Search Results for: office

The new issue of Work&Place is now available to view online

by • Architecture, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

Work&PlaceThe new issue of Work&Place is now available to view online. Published by Occupiers Journal in partnership with Insight it offers a wide range of thought leadership, research, commentary and case studies from the world’s foremost commentators, academics and practitioners in the world of workplace design and management. Contributors this quarter include Professor Franklin Becker of Cornell University, BBC CEO of Commercial Projects Chris Kane, Andrew Laing of AECOM, Simon Allford of architects AHMM Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, designer and workplace strategist Ziona Strelitz and Ian Ellison of Sheffield Hallam University. Work&Place offers progressive and informed commentary on some of the most pressing and cutting edge issues facing workplace designers and managers around the world today including co-working, office design, architecture, facilities management, workplace analytics, technology, flexible working, productivity and urbanisation.

Four regional winners named in competition to find world’s best tall building for 2014

by • Architecture, News, Property

best tall buildingThe awards programmes pile up at this time of year and following the announcement of RIBA’s best workplaces for the year, four buildings, from the United States, Australia, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, have been named the best tall building in the world for 2014 in their respective region by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). An overall winner for the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” will be named from the four regional winners, following presentations from the owners and architects of each building, at the CTBUH 13th Annual Awards Symposium, which will take place at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, on November 6. The symposium will be followed by the Awards Ceremony and Dinner in the iconic Crown Hall, designed by Mies van der Rohe. The 10-Year, Urban Habitat, Lifetime Achievement, Building Performance and Innovation awards will be announced in the coming weeks, and will also feature at November’s awards events.

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Workplace ergonomics changed forever twenty years ago thanks to one design

by • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design

Workplace ergonomicsBy common consent, the office is a little over 100 years old, with most commentators agreeing that the first true office as we understand it was the Larkin Building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1904. Yet ninety years after this building ushered in the 20th Century workplace, there was another seismic shift in office furniture design that heralded the office for the 21st Century. In 1994, there was a great deal of excited talk about new ways of working, based on the growing use of mobile computers and phones. For the first time, people were unfettered from the personal workstation and new office furniture systems. Also that year, Herman Miller launched a chair that was to redefine not only what we understood about office seating and workplace ergonomics but reshaped the wider office furniture market in its own image. For the first time it became apparent that when looking after the wellbeing of individuals and making a universally understood office design statement in this new world of work, the chair was the thing, not the desk. More →

Demand for London commercial property pushing occupiers into earlier relocations

by • Facilities management, News, Property

London commercial propertyThe revival of London’s financial, professional and business sectors, along with sustained demand from the TMT (Technology, Media and Telecoms) market is resulting in increasing demand for commercial property across Central London. This along, with a restricted supply of existing stock, due to conversion of office to residential usage is prompting many occupiers into making relocation decisions well in advance of a lease break or expiry. Cluttons’ London Property outlook for the second quarter of this year shows that rental costs are increasing in response to sustained demand, with a west to east migration by occupiers in evidence. Many tenants are also relocating from London’s West End to the Southbank area; while further out, ‘fringe’ areas such as Stratford are drawing tenants. More →

Government plans encourage employers to appreciate older workers

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Government plans encourage employers to appreciate older workersEmployers must recognise the potential of older workers and help them stay in the workplace. This is the message the Government will stress today at the launch of its new action plan. The new measures set out in Fuller Working Lives – A Framework For Action published today include; the appointment of a new Older Workers’ Employment Champion who will advocate the case for older workers within the business community and wider society; an extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees from the end of this month and the launch of a new Health and Work Service which the Government says will give workers with long-term health problems the support they need to stay in or return to work. Part of the Government’s aim is also to challenge outdated misconceptions and encourage more employers to consider the benefits of older workers.

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UK public sector estate now reduced by 2 million square metres over three years

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

Public sector estateThe UK Cabinet Office has today issued the latest edition of its regular State of the Estate Report which shows that the government has reduced the size of the public sector estate by 2 million square metres since 2010 – which it claims will boost economic growth and save a cumulative £1.2 billion with more savings in the pipeline. Now in its third year, the report also shows that: during 2013 there was a 500,000 sq m reduction in the size of the estate; £240 million was saved on running costs, against a 2009 to 2010 baseline; there was a 7.6 percent reduction in the cost of office space per employee; office space per employee was down from 13 square metres to 11.9 square metres; carbon emissions were down by 14 percent; and waste produced was down by 15 percent. The reductions are a core element in the Government’s plans to consolidate and modernise the public sector estate.

Integration of workplace services continues to gain momentum, claims report

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace

Integration of workplace services is gaining momentumHR, FM and IT within large corporate organisations are gradually being brought together to provide ‘Workplace services’ that recognise new working practices and the importance of people. This trend – which has already seen an agreement between the BIFM and CIPD to collaborate in the future, will accelerate in the increasingly agile, digitally driven business environment.  This presents an opportunity for FM to provide new service solutions that focus more on supporting people, and less on the buildings from which they work. This is according to a new report, Delivering the Vision of an Integrated Workplace, was commissioned by Mitie, which will be unveiled at the Facilities Show next week. The report highlights the opportunities for FM providers to offer an expanded range of consultancy-style services, such as space management and the analysis of FM and property data to drive property strategy.

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Challenge for employers to find right talent as candidate availability falls

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Challenge for employers to find right talent as candidate availability dropsThere’s been a record employment rise over the last three months, with nearly 5,500 more people in work every working day and the number of private sector workers up by more than 2 million since 2010, according to official figures published today. The latest Labour Force Survey tallies with the recently published Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs, which revealed the steepest drop in permanent staff availability for 16½ years; fuelling concerns that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to find the talent and skills they need. The report on jobs also suggests that employees want more from their workplace than better pay and better benefits; as though starting salaries continue to rise, job seekers are sending out a very clear message that remuneration is not the only reward they are after. More →

Workplace features heavily in latest round of Government cuts and cost reductions

by • Facilities management, News, Property

WhitehallThe workplace features heavily in the latest round of cost savings announced by the UK Government. Of the £14.3 billion of cost reductions, £5.4 billion has been cut in the procurement of goods and services, with the Cabinet Office drawing particular attention to the use of consultants (which is probably the bulk of it), and the use of printer cartridges and paper (which isn’t). In addition, around £600 million was saved with the divestment of unused buildings and an increase in the number of departments sharing offices. The savings are driven by the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) which was set up by the Treasury and the Cabinet Office in the wake of the 2010 general election, and works with departments to make savings and address what it considers wasteful spending. This year’s savings follow £10 billion saved for 2012 to 2013, £5.5 billion in 2011 to 2012 and £3.75 billion in 2010 to 2011.

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Silicon Roundabout remains the UK’s foremost location for business startups

by • News, Property

silicon-roundaboutResearch from accountants UHY Hacker Young has revealed the UK’s most popular postcodes for business start-ups. Silicon Roundabout is the most prolific area, generating 15,620 new businesses over the last year. London, unsurprisingly dominates the list with only three zones outside the capital making the top 20. Within London, Silicon Roundabout saw nearly five times as many businesses launched as Canary Wharf (3,180). The Borough, Bankside and Bermondsey areas, covered by the SE1 postcode, saw a rapid expansion in new business creation, with a 13 percent increase in new businesses, from 5,190 to 5,850 in the last year. Outside of London, Hove (BN3), came 10th marked out as a hub for outsourcing, tech and finance businesses, Leeds LS14 which came 12th and Warrington WA1 which both offer a large number of business and technology parks.

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The boardroom knows tech is important but leaves IT decisions to others, claims report

by • News

BoardroomThere is a recognition within the boardroom of the importance of information and communications technology (ICT), but business leaders see tech as something for technology managers to worry about and many are unable to make effective decisions anyway because they are digitally illiterate (and some are proud of the fact). Those are some of the findings of a new report from Sunguard Availability Services, published in partnership with Professor Joe Peppard of the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. The study claims that the growing strategic role of technology offers chief information officers (CIOs) a chance to elevate their position and drive the wider business agenda. But also that this can be held back by a lack of engagement, or even the boardroom taking no account of ICT whatsoever, with strategic IT alignment remaining an afterthought for many organisations.

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Deloitte increases flexible working rights to attract future female leaders

by • Company news, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace

Deloitte increases flexible working rights to attract future female leadersAs employers prepare for new flexible working legislation, which comes into place at the end of this month; Deloitte UK has announced it is to allow its 12,000 employees more say in where, when and how they work. The firm has introduced a range of new and adapted, formal and informal agile working arrangements to incite a change in the day-to-day culture at the UK firm. Deloitte already offers all employees the right to request a formal flexible working arrangement; it will now also enable them to request a block of four weeks unpaid leave each year, without reason or justification. These arrangements support its wider measures that encourage a more agile workplace, including the introduction of collaborative and adaptable working spaces, an environment that supports open conversations about agile working and improvements to technology that make it feasible. More →

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