December 9, 2022

The Great Relearning about the Great Office Problem

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

One of the latest people to invent activity-based working is sociologist Ana Andjelic, who combines it with the similarly familiar hub and spoke office model on her substack as a solution to the Great Office Problem. She’s not the first and is a less surprising pioneer of a decades old model than some other people who should really know better. That includes an architectural practice who came up with the idea earlier this year and whose name escapes me. More →

December 7, 2022

Over half of offices not set up to optimise creativity and productivity

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace design

A study from Unispace claims that the majority of workplaces are not set up to enable staff to work to their best ability. The results of the poll of 3,000 office workers and 2,750 employers across Europe, found that despite 78 percent of businesses stating that their office has been set up to enable staff to be creative and productive, over half (52 percent) of employers noted that creativity and innovation among their employees increased while work from home guidance was in place. Full findings can be found in Promoting workplace creativity and productivity [registration]. More →

December 2, 2022

Poor indoor air quality is a threat to health, say people coming into the office

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A new poll claims that ‘hybrid employees’ in the UK are worried about how healthy their work environments are as we approach the winter season, with 53 percent saying they’re concerned poor air quality and ventilation will impact their general health, rising to 70 percent amongst London-based hybrid workers. The survey of 2,000 UK people by OnePoll, on behalf of Infogrid, claims that hybrid workers are facing a Catch-22 moment as we enter the colder months; balancing worries over the cost of working from home with concerns about their own wellbeing in the office as a result of poor indoor air quality. More →

December 2, 2022

Office sector net zero targets require significant shift in thinking

by Jayne Smith • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

A new report, Delivering Net Zero Carbon in the Workplace [BCO members only] produced by University College London Consultants (UCLC) for the British Council for Offices (BCO), claims to identify the barriers that businesses are facing as they strive to drastically reduce the carbon footprint of their offices. The report, informed by over 100 office occupiers and building professionals, outlines the measures that those working in the office sector can take to overcome these barriers at what the report suggests is low or zero cost. More →

November 28, 2022

Lease cycle means West End office market will ‘reset’ by 2025

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

A BNP Paribas Real Estate analysis claims that London’s West End office market is on course to ‘reset’ by 2025 following a major leasing event cycle commencing in 2023, which will see a flurry of renewals, expiries and break clauses executed by both landlord and tenant, which will alter the market as we know it by the milestone year. According to the firm’s own West End data, 40 percent of the market will have a lease event in 2023 and 2024, with equally large volumes to follow in the two subsequent years. This freedom of tenant movement coupled with a restricted supply line, could drive rents on prime buildings from their current 2022 position of £140 sq ft to £200 sq ft in 2023 and £250 sq ft in 2024, and further into 2025 where the initial cycle ends. More →

November 20, 2022

Is carbon counting really the answer for the office furniture industry?

by Joanna Knight • Comment, Environment

There is an increasing awareness that carbon is contained within all the products we buy. As an example, a leading sports trainer manufacturer is now displaying carbon content labelling, rather like food retailers quote calories. Within the workplace sector, the environmental impact of the built environment and products such as office furniture and flooring are seemingly well known. This must include consideration regarding how refurbishments and changes to embrace new working practices are managed responsibly. More →

November 10, 2022

Summing up where the office now stands in the scheme of things

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working

The argument about what it takes to encourage people to come into the office more often seems to have boiled down to an equation. It’s now common to hear somebody argue that the office has to be worth the commute it takes to get to it. So, if you want people to spend more time in the building, you need to do the maths. O must be greater than or equal to C More →

October 24, 2022

Offices remain largely unchanged in wake of pandemic

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Most businesses are failing to invest in collaborative offices that could encourage people to spend more time in them and take advantage of new work cultures, a report claims. More than four in five UK workers (83 percent) surveyed by YouGov on behalf of Microsoft Surface find themselves still in the same office environment as before the pandemic. The majority of those surveyed believe that office work is better suited to both socialising with colleagues (57 percent) and strengthening relationships with colleagues (65 percent) compared to remote work. More →

October 24, 2022

Home office products from Bisley debut on JohnLewis.com

by Freddie Steele • Company news

British office furniture designer and manufacturer, Bisley, has launched on the JohnLewis.com website with 27 core products in a multitude of colourways. The range leads with products from the brand’s Belong collection, which was created during the pandemic and influenced by the evolving requirements of the 2020 workplace. Nearly 1 in 5 products ordered via the Bisley website are now home office focused items, in a marked evolution from their long heritage as a workplace brand. More →

October 14, 2022

Office fit out and rent rises will hit occupiers worldwide this year

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

Occupiers around the world are facing a 10 percent increase in office fit out costs with rental rises also squeezing budgets for those in EMEA, according to a new report from Savills. The firm’s Prime Office Costs (SPOC) analysis for Q3 2022 suggests that fit-out costs in key office markets around the world have continued to climb with inflation, rising an average of 10%, with increased rents in many markets also contributing to higher total net effective costs for office occupiers. Overall, the markets which have seen the largest increases in net effective costs (including fit-out costs, rents and other costs) over the quarter are largely clustered in the EMEA region, including Dublin (+7%), London City (+5%), Dubai (+3%), and Berlin (+3%). More →

October 13, 2022

Office utilisation in US returning to pre-pandemic levels, but structural changes remain

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

A new report from JLL claims that utilisation rates of US offices are returning to something closer to those of the pre-pandemic world, although hybrid working remains a far more widespread working practice than before. In addition, the focus of the market is shifting away from major city centres towards smaller, regional towns and cities. The US Office Outlook Report [registration] also suggests that higher quality office space is essential as lower grade offices are more likely to remain abandoned. More →

October 5, 2022

Gallery: British Council for Offices announces winners of national awards

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design, Works Magazine

Sunderland City Hall was celebrated as ‘Best of the Best’ at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) National Awards at the Grosvenor House hotel in London last night, also taking home the ‘Corporate Workplace’ award. The office was joined by six other award winners recognised as leading examples of excellence in office space across the UK. The BCO’s National Awards programme claims to recognises top quality office design and functionality and says it sets the standard for excellence across the office sector. More →