Search Results for: people

October 18, 2016

UK marketers suffering from tech-induced anxiety, survey claims ⁰

More than half (55 percent) of marketers in the UK are struggling to cope with the accelerated pace of digital transformation – up 7 percent since 2015, Adobe’s annual Digital Roadblock study claims. The report – which surveyed 450 marketers in the UK– found that Brits suffer from more tech-induced anxiety than their peers across the region: an average of 44 percent of marketers in Europe worry about their technology-based skill sets, 11 percent lower than the UK. Of the marketers surveyed, three-quarters (74 percent) feel that they need to implement new technologies within their marketing strategies in order to succeed, but just over half (54 percent) feel that they actually have the skills to do so. When it comes to technology skills, there’s an obvious gap between demand and reality: while 41 percent of respondents cited being a ‘tech-savvy’ early adopter of new technologies as the top attribute of being a marketer, only 15 percent actually identify as ‘tech-savvy’ themselves. In fact, more UK marketers identify as ‘tech challenged’ (20 percent) than ‘tech savvy’, and the number of ‘tech-savvy’ marketers has dropped since last year, when nearly one in five (19 percent) identified as so.

October 17, 2016

Creating the workforce of the future; the Barclays perspective ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Workplace

Apprenticeships are growing faster than ever in the UK. This is fantastic to see. Within our organisations we are making giant strides to re-carve and re-define talent whilst investing in the workforce of the future. The topic of Apprenticeships remains top of the government agenda and top of the employability agenda and great things are starting to happen. Yet, how much of the evolution of apprenticeships is understood by those who are seeking opportunities? Has society evolved in such a way that would-be potential candidates are ‘switched-on’ to the fact that Apprenticeships is both a viable and powerful means to securing a long, sustainable, and credible career? What are we doing to define Apprenticeships to our audiences outside of our own organisations? How are we marketing opportunities in a way that will ‘connect’ with our audience that will inspire them and others to invest in us?

October 14, 2016

Digital tech, leadership and company values aid staff performance ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

Accessible leaders and strong company values are important factors that can ultimately reflect an employee’s success or failure within the company. However,so too is equipping employees with the latest technology, and it’s an area where many organisations are falling down. A study by Oracle awarded low marks when it came to companies capitalising on technology to help them connect with employees in more ways than ever to create a more modern and customised learning experience. Just 44 percent of respondents said that their employer uses the latest digital technology to enable them to effectively perform in their role. Feedback from nearly 5,000 full-time employees at organisations with 250 or more employees also revealed that only 38 percent say that their company is concerned about their overall well-being, despite the fact that employees are most comfortable and productive within a creative, yet flexible workplace culture. More →

October 13, 2016

Design is the top factor when it comes to workplace happiness, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News

New research from Office Genie claims that office design makes the most significant difference to employee happiness levels. According to the survey of 2,000 British workers, when someone felt comfortable with the design of their workplace, it boosted their happiness by 33 percent compared to those who felt uncomfortable. Workplace design was found to have a larger impact than office temperature levels, light levels, noise levels, and social interaction levels: temperature made an average difference of (5 percent), light (6 percent), noise (8 percent), and social interaction (8 percent). It also came in ahead of the ability to work flexibly, specifically the ability to work from home which made a 12 percent difference to happiness levels. This is particularly remarkable when flexible working is often cited as one of the biggest factors affecting employee happiness, according to the study.

October 13, 2016

BDG architecture+design appointed by WPP on refurbishment of Rivierstaete building in Amsterdam ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Workplace design

WPP, the world’s largest advertising and marketing services group, is investing in a landmark building in Amsterdam as a new base for its operating companies in the city. The agencies will move into a redevelopment of the well-known Rivierstaete building located in the centre of the city on the banks of the Amstel River. The new office will bring together some 30 companies and approximately 1,500 people in 19,000 square metres of space. The Amsterdam office is the latest in a series of WPP co-locations, including Madrid (more than 40 companies and 2,500 people) also being designed by BDG which continues their long standing relationship with WPP Real Estate and further showcases both parties track record, expertise and commitment to revitalising large, awkward inner city buildings through their innovative programme of ‘Evidence Based Design’.

October 13, 2016

Mix of core and flexible workspaces will shape real estate by 2030 ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Thanks to the combination of a changing workforce and greater connectivity, up to 30 percent of corporate real estate portfolios will incorporate flexible workspaces by 2030, with offices more likely to be built around core hubs and comprising fewer locations. Along with this the Internet of Things and smart buildings will create new ways of managing productivity, sustainability and the user experience. These are some of the key findings of JLL’s new report series ‘Workspace, reworked: ride the wave of tech driven change’; two reports exploring the impact of technology, data and digital disruption on work spaces and real estate investment strategies. The series focuses on the office sector over the next 15 years, looking at how occupiers, developers and investors will need to view real estate differently and adapt in order to enhance investment returns and create work spaces that are fit for purpose in a rapidly changing, highly-connected world.

October 12, 2016

Government set to extend groundbreaking One Public Sector Estate programme ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Government has announced that it is to further extend its groundbreaking One Public Sector Estate scheme which supports local authorities and public sector bodies in the sharing and divestment of underutilised property. The Cabinet Office and Local Government Association have issued a joint announcement that 159 councils will join the next phase of the One Public Estate programme and that £7.5 million has been awarded to 37 partnerships made up of councils and public sector bodies. The funding will support cross public sector partnerships to work collaboratively on land and property initiatives leading to new jobs, new homes, joined up public services and savings for the taxpayer. The programme was initially launched in 2013 and has been extended to a number of local authorities and public sector bodies since

October 12, 2016

Majority of workers believe their workplace is making them ill ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

A huge number of employees (87 percent) blame their workplace for making them ill, with only 25 percent saying they feel healthy at work on a regular basis, claims a new survey from Healthcare provider Benenden. In addition, half of those surveyed (50 percent) said they felt depressed at work, with just 40 percent admitting they are happy in their place of work. The survey of 2,000 employed people reveals that nearly half of workers still go into work, despite being ill. And whether ill or not, once in work, those surveyed confessed to having regular health issues, with backache (84 percent) eye strain (42 percent) and regular migraines (27 percent) all being part of working life. In addition, just under half of respondents (at 44 percent), reported being regularly stressed at work, with a further 91 percent feeling tired several times a week at their desk. Nearly two thirds of workers (58 percent) said that work worries keep them awake at night.

October 12, 2016

Flexible hours key to achieving gender balance in finance sector ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Improvements in flexible working are among the key steps being taken to help achieve gender balance within the financial services sector, according to the UK Treasury. Financial services is the country’s highest paid sector but has the widest gender pay gap, at 39.5 percent, compared with 19.2 percent across the economy. The ‘Women in Finance Charter’, was set up by the Treasury earlier this year to publish progress on gender balance annually and reports that of the 72 firms who signed the charter, 60 have now committed to having at least 30 percent of women in senior roles by 2021. Alongside gender diversity targets, these firms have set out strategies for how they’ll hit these targets, including improving flexible working, making recruitment gender neutral and distributing high profile work more fairly.

October 11, 2016

Weird science; how workplace professionals are in danger of obsessing about data ⁰

by Jess Brook • Comment, Workplace, Workplace design

There’s been a series of reports recently and a lot of PR to back them up, plus we’re headed at pace into the workplace event season. Pretty soon we will be neck deep in data. And misleading headlines. Some of it is good. Some of it is bad. We need to be wary of the data, the science behind some of it and the wild claims made as a result. There’s a great piece about how big data isn’t the answer to our problems in Wired. One argument it puts forward is this: “today’s data sets, though bigger than ever, still afford us an impoverished view of living things.” It feels like there is a poor view of the workplace right now. One problem here is the commercial imperative to get results. That means the PR teams pick over the bones of what might be quite thin research and then bold arguments are extrapolated. It means detailed insights are blurred by headline grabbing claims, or simply not there in the first place.

More often it means ‘research’ doesn’t generate anything new – which is not good for headlines. So, reports are dressed up as pseudo-science. This is not just an issue unique to UK the commercial property and workplace arena either. Only recently Dana Carney has challenged her joint research into the power of body language with co-author Amy Cuddy. Carney is arguing the results of research were false, plain wrong, based on bad science. This undermines valuable work being done by other groups in the market place – i.e. the great unwashed comprising directors of estates, HR professionals and facilities managers begin to tire of data and grow a little weary of the whole experience.

It’s confusing for the very people that need informing, educating and influencing so that they make intelligent decisions about their workplaces. For example, you cannot measure 28 factors relating to physical space and then argue that it allows clients to link workplace design to key business drivers such as employee engagement and organisational commitment. To make such a leap you need to focus very hard indeed on organisational culture and the behaviours of the people in that organisation.

Too often the key themes of culture and behaviours are not so much in the back seat, but left at the kerb side as the research vehicle heads off down the highway. Criticisms of open plan and the use of offices by those in a leadership position need to be placed in the context of that organisations whole way of being. It can work if allowances are made for culture and behaviours.

Allegedly, 89 percent of senior leaders have a private office. This is not open plan. True open plan, and where benefits of open plan are seen, is when everyone exists and works on a level playing field with numerous and varied alternate work areas being made available. Again, it’s not just about the spaces available. Some companies will introduce the variety and do nothing to change with behaviour to allow people to understand, embrace and feel able to use these new and different spaces. It’s the same way the presence of a DJ and dancefloor don’t mean that people will automatically dance – just think of the bad parties with no atmosphere and awkward people.

Workplace professionals have a duty to think this data through before making any claims, arguments or indeed, any recommendations. Too many decision makers in the C-suite are saying right now: “OK, based on this data I’ll put everyone in open plan, buy sit stand desks for all and provide people with some enclosed settings and we’re good to go,” and still find the business is no more engaged or innovative because it’s not based on how the company actually operates and does not factor in people, change or culture.

We all need to check this data thoroughly before making too many easy headline grabbing and PR driven conclusions. After all, it’s not always easy to know good from bad – just ask a doctor. Doctors may know the latest scientific research but they evaluate patients at a personal level before any application – and businesses need to do the same. Likewise, an Oxbridge or Harvard professor like Amy Cuddy or Dana Carney should be generating good science, but that’s no excuse for not constantly challenging the research that comes through.

Don’t take these PR headlines about workplace for truth. Let’s be careful out there people.

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Jess Brook is Workplace Strategist at Hatch Analytics

October 11, 2016

American workers prefer the 9 to 5 but would take a pay cut in exchange for home working ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

According to a new study by researchers at Princeton University and Harvard University, the average American worker is indifferent to flexible working hours and instead prefers a set 40-hour workweek. According to the study, most workers aren’t willing to take even a small pay cut to determine their own working hours. However, if given the option to work from home, many workers — especially women — would take an 8 percent wage cut to do so. The findings, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), also show that workers consistently dislike irregular work schedules set by employers on short notice. They would even give up one-fifth of their salary to avoid working evenings or weekends. Nearly half of jobseekers would not take an irregular-schedule job even if it paid a quarter more than a 9 to 5 job. This is true even of workers who currently have irregular work schedules.

October 11, 2016

Home workers take fewer sick days than office based colleagues ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Working from home has long been branded ‘shirking from home’ but a new survey suggests that home workers actually take fewer sick days. The research by CartridgePeople.com and published in the SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) Workers Report, found that home workers are not only happier but they are also healthier than their workplace-based counterparts – taking an average of 2.4 sick days per year, in comparison to the 2.6 taken by those working from company premises. Of course, that doesn’t tell us if they are in fact healthier, or that they’re more prepared to carry out their work duties from the comfort of their bed. But the survey of 1,096 British workers, including both home workers and those who work from their employers’ premises, also revealed that the majority of workers (60 percent) did feel happier when working from home.