Search Results for: media

May 19, 2022

NeoCon announces full programme of dynamic events

by Freddie Steele • News, Workplace design, Works Magazine

With more than 400 companies showcasing thousands of new products, programming from the industry’s top thought leaders, and more, the 2022 edition of NeoCon (June 13-15) will be jam-packed with innovation and opportunities to experience the future of commercial interior design first hand. A hub for community and connecting within the industry, this year’s NeoCon will offer a wealth of engaging installations, as well as on-site activations and events that will provide invaluable moments to gather together, learn from each other, and share ideas. (more…)

May 16, 2022

Future Shock: a message from the past that defines the present ¹

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing

We are all futurologists now. We all have our 2020 visions, at least for a little while. But there was a time, not so long ago, when the title was reserved for a few people who would be able to shake and shape the world with a single idea and a book. Yes, a book. Nowadays a book has to go hand in hand with a Ted Talk, blogs on the Huff Post and a speaking tour to get you anywhere at all. But within living memory it was possible to shift the thinking of the planet with a book. (more…)

May 16, 2022

Competition for talent is fierce, but employers edge away from pay to attract people

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New CIPD research claims that almost half (45 percent) of UK employers report having vacancies that are hard-to-fill, and almost two thirds (65 percent) anticipate problems filling vacancies in the next six months. The most common response made in the past six months by employers with hard-to-fill vacancies has been to increase pay (44 percent). However, only a quarter (27 percent) of organisations plan to raise wages in response to the competition for talent in the future. This suggests that organisations may be approaching their limit on this ‘quick win’ strategy and are exploring alternative options, such as upskilling people and flexible working, to attract and retain people. (more…)

May 12, 2022

Flexible working now arriving at aisle three

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

Remote workers might soon be able to do their jobs and shop for groceries at the same time, under a new “Spaces” project between Tesco and flexible office operator IWG. A trial at a branch of Tesco in New Malden that will start later in this month and will accommodate 12 private desks, 30 co-working spaces and a meeting room. The 3,800 sq ft space within the store would normally have been used for electrical goods, music, and other forms of entertainment, most of which are now mainly purchased online. The aim is to make better use of floor space and, if successful, Tesco stores across the country could become flexible working hubs. (more…)

May 11, 2022

Facilities managers: you never noticed us because we did such a great job

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

Getting all hot under the collar about brushed chrome door furniture is an understandable but classic displacement activity when much of your work is messy, unglamorous and even occasionally dangerous. You work alongside designers and architects and look longingly at their apparent casual trendiness and clean lines, marvelling at the quality of the beech from sustainably managed European forestries (kiln dried to 10-12 per cent moisture content) with which they have specified the side tables in reception. Achingly cool and effortless in a way you feel you’ll never be.

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May 11, 2022

The truth about motivation, engagement and the employment of motivated idiots

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design

The current obsession with engagement and motivation is evident every time you read the business media these days. This is understandable in many ways, not least because it seems true that firms and employees are often working in an atmosphere of mistrust. But one thing that is often noticeable when a profession such as HR gets itself into a debate of this nature is the gap that can exist between practitioners and everybody else offering a view. So while academics can talk about definitions and suppliers seek to apply their solutions to the issue, it is often down to those who work at the sharp end to dish up the truth, however unpalatable or cynical that can seem to be. (more…)

May 11, 2022

Job dissatisfaction is rife among senior executives – and hybrid working doesn’t help

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Widespread job dissatisfaction means a large proportion of senior executives from top US companies plan to leave their organisations in the next two years, according to a new report from KellyOCG. According to the 2022 KellyOCG Global Workforce Report – Re:work – there’s a significant disconnect between employees’ expectations and the support employers provide. Through a survey of C-suite leaders, board members, department heads, directors, and managers in 12 countries, including the United States and Canada, the report claims that 78 percent of US executives and 52 percent of Canadian executives, compared to 72 percent of leaders globally, aim to leave their jobs by 2024. (more…)

May 10, 2022

BCO honours the best workplaces in South of England and South Wales

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

Six South of England and South Wales workplaces have been recognised at the annual British Council for Offices’ (BCO) Regional Awards. The South of England and South Wales Awards Dinner returned in-person at We the Curious at Bristol Harbourside, recognising the highest quality developments in the South of England and South Wales and setting the standard for excellence in the office sector across the UK. (more…)

April 29, 2022

Working from home can present particular challenges for women

by Rachel King • Comment, Flexible working

The pandemic has brought with it many different trials and tribulations over the course of the past few years. An area that has impacted teams across the country, and the world, has been working from home and other forms of remote work. Once a necessity imposed by the UK government to stop the spread in the early stages of the pandemic, it has now become a part of working life for many people in many different sectors. It has offered many employees the new luxury of time: no commutes resulting in more time to spend with family and friends and creating a better work-life balance. (more…)

April 28, 2022

Demand for office space ‘bounces back’

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

The start of 2022 saw a jump in new tenants looking to rent UK commercial property, with the uplift particularly prevalent in prime office space. Investor enquiries across all UK commercial property also continued to rise, according to the RICS Commercial Property Market Survey, Q1 2022. Respondents to the survey saw a notable increase in UK office demand in Q1 2022 with the net balance improving to +30 percent from a flat picture at the end of 2021. A considerable change in sentiment was also seen in the retail sector, as occupier demand moved into relatively neutral territory (-1% net balance), the first time this reading has been neutral or positive since the beginning of 2017. (more…)

April 27, 2022

A third of workers think their jobs are at risk from automation

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

A new poll claims that one in three (37 percent) employees consider their current job to be at risk from automation and digital transformation. HR software provider CIPHR has compiled a list of the occupations that are the most and least likely to be replaced by technology or machines, based on the results of a survey of more than 1,000 UK workers: www.ciphr.com/jobs-at-risk-from-automation. Survey respondents were asked to rate the likelihood that their own occupation could become automated in the future, due to advances in smart technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and robotics. (more…)

April 26, 2022

Two thirds would take a pay cut in exchange for a four day week

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A poll of 2,000 people published in the new edition of the State of Hybrid Work study from Owl Labs claims that flexibility is now key to retaining top talent in 2022 and beyond. 65 percent of British employees would rather be paid less in exchange for a four day week and over a third (37 percent) would choose to decline a job if flexible hours are not offered. The report claims that offering greater flexibility will prove key to preventing employees from driving the ‘Great Resignation’ – with nearly one in three (31 percent) employees changing jobs in the past two years and a quarter (25 percent) of employees actively seeking a new opportunity in 2022. (more…)