July 18, 2024

HSBC Headquarters in Canary Wharf to undergo major transformation

In a significant redevelopment move, 8 Canada Square, currently the headquarters of HSBC, is set to be transformed into a modern multi-use skyscraper once the bank vacates its Canary Wharf location in 2027. The global banking giant will relocate to the Square Mile as part of a company refresh, prompting an overhaul of its existing headquarters. This morning, the Canary Wharf Group (CWG) announced plans to reimagine the iconic building into a state-of-the-art space encompassing workspaces, leisure, entertainment, and educational facilities. The building is wholly owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund (QIA), with CWG serving as the development partner. More →

July 18, 2024

The city and the office have much to teach each other

by Marian Evans • Cities, Features, Workplace design

Whatever you might hear, these times are far from unprecedented. History has lessons for us both in terms of how we view the events of 2020 and how we might respond to them, including how we progress as a species and make our lives and the world a better place. In 1832, there was an epidemic of cholera in the UK’s towns and cities. In those with a population of 100,000 or more life expectancy was just 26 years. The reasons for this were picked up on by a government official called Edwin Chadwick as a member of the Poor Law Commission. More →

July 17, 2024

Want a creative workplace? Make life difficult and chaotic for yourself

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace

We launched IN Magazine officially on the 4th of March 2020. So, this month marks some sort of anniversary. You could argue that this was the worst day in the history of mankind to launch a new magazine about people, work and workplaces and you’d probably be right. People were already not shaking hands. They had begun deserting public transport and planning for less contact with each other. Lockdown was only a couple of weeks away. More →

July 15, 2024

Nearly all CEOs now say they work across different locations

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Property

CEOs are leading by example when it comes to hybrid working, with nine in 10 (93 percent) saying they have personally adopted flexible working patterns according to a new poll. The survey of more than 500 CEOs by International Workplace Group suggests that the vast majority now split their working time between locations. Just 7 percent said they spend five days a week working from a central office. More →

July 10, 2024

Addressing bad behavior with good policy

by Laura Dribin • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

The COVID-19 outbreak (and subsequent lockdowns) did a number on us in our workplaces and in our homes—and we are still paying the price in so many ways. Did employees and managers get so used to remote work that they totally forgot that humans are social creatures and social interaction is vital to our wellbeing. Sometimes it feels that way. I have spent most of my career working on and managing large global projects. Issues that arose always seemed to be focused on headquarters- and/or remote-location considerations but nothing so serious that it would hinder the project team(s) from working together. More →

July 10, 2024

Living the dream of better times for a new generation

by Grant Gibson • Business, Comment

As a new Labour Prime Minister settles into office with a thumping majority behind him and with the Conservative opposition in utter disarray, it’s difficult not to think back to 1997 and the wave of euphoria that over took the nation. Here was a Labour government that seemed to understand the issues the country faced and the direction of travel it needed to take in the future. Tony Blair was 43 years old when he took office (nearly 20 years younger than Keir Starmer is now) and had an instinctive grasp for what Generation X craved. After all, he was the first British Prime Minster to grow up with rock and roll and appeared to embody a generational shift like no politician before him. More →

July 2, 2024

3 Days of Design proves we don’t know what we’re doing

by Luke Munro • Comment, Environment, Workplace design

We don’t know what we’re doing. That was what we all learnt about sustainability at last week’s 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen as Denmark’s capital city played host once more to this increasingly influential European Design event. Timed, as it is, in the same week as Chicago’s Neocon, and following on from Milan’s enormous and well-renowned Salone, not even intermittently inclement weather could disguise the noticeably larger audience drawn to Copenhagen this year. More →

June 26, 2024

Save the Knowledge Worker – insights and strategies for remote-work success

by Neil Franklin • Features, Flexible working, Premium Content, Wellbeing

Undoubtedly, the remote work revolution is in full swing. But it’s messy. Kolekti’s new Save the Knowledge Worker report found a colossal 96 percent of workers desire some form of remote work, and one in three employees is willing to quit if forced to return to the office full-time. And yet, which business leader can say their organisation has perfected the strategy for remote work? Most are still experimenting, tinkering, and tweaking. Even the end destination may be unclear for some. More →

June 24, 2024

Sound and vision – Nigel Oseland makes himself heard for the IN magazine profile

by Mark Eltringham • Features, IN Magazine, Premium Content

Interviewing people involves trying to tease out a bit of personal colour. Sometimes I already know what that is or might be. That is certainly the case with Nigel Oseland who I have known for many years, know to be from Wolverhampton and who studied psychology and computer science at Keele University in my home town. He went on to focus on environmental psychology while working at the Building Research Establishment in Watford in the late 1980s and 1990s. More →

June 22, 2024

Pattenmakers search for the winner of the Future Leader FM Award 2025

by Jayne Smith • Company news, Facilities management

Livery company the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers is looking for the next winner of its coveted annual FM award. This Award recognises a future leader in FM, rewarding a talented early-career professional with a unique personal development opportunity funded by the livery. The Award is open to newcomers working in the Workplace and FM sectors, who have a maximum of 5 years’ experience. Entry is free, and all the information needed to enter is available here, including a link to the online entry form. The deadline for receipt of entries for the Pattenmakers Future Leader FM Award is: 5th August 2024. https://www.pattenmakers.co.uk/future-leader-fm-award-2025/ More →

June 21, 2024

Visit NeoCon, but Chicago has become a tale of two venues

by John Sacks • Features, Workplace design

Chicago is a city which never fails to amaze whether you are visiting for NeoCon or for any other reason. It’s the epitome of extroversion, with its magnificent architecture, larger than life people, almost constant, ear-splitting commotion and frantic comings and goings. Annual visits to the city invariably present a profusion of elegant new skyscrapers of different shapes, styles and colours, which seem to be trying to outdo each other. It’s as if Chicago is constantly trying to outperform all other cities, as well as its own past. More →

June 19, 2024

Two in five people say they aren’t paid enough to make ends meet

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

A new report from Indeed, released two weeks ahead of the UK General Election, suggests that more than 2 in 5 (42 percent) Brits are struggling to make ends meet. According to the survey of over 2,000 British people, those in the North East of England feel most comfortable, with less than a third (32 percent) struggling, while almost half (48 percent) of those in Scotland say their pay isn’t keeping pace. More →