October 2, 2018

Flexible and part-time workers outperform full-time colleagues

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

A new report from the charity Working Families assessing the flexible, agile, and family-friendly working policy of its employer members claims that flexible and part-time workers appear to outperform their full time colleagues. The 2018 Top Employers for Working Families Benchmark report captures the experience of 630,000 employees across some of the UK’s leading public, private, and third sector organisations. The report was launched to mark the National Work-life Week, Working Families’ annual campaign to encourage employers and employees to talk about wellbeing at work and work-life balance.

October 1, 2018

Fathers seek more flexible working, but remain concerned about impact on career

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

As more and more women are staying in the workplace after having children – and often full time – parents are demanding greater access to flexible working, but dads are still being held back by old-fashioned policies and fears that their employer will react negatively to requests to work flexibly, according to two new Workingmums.co.uk surveys.

October 1, 2018

National Work Life Week research reinforces appeal of flexible hours

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

National Work Life Week (1st – 5th October 2018) starts today with the aim of encouraging companies to think about their employees’ wellbeing and happiness. To mark the week new research asked British workers about the things they most want from their work. The YouGov surveyof 2,000 adults, commissioned by the Oxford Open Learning Trust, found that while money is predictably the biggest motivator behind career choice (64 percent), over half of the respondents cited working hours and flexible working as an important factor (55 percent). More →

October 1, 2018

Workers attracted to employers with perceived strong ethical standards

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New research by UK pharmaceutical company, MSD, based on an online survey of 2,000 people aged over 18, claims that three quarters (74 percent) of young workers (18-34) and 66 percent of over 35-year-olds would be happier working for a company with a positive impact and purpose in the world. Younger workers go even further with over two-fifths (42 percent) saying they would take a pay cut if it meant they could work for a company that had a positive impact and purpose in the world, with 23 percent of over 35-year-olds in agreement.

September 30, 2018

UK workers say menial tasks override GDPR compliance in their office

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Legal news, News, Technology, Workplace

UK workers say menial tasks override GDPR compliance in their office The majority (86 percent) of UK office workers claim they are more likely to be told off for forgetting to do menial tasks, like emptying or loading the dishwater and keeping their workplace tidy, than complying with GDPR policies, according to a new poll which assessed whether GDPR is being taken seriously by UK office workers since its introduction in May of this year. The study from Fellowes found that only 14 percent of workers have been given a ticking off about careless handling of confidential data, while 25 percent claim office chores, like emptying or filling the dishwasher, has landed them in the hottest water. The data, collected from over 1,000 UK office workers in July 2018, also reveals that many are more likely to be challenged about missing deadlines and being late (17 percent) than ensuring they are compliant with GDPR.

September 29, 2018

It’s better for you to be busy + A new era for commercial property? + Changing behaviour by design

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; The commercial property sector heads off in a new direction; why busier people tend to look after themselves more; executives love Big Data but have no idea what to do with it; procrastination isn’t all bad – read why right now, don’t put it off; changing benhaviour by design isn’t as easy as some might think; a Shakespearean take on tech addiction; and how local innovation fuels global design trends. You can also download our most recent briefings on key topics, produced in partnership with Boss Design and BW Workplace Experts; dowlnload the new issue of Work&Place; visit our events page curated by Herman Miller, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories. And don’t forget to subscribe – the form is there on the left.

September 28, 2018

Shift to agile working held back by ageing technology

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

The digital transformation of organisations and a shift to agile working is being held back by a reluctance to invest in new technology, according to a new report from Citrix and Capita. The Workplace agility report claims that legacy applications are delaying digital transformation of the entire organisation for more than half of respondents (56 percent) of the 200 CIOs who took part in the study. The report also claims that the inability to introduce new tech also restricts the uptake of new ways of working and the creation of agile working environments.

September 27, 2018

We need to take a scientific approach to the potential impact of AI

by Eleni Vasilaki • Comment, Technology

Should we be afraid of artificial intelligence? For me, this is a simple question with an even simpler, two letter answer: no. But not everyone agrees – many people, including the late physicist Stephen Hawking, have raised concerns that the rise of powerful AI systems could spell the end for humanity. Clearly, your view on whether AI will take over the world will depend on whether you think it can develop intelligent behaviour surpassing that of humans – something referred to as “super intelligence”.

September 27, 2018

A changing world with inbuilt human obsolescence defines first day of CoreNet Global

by Tony Nokling • Facilities management, News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

The forces that are changing the world, from AI and the current digital and technological transformation, to the short and long-term implications of Brexit, provided many of the key lessons during the first day of the CoreNet Global Summit in Madrid.

September 27, 2018

With six months to go before Brexit, only 630 finance jobs have left UK, claims Reuters

by Neil Franklin • News

As few as 630 UK-based finance jobs have been shifted or created overseas with just six months to go before Brexit, a far lower total than banks said could move after Britain’s surprise vote to leave the European Union, according to a new Reuters survey. Many bankers and politicians predicted after the June 2016 referendum that leaving the EU would prompt a mass exodus of jobs and business and deal a crippling blow to London’s position in global finance.

September 27, 2018

Staff prefer consumer digital comms platforms to corporate ones

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

A new report claims that the way that workers wish to communicate digitally differs from the platforms that are actually sanctioned by their employers. The research by Maintel claims a substantial proportion of employees would like to use consumer-grade tools such as Snapchat or Facebook Messenger for work. According to the research, 24 percent say they would like Snapchat to be approved by their employer, 19 percent Twitter, while 17 percent say they would like to use Facebook Messenger and FaceTime to communicate with colleagues, customers and partners. More →

September 26, 2018

British Property Federation announces plans to modernise commercial property sector

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

The British Property Federation (BPF) has launched a Technology and Innovation programme for the UK commercial property sector – to support the sector in its digital transformation – following the Government’s challenge to all sectors of the economy to improve productivity and deliver growth. The programme is launched with the publication of a new report produced by Future Cities Catapult, commissioned by the BPF, to understand the barriers to and opportunities for improving the productivity of the real estate sector through the application of technology.