Search Results for: workplace

October 22, 2013

Over 40 percent of refurbishment projects fail September health and safety checks

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Property

Following the extensive enforcement action it took against construction sites in March, the latest Health and Safety Executive ‘swoop’ on refurbishment projects in September found that more than 42 percent of them failed the subsequent inspection. During the month, HSE inspectors paid unannounced visits to 2,607 construction sites where refurbishment or repair work was taking place and reported that 1,100 of them failed the safety checks. On 644 of the sites, practices were deemed so poor that enforcement action was taken to protect workers. More seriously, 539 prohibition notices were served to put an immediate end to dangerous activities and inspectors issued 414 improvement notices requiring standards to improve.

October 22, 2013

Germans prove that long hours and productivity are often two completely different things

by John Sacks • Comment, Workplace

Earlier this year, Insight published the results of a survey which showed that the World’s hardest workers, contrary to what Jeremy Clarkson might say, are Mexican. But that poll told half the story because it only measured the number of hours people work. When it comes to productivity measured by output against time spent working, it turns out that it’s the Germans who are the undisputed champions according to research from the PEW Trust. This won’t come as a surprise if you believe the Teutonic stereotype, as many people assuredly do. The survey also found that, when asked which nation had the most productive workers, respondents in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany itself all believe that Germans are Europe’s hardest workers.

October 22, 2013

What happens in a designer’s mind and Mac can be very different to reality

by Simon Heath • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

Social media is inarguably closing the gap between organisations and consumers of their services. Advances in the way we interrogate the opinions of building users are lifting the veil on some sharp practices in management and the negative impacts of poorly thought out design or badly executed installation of designs into the built environment. The positive impacts of this new, more open world are evident in changing attitudes to mental health and other wellness issues that affect us in the workplace. And it is becoming ever more evident in the response to a clear disconnect between what happens inside the designer or architect’s MacBook and its effect on the physical spaces with, and within which, we interact.

October 21, 2013

Co-op’s One Angel Square in Manchester wins RICS’ Project of the Year

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, News, Property

One Angel Square in Manchester has been awarded Project of the Year in the RICS Awards that celebrate the built and natural environment. More than 600 building projects entered the awards which also saw category awards presented for building conservation, community benefit, design and innovation, and regeneration. The overall winning project – a £100 million new headquarters for The Co-operative Group – is the largest commercial office building in Manchester and has also achieved the highest scoring BREEAM ‘outstanding’ office rating in the country, setting a new national benchmark in sustainable design in the commercial sector. RICS judges said every aspect of the building has been constructed with sustainability at heart. More →

October 21, 2013

Job satisfaction keeps employees motivated more than bonuses

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The reported levels of stress felt by banking employees already suggests that generous bonuses do not necessarily equate loving the job. Now a new study published today by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) confirms that across the business sector, the single most effective motivator is job satisfaction (59%), with just 13 per cent saying the prospect of receiving a bonus or other financial incentive motivates them to work harder in their role. The survey of over 1,000 employees found that a competitive salary and a good pension are highly effective motivators (49%) but getting on with colleagues (42%) is nearly as important. The report also highlights how important good managers are to ensuring happy and motivated staff. More →

October 18, 2013

RICS is first professional body to introduce BIM standard

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has become the first global professional body to introduce the first recognisable building information modelling (BIM) standard. Employers and clients are struggling to find industry accepted criteria on which to base knowledge of practitioners’ BIM skills, while BIM competent professionals lack a single indicator that will demonstrate their abilities to the sector. This has resulted in different assessment methods being used across the industry. RICS’ BIM Manager Certification aims to assure contractors, consultants and investors that the professionals and firms delivering construction and infrastructure projects have the relevant knowledge, experience and skills to implement BIM at an industry tested and approved level. More →

October 17, 2013

Employers should engage staff as active reputation builders in social media

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

Employers who discourage staff from spending time at work updating their status on Facebook or following twitter feeds would be better served in harnessing their social media habits to promote the organization according to an academic study. Joonas Rokka, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Neoma Business School, has published new research in the Journal of Marketing Management that shows how social media can accentuate the role of employee and corporate reputation management. According to findings drawn from multiple business sectors and different types of companies, the research claims that companies need to focus more on managing employees as active reputation builders and brand ambassadors in social media instead of conceiving them only as possible reputation risks. More →

October 17, 2013

Video: reimagining work to help people become happier and more productive

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Events, Facilities management, Technology

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Most companies are engaged in an attempt to help employees become happier, more productive and – yes –fitter at work. Firms do this because they are nice people or in the commercial interest of the business, or both. The problem is they are not doing it with a fixed set of criteria. Not only do they have to cope with changing commercial and economic conditions and legislation, they have to do it while the very nature of work evolves rapidly and in very different ways for different organisations. This is not so much like somebody moving the goal posts as it is like one of those games on It’s A Knockout where a contestant tries to do something while other people are shaking the platform they are standing on, squirting them with water, running into them, hitting them with things and yanking them back with ropes.

October 16, 2013

Labour demand growing, but many employers prefer to increase hours not people

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

There was a fall in unemployment of 18,000 to 2.49 million from March to May of this year according to the latest figures published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Between June and August 2013 the unemployment rate dropped from 7.8 per cent to 7.7 per cent, with a slight rise in total pay of 0.7 per cent. Although the news was welcomed by employment experts, Nigel Meager, Director of the Institute for Employment Studies pointed out that while employment increased by 0.9 per cent in the last year, the number of hours worked in the economy grew faster; and CIPD Chief Economist Mark Beatson commented that there is no sign yet that increased demand for staff were leading to higher wages. More →

October 16, 2013

Business leaders’ taskforce presents Govt with bright ideas to cut EU red tape

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

A Government-appointed taskforce, which comprises six leading business figures, including M&S Chief Executive Marc Bolland, and Kingfisher CEO Ian Cheshire has presented the Cabinet with 30 ways of cutting back EU regulations that it says are holding back European businesses. According to the report, ‘Cut EU red tape’, the EU should promote enterprise and boost growth by sweeping away “poorly understood and burdensome rules and preventing similarly pointless legislation in the future”. The proposals, which followed a consultation with 100 businesses across Europe, says that cutting unnecessary and time-consuming health and safety regulations could save EU businesses around €2.7 billion, while reforming employment law would free up firms to create more jobs. More →

October 16, 2013

Leeds Council begins major office refurbishment and signs long term HQ lease

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

Merrion House, Leeds

Leeds City Council has signed a new 25 year lease on its headquarters building Merrion House as part of a programme aimed at consolidating its property portfolio and housing the majority of its staff under one roof. The council claims the long term deal will save it £15 million over the course of the lease following work on a complete office refurbishment and a consolidation of its estate in the city centre. The refurb includes the addition of a new 50,000 sq ft six-storey extension bringing the total space to around 170,000 sq ft. The revamped HQ will be home to around 1,900 staff including 700 who will move from 13 other buildings around the city. The new agreements is thought to be the largest office pre-let in Leeds for more than 20 years.