October 28, 2020

Businesses feel more vulnerable to cyber-attack due to the increase in remote working

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Technology

Research conducted by NFU Mutual, a commercial insurer, claims that 47 percent of businesses feel more vulnerable to cyber-attack since the increase of remote working. Despite increased concerns, 45 percent of businesses have not taken any action to protect themselves from cyber-crime. Of those who have not taken action, 79 percent think that because their business is small, the threat of cyber-attack is low. The remaining 21 percent were not aware of, or did not understand, the protection measures available to them. More →

October 23, 2020

FUTURE Designs launches revolutionary air and surface purifier

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Lighting

Lighting innovator FUTURE Designs has introduced FUZONE500, a unique lighting solution that harnesses all the anti-viral and anti-bacterial elimination qualities of ultraviolet light without any of the harmful effects to humans or physical surfaces. With over 38 million confirmed cases worldwide and over 600,000 in the UK alone, Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the way we live and interact with our surroundings. Cases are increasing at an astronomical rate and finding effective solutions to control its spread has become paramount. More →

October 20, 2020

BCO London Region Awards winners announced

by Neil Franklin • Company news, News, Property, Workplace design

Five businesses have been recognised in London at the annual British Council for Offices’ (BCO) regional awards. This year, the prestigious event was held virtually as part of the BCO’s Festival Awards Week, which recognises the highest quality developments in the UK and sets the standard for excellence in the regional and national office sector. More →

October 2, 2020

Two thirds of people believe their work travel patterns have changed permanently

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Technology

Alphabet (GB) has published a new report examining how the pandemic has accelerated changes to travel and transport, altering consumer and business travel habits in UK cities. With mass migration to working from home, in March, road traffic travel dropped to levels not seen since 1955 and journeys on the London Underground fell by 95 percent. The report suggests that only six percent of those travelling to work by train feel comfortable, dropping to just four percent for tube users. More →

October 2, 2020

Post-COVID environment will drive demand for flexible office space

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Employees are proving keen to return to the office, reporting that they miss the human and social interaction that the office facilitates. At the same time, while employees show a strong affinity for the office, they also desire the ability to have the option to work from home 1-2 days per week on average according to a recent JLL global study of 3,000 workers. The trend towards workplace mobility was not created as a result of the pandemic, but it was certainly accelerated by it. As a result, agile work strategies are expected to increase in a post-pandemic world, reinvigorating demand for flexible space. More →

October 1, 2020

Wearable tech that allows people to manage their own COVID-19 risk

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Prolojik remains at the forefront of harnessing the ubiquitous nature of lighting controls to contribute to the measurement and control of the COVID virus. Building on one of its latest innovations, Proxima allows organisations from commercial workplaces to schools and universities to empower people to manage their own risk and exposure to the COVID virus, through wearable technology in the form of a wristband or lanyard that connects wirelessly to Prolojik’s Proxima sensor network. More →

September 28, 2020

One way businesses can help employees get back to the office

by Freddie Steele • Company news

One of the many unprecedented things about 2020 is the way that the global COVID-19 pandemic has led to millions of workers around the world staying away from their office or workplace. Either through furlough schemes or temporary ‘working from home’ measures, many people across the job spectrum have had to adapt to a new way of doing things. More →

September 24, 2020

The magical limits of workplace design

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace, Workplace design

Derren Brown is clearly on to something. And if you’ve read his books you’ll know that what he’s on to is finding ways to tap in to our fascination with how our thoughts and actions can be manipulated using some well-defined and researched techniques and principles. Add in some showmanship and what you have is something that is indistinguishable from magic. It also gas something to say about some of the ways we think about workplace design and management.

September 23, 2020

The stage is set for the next phase of working life

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Working lives

The debate about the effects of the pandemic on working life appears to have entered its next phase. Don’t ask me to define it precisely because I’m still coming to terms with the others. But here it is. More →

September 22, 2020

No need to sideline form in our quest for function

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

The enduring struggle to improve the working conditions and performance of people through the design and management of workplaces carries more than a whiff of the Enlightenment, a period in which pure reason was seen by its proponents as more than enough to convince the world of the ways in which we could improve the human condition. It’s a battle that was won in some ways but which endures. More →

September 18, 2020

The value of tech and talent investment through COVID-19

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Working lives

For middle-market and small businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the vital importance of investing in new technology, facilitating remote work, and maintaining the tech-savvy workforce needed to make it all happen, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll for CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT). More →

September 18, 2020

Center for active design launches viral response module

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

Fitwel, the healthy building certification system operated by The Center for Active Design (CfAD), has announced the formal launch of its Viral Response module, with additional commitments for adoption from companies, including BentallGreenOak, Boston Properties, Brookfield Properties, DLC Europe, Hudson Pacific Properties, Kilroy Realty Corporation, Nuveen Real Estate, and The Tower Companies. More →