April 20, 2023
British workers are finding their offices and places of work to be severely lacking in inspiration and innovation, according to a new poll from office design and fit-out firm Claremont. The survey of more than 1,000 office workers across a range of sectors set out to identify the impact of an office on a workforce’s behaviour and how staff need to feel in order to be happy, healthy and productive. (more…)
April 19, 2023
Hybrid working can facilitate major carbon savings and has the potential for significant impact on the climate crisis, according to a new study by IWG and Arup. The study measured the environmental impact of hybrid working on six cities across the US and UK with a deep dive on two major carbon contributors – London and LA. Others examined were New York City, Atlanta, Manchester and Glasgow. All six cities showed the potential for huge carbon savings through the widespread adoption of hybrid working, which has rapidly expanded amongst white collar workers, who are now using the available technology to work where is most convenient and they are most productive. (more…)
April 7, 2023
Since we are now very much in the age of uncertainty being the new certainty, with all the old playbooks out the window and no cookie cutter approach in the ways we work, since one size doesn’t fit all – what the hell do we do? Curl up in a ball and die? Go into panic mode and go around shouting ‘We’re doomed! We’re doomed’ manically? Or just ostrich the problem and hope it all goes away or at least reverts back to how it was before? (more…)
April 5, 2023
According to a new poll from recruiter Robert Walters, almost three quarters of professionals (71 percent) who left their pre-covid employer in search of better pay or working culture say that they are open to returning. Half of the 3,000 people surveyed say that the reasons as to why they left in the first place are no longer applicable. Nearly half (45 percent of workers) who had left their job after lockdown did so for better pay – with a further 35 percent leaving for a better workplace culture or more purpose/fulfilment in their role. (more…)
March 31, 2023
In 1989, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, performed a TV sketch called Information. You can watch it below. It featured Stephen Fry sitting at a desk with a placard displaying the word “INFORMATION”. He asks, “Can I help you?” to which Hugh Laurie replies, “Oh, I would like some information, please”. Though, in the discussion, Hugh Laurie expects to get information without asking any questions, Stephen Fry explains that he has lots of information, such as “the average weight of a rabbit”. In response comes the statement, “Well, I didn’t know that, that there was an average weight of a rabbit!” (more…)
March 29, 2023
While modern business leaders are still expected to provide strategic thinking, leadership and make business decisions, their effectiveness is no longer just about profits. These days leaders are also being held responsible for employees’ mental health and wellbeing, psychological safety, as well as diversity and inclusion. They are expected to be decisive yet flexible, empathetic yet analytical, and clear yet nuanced. It can be exhausting. (more…)
March 23, 2023
The development of a major life science cluster at Canary Wharf continues to build momentum with a range of life sciences focused start-ups and scaleup businesses joining the growing community of technology businesses at its specialist co-working and office hub, Level39, according to a new statement from Canary Wharf Group. Launched by Canary Wharf Group ten years ago, Level 39 is now home to over 180 start-ups and scaleups innovating in FinTech, Cyber Security, CleanTech, Blockchain, Life Sciences and HealthTech. (more…)
March 22, 2023
More than half (53 percent) of employees in the UK ay they feel overworked, citing factors like reaching their maximum capacity, being spread too thin, or stressing over the threat of additional work – according to a poll from Censuswide, commissioned by Visier. The survey of around 1,000 people claims that young professionals aged 25-34 say they feel most overworked, followed closely by those aged 55+. Four in ten (40 percent) employees polled would look for a new job with a better work-life balance if they felt overworked. (more…)
March 15, 2023
Today the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt presented his Spring Budget to the House of Commons. In it he announced what her referred to as his ‘four pillars’ of industrial and productivity strategy, namely: ‘Enterprise’, ‘Employment’, ‘Education’, and ‘Everywhere’. Perhaps the headline element of this announcement was the creation of twelve new investment zones across the UK as well as incentives for older workers to return to the country’s patchy workforce. This includes£63m for programmes to encourage retirees over 50 back to work, “returnerships” and ‘skills boot camps’. Another headline for the workplace sector was the offer of improved childcare arrangements, especially for the parents of very young children, who will see 30 hours of free childcare expanded to include one and two-year-olds. (more…)
March 15, 2023
Only around 14 percent of office occupiers believe their existing workspace portfolios align completely with their business objectives, according to a new report on the future of the office by the Urban Land Institute and The Instant Group. The ‘state of flux’ identified in the report suggests that while the office is ‘here to stay’, the sector is bracing itself for a profound shift. Two thirds (62 percent) of office landlords expect a decrease in capital values with the current valuation model and less than 2 percent of asset owners feel they have the required capex to respond to occupier and ESG legislation-related requirements. (more…)
March 15, 2023
A new survey that explores the state of sustainability within the UK office market, jointly commissioned by infinitSpace and The Instant Group, claims that the office market is falling behind on environmental policies. The poll of 250 landlords suggests that almost half (47 percent) of landlords believe the office market is lagging behind other areas of the property sector in implementing/adopting environmental policies. The same number say they can’t ‘go it alone’ with 47 percent of landlords agreeing they need help in shaping environmental policies. At the same time, 84 percent of landlords report a vacancy rate of 30 percent and above as average among their office building portfolio. (more…)
April 24, 2023
Reconnecting older workers with the office: have we retired what matters most?
by Julie Lecoq • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design