March 29, 2023
Magenta Associates, the communications specialist for the built environment, has signed The Anti-Greenwash Charter, an agreement to promote responsible marketing within the industry. Magenta has a long-standing commitment to responsible and sustainable practices, and by signing The Anti-Greenwash Charter it enhances that commitment to honest, sustained messaging. More →
March 28, 2023
The Sustainable Design Collective, a ‘think tank’ group of leading workplace designers and specifiers, has announced a new Forum Day, together with industry awards, focussed on greater sustainability. Originally formed in January 2022, the Sustainable Design Collective hosts regular meetings to collaborate and discuss new opportunities to promote environmental and social responsibility within the office workplace. The group is now inviting conversations with fellow designers as well as suppliers and manufacturers. More →
March 27, 2023
The office has passed through five ages. The ‘coffee houses’ of the 17th century, yielded to the ‘clerical factories’ of the 19th as machines revolutionised work. After the Second World War, the ‘corporate offices’ of global corporations and William Whyte’s Organization Man dominated the scene. Following the launch of IBM’s PC in the early-1980s, we saw the rise of ‘digital offices’ in the 1990s, complete with internet, email and social media. And for the past few years we have been moving inexorably towards the latest age: ‘network offices’. Each age was shorter than its predecessor: both the digital and network ages began less than a career span ago. More →
March 24, 2023
Like never before, 2021 saw record-breaking levels of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity globally, a trend that continued into 2022 until a challenging macroeconomic landscape resulted in a sharp decline in activity. This was mainly because businesses waited to see what the coming months would bring. Whilst experts believe that M&A activity won’t return to levels seen in 2021, they do expect an increase as markets adapt, recover, and look for ways to increase profit. And that has major consequences for company culture, which is so important to get right in the mergers and acquisition process. More →
March 24, 2023
Trade association FIS has launched a revised Client Guide to Office Fit-Out and Refurbishment with the aim of promoting best practice in the fit-out process and to take account of new working practices post-pandemic, the Building Safety Act and advances in sustainability. First published in 2017, this updated guide is aimed at clients, contractors and architects involved in fit-out projects in a changing world. It is available for free download. More →
March 20, 2023
Working from home now constitutes a part of many office workers’ lives so the latest revision to The Society of Light and Lighting Guide now includes guidance for those creating an office in their home through the conversion of a bedroom or other room. This revision to The Society of Light and Lighting’s Lighting Guide 7: Lighting for Offices [paywall] is the most significant in a long time. Not because of the amount of information that has changed or been introduced, but because home working now constitutes a part of many office workers’ lives. Such a dramatic change for many could not have been foreseen when the previous edition of LG7 was published. More →
March 10, 2023
New research claims to reveal how people who belong to ‘Generation Z’ perceive online ‘personal brands’ as a crucial tool to gain more advantage in job markets. The study, led by the University of East Anglia in collaboration with the University of Greenwich, claims to demonstrate the importance of authentically building online personal branding strategies and tactics to bridge the gap between Gen Z ‘s desired and perceived images on social media when job seeking. More →
March 9, 2023
Between the 9th and 13th Centuries, the world’s intellectual centre and the source of much of its progress, discovery and achievement was Baghdad. This was the Muslim Golden Age and at its core was the House of Wisdom, established by the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. At one point, this library housed the largest collection of books on Earth and drew the greatest minds in the world to share ideas, innovate and explore ancient sources of science and wisdom from Greek and Persian texts. Muslim, Jewish, Christian and atheist scholars worked together to advance human understanding until a slow decline culminated with a later Caliph declaring that its diversity of thought should bow to a literal interpretation of the Quran and Hadith.
March 6, 2023
An inaugural conference that gave insight into how the UK furnishing industry is mitigating climate change proved an outstanding success. The Routes to Greater Sustainability Industry Day was organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company in association with the British Furniture Confederation (BFC) and took place on Thursday 16 February at Furniture Makers’ Hall, London.
March 3, 2023
There’s a common perception that artificial intelligence will help streamline our work. There are even fears that it could wipe out the need for some jobs altogether. But in a study of science laboratories I carried out with three colleagues at the University of Manchester, the introduction of automated processes that aim to simplify work — and free people’s time — can also make that work more complex, generating new tasks that many workers might perceive as mundane. More →
February 9, 2023
A new CIPD survey of business leaders claims there is a significant mismatch between the scale of the challenge that workplace issues currently pose to businesses and how often workforce issues and people data are discussed by senior leaders. In response, the CIPD is warning that organisations are unlikely to perform well in the long term unless decisions taken at a board and executive management level are informed by an in-depth and evidence-based understanding of the value and risk their workforce poses. More →
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March 30, 2023
Every workplace innovation contains the seeds of its opposite
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology