Search Results for: workplace

February 16, 2015

Two fifths of employees say work has a negative impact on their health

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Millions of the UK’s workforce feel they’re putting their heart health at risk due to the pressures of their job, according to a new survey carried out by the British Heart Foundation during the charity’s Heart Month. The survey shows that a large number of employees feel their working life leads them to eat a poor diet, not doing enough exercise and drinking and smoking more than is good for them. The BHF is calling for employers to encourage their workforce to spend at least 10 minutes a day improving their lifestyle during February. The survey found two in five (41 percent) people feel their job has had a negative impact on their health in the last five years, with more than half (55 percent) saying they have become more stressed as a result of their job over the same time period.

February 16, 2015

Government launches scheme to attract US tech sector to UK

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

The Government has launched a scheme to attract US tech firms to set up or ramp up their businesses in the UK. The tech sector is already worth around £120 billion to the UK and the Government hopes the HQ-UK programme will offer investors a chance to tap into a well-established pool of talent and a business-friendly and low tax economy. The initiative is a joint venture between Tech City, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. HQ-UK will simplify and quicken processes for visa applications and setting up UK bank accounts. The programme will also highlight the UK’s high skilled tech savvy workforce, the Government’s commitment to the development of programming skills in schools and the second largest labour market in the EU.

February 13, 2015

Our personal choices can tell us a lot about the state of the economy

by Alison Kitchingman • Comment, Products, Workplace design

The announcement by Pantone that its Colour of the Year for 2014 was a muted reddish brown called Marsala was met with the annual carping about the subjectivity of the whole thing. Yet there are two things we know for sure. One is that Pantone puts a lot of time and effort into making its decision and looks at a range of social and economic factors, fashions and tastes before making its decision. The other is that this idea that you can gauge trends by tracking changes in taste has some high profile adherents. One of them is Alan Greenspan, perhaps the world’s most famous living economist, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve and a great believer in the idea that you can get a good idea of the health of the economy by looking at the length of women’s hemlines and heels and the amount of money men invest in underwear and ties.

February 12, 2015

RIBA calls for next Parliament to focus on the built environment

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property, Public Sector

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has called on all parliamentary candidates to focus on the built environment in the forthcoming general election. Along with a renewed focus on building more quality homes and schools, RIBA is campaigning for improving the planning process; developing flood-proof communities; delivering energy efficient buildings and retrofitting those that are not; and providing a good quality built environment to accommodate an ageing population and encourage more people to become healthier. The #BuildaBetterBritain campaign is based on RIBA’s report and recommendations, Building a Better Britain: A vision for the next Government. RIBA has created a campaign website to enable architects and constituents to find and make contact with their candidates.

February 11, 2015

This isn’t a golden era for small business; it’s more interesting than that

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Public Sector, Technology

Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Enterprise Advisor Lord Young produced a report into the key trends experienced by the UK’s small businesses over the past five years. According to the headline figures presented by the report, this is a ‘golden era’ for small businesses in the UK, with a record number of small firms in the country. The reported 5.2 million small firms represents an increase of 760,000 over the five year period covered by the study. The report concludes that the main drivers of this upsurge are the growing belief people have in their own ideas and abilities coupled with the technological wherewithal to make them a commercial reality. Lord Young also claims the Government deserves some credit for providing the business landscape for this to happen. But is it really that simple?

February 10, 2015

Workers face burnout as work continues to erode personal lives

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Over two thirds of UK professionals (69 percent) are required to work outside of their regular office hours more than they were five years ago, according to a recent research from serviced office provider Regus. The survey canvassed the opinions of over 3,000 business people in the UK on their attitudes and approaches to work. A similar proportion of workers (72 percent) say that fixed hours are no longer suited to their duties; perhaps offering some explanation as to why so much extra time is spent at the office. Three quarters (76 percent) of respondents also reported a rise in remote workers, further suggesting that the concept of 9-5 day in the office is outdated. An earlier report from Regus, published in January found that the past five years have also seen a growing concern that workers face burnout.

February 10, 2015

Over a million older people struggle to find employment

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

More than a million older people are struggling to find employment. This is according to the second in a series of reports being produced by Business in the Community around age and intergenerational workplaces. The Missing Million: Pathways back into employment, finds that the over 50s continue to face age discrimination and they are increasingly having to start their own businesses or go into unpaid work, when they would prefer to do otherwise. Older people are more likely to remain out of work once they lose a job and if they want to find new employment, the over 50s have to rely on their own resources and networks. The research, which feeds into BITC’s Age and Intergenerational Workplaces campaign, is being carried out in collaboration with The International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC-UK).

February 9, 2015

The open plan remains an important office design element

by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

For half a century the default office design model in large parts of the world has been the open plan. Even though that continues to be the case, a growing number of voices are questioning this hegemony and suggesting there may be better ways of designing offices that balance the advantages of the open plan while eliminating or mitigating drawbacks. On the face of it, the case for working in open plan offices is clear cut. Not only are they believed to be more conducive to collaborative work, open plan workstations take up around half the space of cellular offices. As well as taking up less space, a crucial consideration is that fit-out costs are typically around 25 per cent lower, even in eye wateringly expensive commercial property hotspots such as London.

February 7, 2015

The latest Insight newsletter is now available to read online

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; the UK takes a leading role in the development of the Internet of Things and the government publishes a guide to digital economy clusters; news that Europe’s commercial property market ‘sizzled’ during 2014 while a report suggests city leaders are the main obstacles to the implementation of urban infrastructure. Mark Eltringham derides more attempts to define the workplace of the future; Sara Bean warns that employers need to consider whether their workplace has an inclusive design; and as the winners of the first ever employee engagement awards are announced research reveals the cost of disengaged employees. Sign up to the newsletter via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar and follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

February 6, 2015

Over a third of Scottish businesses are based at home (and a fifth started there)

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Over half of businesses in Scotland started in somebody’s home and over a third are still based there, according to a new report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and researchers from the University of Glasgow. The study of 1,000 Scottish businesses found that 39 percent are based from home and a further 19 percent began life there. The FSB claims that Scottish home based firms turn over around £20 billion a year with three quarters of them with a turnover of less than £100,000 and – perhaps unsurprisingly – only 3 percent with a turnover greater than £500,000. Two thirds also employ at least one additional member of staff. The report’s authors are now calling on Government to acknowledge the significance of these firms and develop policies to help them thrive.

February 6, 2015

Winners announced for first ever employee engagement awards

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Hotel management company The Dorchester Collection has picked up The Investors in People Company of the Year Award, in the inaugural Employee Engagement Awards. Although awards programmes are as much about marketing and revenue as recognising talent and achievement, it’s clear that the launch of the first ever awards that recognise employee engagement reflects a growing realisation by employers that it’s an area to be taken seriously. As the economy improves, the labour market grows more competitive and businesses have to offer and be seen to be doing things differently, to create an engaging and rewarding working environment. Other notable winners include The University of Sheffield, which won the Wellness Award and Transport for London, for Project of the Year Award (Public sector).

February 5, 2015

Digital economy spreads nationwide but London still dominates

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

The UK Government has published what it says is the first comprehensive analysis of the UK’s digital economy clusters as part of an ‘interactive data project’ called Tech Nation*. The project shows the development of digital businesses by region across the UK. The project has been developed by Tech City UK, the government’s flagship organisation focused on the UK’s digital economy. The project suggests that there are now nearly 1.5 million jobs in the UK digital sector with around three quarters (74 percent) of them outside London. While the Government is keen to portray this as a nationwide success story, this still means that there are twice as many jobs per head in London’s digital sector as the national average and, as we reported earlier, the Government’s rollout of fast broadband to rural areas remains woefully inadequate.