Search Results for: workplace

September 25, 2014

Why a more flexible approach to where and when we work is long overdue

by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, News

As Virgin boss Richard Branson throws his considerable influence behind flexible working, with the revelation that his personal staff can now take time off whenever they want for as long as they want; new research published for National Work Life Week illustrates why we need a more flexible approach to where and when we work. The average British one-way commute has increased in the last couple of years, at nearly half an hour (29.6 minutes) compared to 26 minutes two years ago. Employees in large firms appear to endure the longest commutes, clocking up a one-way average of 39 minutes. The knock-on effect means over-crowded trains, roads and buses and an increasingly stressed workforce more prone to stress and ill-health. Branson has promised to extend the policy if, as he notes in his blog, it results in similar productivity gains as Netflix, which has pioneered this approach. More →

September 25, 2014

Dubai unveils plans for sustainable ‘Perfect City’ real estate hub

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Environment, News, Property

Undeterred by the seriously stuttering start to existence of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, the government of Dubai (but of course) has announced plans for what it claims will be the first specialised sustainable city in the world. The plans for the characteristically modestly named ‘Perfect City’ were unveiled this week at the Cityscape 2014 trade show in Dubai and form one of the centrepiece projects of a seven year programme of development masterminded by Dubai Land Development (DLD). Work begins on the project begins next year and is expected to complete in 2021. As with Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City the idea is to create a sustainable hub for a particular industry, in this case real estate. The plans include a canal, 20,000 trees and the provision that 75 percent of the City will be made up of green space.

September 24, 2014

Flexible working celebrated, as Top Employers for Working Families revealed

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Deloitte, KPMG and Barclays are among the companies recognised for their work-life balance policies in the annual list of the Top Employers for Working Families. The Top Employers for Working Families Benchmark is designed to encourage employers to focus on their flexible working and work-life integration practices, and how they measure up against other organisations. Brand Learning, CiC Employee Assistance and Digital Mums were included in an alternative benchmark provided to smaller organisations to help them evaluate and develop their own work-life thinking. The top scoring employers were named by work-life balance group Working Families as part of series of events to mark National Work-Life Week, which today features ‘Go home on time day.’ This is held to help encourage people to leave their workplace on time and help redress the thirty five per cent of parents who – in a poll by Working Families, said that their work affects their home life in a negative way. More →

September 24, 2014

‘Overwhelming evidence’ of link between office design, productivity and wellness claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Briefing, Knowledge, News, Workplace design

A new report from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) claims it has “overwhelming evidence” that office design significantly impacts the health, wellbeing and productivity of staff. Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices: The Next Chapter for Green Building reports on a range of factors – from air quality and lighting, to views of nature and interior layout – can affect the health, satisfaction and job performance of office workers. Understanding the link between workers and their workplace helps to drive the business case for higher quality, healthy and greener buildings, valued by investors, developers and tenants alike. With salaries and benefits typically responsible for 90 percent of an organization’s expenditure, any higher construction or occupation costs are far outweighed by even small improvements in staff performance.

September 23, 2014

Government invites responses on EU public sector procurement regs

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Public Sector

The UK Government is inviting firms to contribute to a new consultation on the implementation of the latest EU draft regulations for public sector procurement. The Government claims that the consultation follows two years negotiation with the EU on the simplification and modernisation of public sector purchasing and its results will help them to implement the 2014 EU Public Sector Directive effectively and in the best way. The ultimate aim of the new regulations is to make public sector procurement ‘faster and less costly and will lead to better value outcomes for government, industry, and the wider public sector’. The consultation document can be found here. Responses should be emailed to transposition@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk or in writing to Crown Commercial Service Helpdesk, Cabinet Office, Rosebery Court, Norwich, NR7 0HS.

September 22, 2014

Privacy concerns are inhibiting employee uptake of BYOD

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology

Employees’ use of personal digital devices at work has led to concerns regarding the encroachment of work into leisure time; but the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) craze also poses a challenge for staff who are reluctant to expose their private data to the corporate gaze. According to a survey conducted by Ovum on behalf of AdaptiveMobile, keeping their privacy from employers is the top concern for employees being asked to use their own devices for work purposes. The research found that while over 84 per cent of employees rated privacy as a top three concern, there was a clear lack of trust in the ability of their employer to manage their mobile security and privacy. Among employees who do not use their own devices for work purposes, the desire to keep their work and personal life separate (44%) and a general mistrust of their employer having any kind of control over their devices (24%) were the biggest barriers.

September 22, 2014

Winners of Design Guild Mark for 2014 announced by The Furniture Makers Company

by Mark Eltringham • Furniture, News, Products, Workplace design

The Furniture Makers’ Company used last week’s 100% Design show to announce the Design Guild Mark award recipients for this year. The Design Guild Mark, now in its seventh year since launching in 2008, rewards excellence in the design of furniture in volume production. According to the organisers, with the award of this Guild Mark for designs which meet The Furniture Makers’ Company criteria, the designers receive due recognition and the industry is made more aware of the importance of investment in design. The Design Guild Mark aims to acknowledge the work of the finest furniture designers working in volume production and the best of British furniture designers working abroad. This year’s winners include Pearson Lloyd’s RIYA task chair for Bene and a posthumous award for the classic Supporto Chair (above), designed by the late Frederick Scott and now manufactured by Zoeftig.

September 22, 2014

Much anticipated BCO Specification Guide update for 2014 launched

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, Knowledge, Property, Workplace design

The British Council for Offices (BCO) has launched the much awaited new edition of its Specification Guide. Last updated in 2009, the 2014 issue aims to cement the publication’s position as the ‘definitive guide to office development in the UK’. As well as its traditional subjects of occupier density and building infrastructure and services, the latest edition covers topics such as building information modelling (BIM) rights to light, updates to BREEAM and amended planning law and building regulations as well as topical issues such as the inexorable rise of the ‘coffee shop workplace’ and the provision of cycle parks. Richard Kauntze, chief executive, claims the revised BCO Specification Guide represents a greater focus on the needs of end users.

September 19, 2014

Sound, settings, serendipity and other lessons from 100% Design

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Events, Products, Workplace design

Workplace Hub by NBBJ

The trick with visits to exhibitions like 100% Design is to stay focussed on the wood as much as the trees. So as well as identifying the good, the bad and the meh, it pays to discern the themes pursued by the exhibitors and organisers. Leaving aside what was happening in the domestic halls, those related to the workplace invariably derive from a mixture of what the exhibitors’ customers are talking to them about and what the media says people are talking about. So at this year’s show (still ongoing till tomorrow at Earl’s Court) some of the most readily identifiable themes included the dissipation of the workplace, privacy, ergonomics and serendipity. With the possible exception of the age old problem of ergonomics, these all relate to our changing relationship with work and workplaces, not least how we can – and indeed must – be able to work from anywhere and what this means both functionally and aesthetically.

September 19, 2014

Universal application of open plan has led to global privacy crisis, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

A major new report from office furniture maker Steelcase claims that the universal provision of open plan offices means that organisations are facing an unprecedented privacy crisis with their employees. The claim is based on international research carried out by market researchers IPSOS and the Workspace Futures Team of Steelcase which found that a remarkable 85 percent of people are dissatisfied with their working environment and cannot concentrate. Nearly a third (31 percent) now routinely leave the office to get work done in private. The authors of the report claim that this does not mean a reversal of the decades long shift away from cellular offices but rather a move to create offices that offer a range of work settings to give people a choice of where and how to work. More than 10,000 workers across 14 countries were questioned about their office environments and working patterns.

September 19, 2014

England’s local authorities acting like property developers, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Property, Public Sector

England’s local authorities are responding to the country’s ongoing austerity measures by behaving more like property developers as they seek to redevelop property and land valued at £13.5 billion by 2019, according to a new report from local government think tank Localis in conjunction with developer Cathedral Group. Rather than simply selling off assets, the research claims that councils are increasingly looking to develop property to provide them with revenue streams as a way of shoring up their shrinking budgets. The report claims that the proportion of projects slated for redevelopment is currently a third of all disposals but will make up the majority in five years time. The report has received cross party support and links to other high profile public sector initiatives, especially the One Public Sector Estate scheme. The Cabinet Office recently reported that the UK public sector estate had shrunk by 2 m. sq. ft. since 2010.

September 18, 2014

Global launch of healthy buildings report announced for World Green Building Week

by Sara Bean • Environment, Events, Facilities management, News

World Green Building Week 2014 takes place next week (22 – 27 September) with the theme for this year of ‘Get up, Green up’. Created in 2009 to promote a more connected, more interactive, and more public conversation around the role buildings play in creating a sustainable future, this year’s WGBW will feature a range of events held around the world; including Australia, US, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates. On Monday 22 September, as part of WGBW, UK-GBC is hosting a webinar looking at the Ökobau.dat, the German National LCA database for construction, and on Wednesday 24 the global launch event of the WorldGBC ‘Health, wellbeing and productivity in offices: the next chapter for green building’ report, which looks at health, wellbeing and productivity in offices, following an extensive project involving over 50 industry experts from around the world. More →