety in a role (93 percent); working autonomously (68 percent); perks and benefits (67 percent) and structured teams (64 percent).

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New CoreNet Global / HOK report explores impact of coworking on corporate real estate

New CoreNet Global / HOK report explores impact of coworking on corporate real estate 0

by • Coworking, Flexible working, News

wework-coworking-new-york

The UK Chapter of CoreNet Global, in partnership with HOK’s WorkPlace practice, has released a new report that studies the impact of coworking from a corporate real estate (CRE) perspective. With coworking now one of the fastest-growing sectors of the commercial real estate market, the new report, Coworking: A Corporate Real Estate Perspective, examines the drivers of coworking from the demand and supply side, the industry risks and implications for corporate real estate, as well as information about the owners, coworkers and centres. The CoreNet Global / HOK Coworking report highlights the ideas that changing business priorities and the need to attract talented people, reduce real estate costs, improve speed to innovation and increase productivity are driving corporations to consider different workplace models, including on- and off-site coworking.

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