May 9, 2023
Jiecang, one of the world’s leading supplier of linear actuators, in conjunction with the Austrian brand Logicdata, a European company that has been part of the Jiecang Group since 2021, is offering a wide range of technological solutions to make office furniture more dynamic, smart, and interactive. More →
May 5, 2023
The new Slack State of Work Report [registration] claims that companies are missing opportunities to unlock new levels of employee productivity with new technology, hybrid working, and talent development. The report, based on a global survey of more than 18,000 desk workers – including 2,000 in the UK, found only 23 percent of companies are investing in technology to improve productivity and efficiency (21 percent in the UK), and just 27 percent of companies are using AI tools to help do so. More →
May 4, 2023
The vast majority of UK office landlords do not have a sustainability strategy in place despite evidence showing that it would increase the attractiveness of their properties to tenants, according to a new poll commissioned by infinitSpace in partnership with The Instant Group. The survey defined a strategy as several policies with an overall aim to reduce greenhouse emissions and/or promote environmentally friendly practices. More →
May 3, 2023
Almost a quarter of jobs are expected to switch in the next five years according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. Its Future of Jobs Report for 2023 suggests that employers anticipate 69 million new jobs to be created and 83 million eliminated among the 673 million jobs corresponding to the dataset, a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2 percent of current employment. The data is an extrapolation of data from 803 employers employing around 11 million people. More →
May 2, 2023
Following last week’s announcement of the annual BCO Awards winners for London, the British Council for Offices has announced the winners of its annual Awards for the North of England. In fact all but one of the winners are located in Greater Manchester and the one that isn’t lies within twenty miles of it. The organisers suggest that the theme of sustainable office design runs through the submissions of the winning entries. More →
April 26, 2023
A new report, Reap What You Sow: Valuing Workplaces that Grow Good Ideas from PLP Labs sets out to explain the process of measuring and monetising the wellbeing and environmental value of biophilic office design. The report argues that in corporate real estate, the environment impacts the bottom line. PLP’s study – run in collaboration with academics from Loughborough University, the University of Reading, and Benholm claims to enable real estate clients to fairly evaluate the worth of investing in nature alongside other project costs. More →
April 25, 2023
London’s most outstanding workplaces have been recognised with British Council for Offices Awards going to seven office buildings across the capital. Held at the London Hilton on Park Lane, the BCO’s annual London Awards Lunch recognised projects that demonstrate best practice in office design, fit-out, operation and sustainability, setting the standard for excellence across the sector. More →
April 25, 2023
Analysis by workplace consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) claims that on average hybrid workers deliver nearly two extra weeks of work a year for their employer as well as working harder and better in a hybrid environment. The results of the analysis — which shows the benefits of hybrid working for organisations — are a combination of academic research and studies by AWA itself. They are included in AWA’s latest report, ‘Why Employers Benefit From Hybrid Working’, which also found that employees often work better when in a distraction-free environment, with more than half their time dedicated to working alone or focussed work. More →
April 20, 2023
British workers are finding their offices and places of work to be severely lacking in inspiration and innovation, according to a new poll from office design and fit-out firm Claremont. The survey of more than 1,000 office workers across a range of sectors set out to identify the impact of an office on a workforce’s behaviour and how staff need to feel in order to be happy, healthy and productive. More →
April 19, 2023
Hybrid working can facilitate major carbon savings and has the potential for significant impact on the climate crisis, according to a new study by IWG and Arup. The study measured the environmental impact of hybrid working on six cities across the US and UK with a deep dive on two major carbon contributors – London and LA. Others examined were New York City, Atlanta, Manchester and Glasgow. All six cities showed the potential for huge carbon savings through the widespread adoption of hybrid working, which has rapidly expanded amongst white collar workers, who are now using the available technology to work where is most convenient and they are most productive. More →
April 19, 2023
We’re all familiar with the circular economy in some shape or form. We know the principles of recycling materials back into the original product to create a perfectly circular model of sustainability. But in practice, as architects and designers are finding, the development of the circular economy not quite so simple. Circular design is possible now, but we have to start with circles that are slightly wonkier than we might like. More →
April 24, 2023
Reconnecting older workers with the office: have we retired what matters most?
by Julie Lecoq • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design