April 15, 2019
BSRIA has launched a new guide that aims to inform those involved in the design, construction and operation of a building about how an effective Business-Focused Maintenance (BFM) regime can be developed and achieved through the Soft Landings approach. The topic guide on Soft Landings and BFM is written as an ‘at a glance publication’ to give readers a glimpse of the subject and recommends further reading. More →
April 15, 2019
Unlikable work colleagues, who are noisy, annoying and even steal from the office fridge top the list of workplace grumbles, according to a survey of 650 UK workers. The YouGov survey, conducted on behalf of Crown Workspace, named fellow colleagues more annoying than old or slow technology, uncomfortable office temperatures and even rude or over-friendly bosses.
Generationally, it seems that millennials (aged between 25-32) have the most to grumble about. Over half (54 percent) of millennials find their colleagues unlikable. In comparison only 36 percent of those aged 45-54 dislike colleagues, indicating that older workers are more tolerant of their younger colleagues. Old technology and unlikable bosses also score highly on millennials list of grumbles, with half (50 percent) moaning about them.
By comparison, only a third of 18-25 year olds listed old technology as an issue, and 30 percent disliked their boss. Millennials, more than any other age group, were also more discontented with: desk space (29 percent), facilities (42 percent), poor office location (30 percent) and poor décor and furniture (25 percent). Out of all of the working age ranges from 18 – 65, millennials moan about each of the top ten grumbles the most.
When it comes to differences between the sexes the research found that women are more likely than men to complain about temperatures (45 percent vs 39 percent) and poor lighting (31 percent vs 22 percent).
The UK’s top 10 office grumbles are:
1. Disagreeable work colleagues
2. Slow or old technology
3. Uncomfortable temperature
4. Disagreeable bosses
5. Poor facilities
6. Poor lighting
7. Inadequate office space
8. Poor office location
9. Inadequate deskspace
10. Poor décor and furniture
April 5, 2019
We start with a question. Why hasn’t the gig economy killed traditional work?, asks Greg Rosalsky and goes on to explain what many people have now realised. The answer, as Greg points out, is that the gig economy doesn’t replace traditional work, never has, and the rise of casual work of this kind has primarily been a way for people to deal with a volatile labour market and shrinking real incomes. Offer them the choice of a decent monthly income, benefits and a contract and most of them will take you up on it.
April 2, 2019
Channel 4 is in advanced negotiations with developer Cubex to locate its new Creative Hub at Finzels Reach, Bristol’s new waterfront quarter. Channel 4 will lease 3,200 sq ft of space on the second floor of the Fermentation Buildings at Finzels Reach. Channel 4 announced in October 2018 that it had confirmed that Leeds would be the new National HQ alongside Glasgow and Bristol as its Creative Hubs.
March 21, 2019
I often refer to Google and Facebook in my blog, due to their influence on workplace design. Many consider them to be workplace interior’s holy grail. But today’s big employers are competing with one another on a much broader set of principles. Cool interiors alone just won’t cut it. Zürich, like many European cities is home to a large number of global brands, with bustling financial services and tech sectors. I regularly hear of people with multiple job offers taking a job with a lower salary, rather than accepting a role in a company that doesn’t reflect their ideals. This decision can be influenced by office design and facilities, career development options, corporate culture and much more. More →
March 20, 2019
The quality of the workplace has a powerful effect on the levels of happiness of staff, with nearly half of respondents (49 percent) to a recent survey stating that having a great office environment is important to their happiness at work, but according to the figures, only a quarter (25 percent) say a good workplace environment is a current positive about their work. The survey from Peldon Rose also found that less than half (45 percent) of employees actually feel appreciated at work and only two-thirds (67 percent) report feeling happy. Yet the majority of workers (80 percent) who took part, believe that feeling appreciated is most important to their happiness at work – ahead of salary (58 percent) and feeling trusted (55 percent).
March 17, 2019
Workplace design and fit-out specialist Area, has completed a 30-week refurbishment of the Colmore Row, Birmingham offices for Mills & Reeve, one of the UK’s top law firms. With six floors in constant operation and located in a prime area of Birmingham’s business district access was tight, timescales tighter and work had to be undertaken without disruption to the day-to-day running of a major law firm. The design concept reflects the Mills & Reeve brand but is tailored to the Birmingham location, embracing the history of the area and the architectural features of the building.
February 27, 2019
We know, and have for a long time, that the workplace is in a state of near constant flux and so we often fall into the trap of assuming that there is some sort of evolution towards an idealised version of it. That is why we see so many people routinely willing to suspend their critical facilities to make extravagant and even absurd predictions about the office of the future or even the death of the office. This is perniciously faulty thinking. However we can frame a number of workplace related ideas in terms of evolutionary theory, so long as we accept one of the central precepts about evolution. Namely that there is no end game, just types progressing and sometimes dying out along the distinct branches of a complex ecosystem. As a nerdy sort of guy of a certain age, I’ve tended to frame my thoughts on all of this with reference to an idea from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by the great Douglas Adams.
February 27, 2019
By failing to properly explore what service provision is offered in the event of a serious incident such as flood or fire, businesses are leaving themselves vulnerable to a failing of business continuity, a new survey from Regus suggests. The survey found that 40 percent of businesses rely solely on what their workplace recovery provider tells them, or what is in their contract to protect them from a crisis. The lack of testing of recovery facilities by businesses also leaves them open to further disruption, with businesses at risk of finding that, in reality, the location they have been allocated is too small, with seats only available on a first-come-first-served basis, leaving business-critical staff unable to work.
February 26, 2019
We have published the latest Work&Place issue for Spring 2019. As always, it offers a diverse compilation of timely and provocative perspectives focused on the intersections between and among work, the workplace, technology, culture, and business strategy. You might start with Rob Harris’s call for shooting the messengers in his (highly responsible) rant on the dearth of meaningful research about the business value of open offices and the all-too-frequent unfounded claims about how wonderful open plan is.
February 22, 2019
Would an investor plow millions of dollars into a stock and never bother to track how the investment does? Of course not. Nor would they confuse the expected return on investment (ROI) with the actual results. We don’t guess about financial investments. We don’t base investment decisions on what some stranger does or how they say they’ve done. So why then, do many of the largest companies in the world invest millions of dollars in buildings or renovating their workplaces and never even bother to measure results. Why are they so willing to copy the unproven workplace strategy of others? Why are they satisfied with projected results, rather than measuring how their investments actually perform? More →
April 3, 2019
Coworking and a new golden era for the workplace and the people who inhabit it
by Gary Chandler • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design
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