Search Results for: business

Sustainability and skills at heart of RICS’ new manifesto for the built environment

Sustainability and skills at heart of RICS’ new manifesto for the built environment

The built environment needs to reflect the change in workforce behaviour and its approach to sustainabilityThe Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is launching its manifesto for the built environment in the lead-up to the next UK General Election, titled Empowering a Sustainable Future. The UK’s built and natural environments face large-scale challenges ranging from climate change to a cost-of-living crisis. According to the manifesto, endemic skills shortages undermine development in the industry while the workplace has become more fluid post-pandemic, with the built environment needing to reflect the change in workforce behaviour and its approach to sustainability. More →

Most people get anxious at the prospect of work meetings

Most people get anxious at the prospect of work meetings

8 in 10 people often feel anxious or worried about attending day-to-day work meetingsA new report based on a survey of 2,000 hybrid and remote employees claims that 8 in 10 people often feel anxious or worried about attending day-to-day work meetings. The white paper titled ‘Zoomed In, Zoned Out’ has been released by Craft Docs [registration], and reports on hybrid and remote workers’ attitudes towards business meetings and other daily workplace processes in 2023. More →

What doesn’t kill leaders makes them stronger, say academics

What doesn’t kill leaders makes them stronger, say academics

People that experience frequent disruptive events are much more likely to become aware of their own identity as leaders, according to new researchPeople that experience frequent disruptive events are much more likely to become aware of their own identity as leaders, according to new research by Durham University published in the Journal of Business and Psychology. Whilst many believe that impactful, disruptive, and novel events could be detrimental to building a leader’s confidence, the study proves the term “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, as experiencing strong events made people more aware of their leader capabilities. More →

Hybrid working is here to stay. Squawk

Hybrid working is here to stay. Squawk

I hold to the idea that nobody knows what hybrid working is, by which I mean there is no universally shared idea about what it isIn his recent book, The Constitution of Knowledge, the author Jonathan Rauch argues that knowledge consists of something about which nearly everybody can agree, and which has been arrived at by a structured, ongoing and benign process of debate and discovery. More →

‘Levelling up’ development is new home for 1,400 civil servants

‘Levelling up’ development is new home for 1,400 civil servants

The UK government has purchased land for the permanent site of the new Darlington Economic Campus as a key part of its so-called levelling up programmeThe UK government has purchased land for the permanent site of the new Darlington Economic Campus as a key part of its so-called levelling up programme. The Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) was established in August 2021 and currently houses 674 government staff. McLaren Property has now sold its option on a 7,926 square metres site on Brunswick Street in Darlington to the Government Property Agency for a permanent base for the Treasury’s second headquarters and Department for Business and Trade. More →

Women continue to struggle with the return to work after maternity leave

Women continue to struggle with the return to work after maternity leave

A new poll suggests that while 98 percent of women want to return to work after maternity leave, only 13 percent say it’s actually viable for themA new poll suggests that while 98 percent of women want to return to work after maternity leave, only 13 percent say it’s actually viable for them. The survey of 848 mothers commissioned by Careers After Babies looked at what happened to their careers after having children. The survey looked into four areas – maternity leave, returning to work, career progression and what women actually want. More →

Workspace Design Show returns for third UK edition next February

Workspace Design Show returns for third UK edition next February

Workspace Design Show, the leading trade show bringing together the UK workplace design community, returns to London’s Business Design Centre for its eagerly awaited third UK edition from 27-28 February 2024. At the 2023 event, visitor number increased by an impressive 75 percent year on year with exhibitors from over 20 countries showcasing innovative and transformational workplace interiors products over the two days. Building on this success, over three quarters of stand space is already booked for 2024. More →

Report links economic growth with the idea of ‘good work’

Report links economic growth with the idea of ‘good work’

CIPD sets out core themes for skilled, fair and healthy good work that should underpin a new workforce strategy for the next UK GovernmentIn advance of the main party conferences, the CIPD is calling for the next UK Government to develop a long-term workforce strategy to underpin a broader, bolder vision for economic growth. This is a central message in its new ‘Manifesto for Good Work’ which outlines the public policy changes needed to address the UK’s multiple challenges, for all the main UK political parties. These challenges include stagnating productivity, rising skills shortages and our ageing working population. More →

Generative AI will affect two thirds of jobs, but most people shouldn’t lose them

Generative AI will affect two thirds of jobs, but most people shouldn’t lose them

Around two thirds (66 percent) of jobs are considered “highly” or “moderately” exposed to Generative AI, according to the AI at Work Report from job site IndeedAround two thirds (66 percent) of jobs are considered “highly” or “moderately” exposed to Generative AI, according to the AI at Work Report from job site Indeed. The report claims finds that all US jobs listed on the firm’s website – from truck driver to software engineer – have skills that can be carried out or augmented by Generative AI. However, only 1 in 5 (19.8 percent) of jobs are considered “highly” exposed to the technology, showing that while it can learn to do tasks within a specific job, ‘GenAI’ is unlikely to fully replace many jobs. More →

Knowledge workers have a particularly unhealthy relationship with work

Knowledge workers have a particularly unhealthy relationship with work

Three quarters of UK knowledge workers say they have an unhealthy relationship with work and two thirds of those say that work has had a negative effect on their health and wellbeingThree quarters of UK knowledge workers say they have an unhealthy relationship with work and two thirds of those say that work has had a negative effect on their health and wellbeing. That is one of the headline findings from a new report into the working lives of 15,600 people worldwide from HP. The report also suggests that three quarters of respondents would take a pay cut to be happier at work or to work wherever they want. More →

Smart technology needs to start with people if it wants to get smarter

Smart technology needs to start with people if it wants to get smarter

A wood carving of a blank, slumped person sitting at a desk with a laptop to depict the dehumanization potential of smart technology“My engineering students had come to class with technology on their minds.” So says artist and design researcher Sara Hendren, author of What a Body Can Do: How we Meet the Built World. It’s a fascinating book in which she consciously pushes back against the prevailing narrative that so-called smart technology has a fix for every problem. As a professor teaching design for disability at Olin College of Engineering, Massachusetts, Hendren draws attention to the assumptions that drive normative behaviours to define what is a ‘problem’ in the first place. More →

Is the Flexible Working Bill a game changer or paper tiger?

Is the Flexible Working Bill a game changer or paper tiger?

The need for more flexible working arrangements has been heard and employees are getting what they want – right? As LinkedIn data has shown, demand for work flexible working is high. And it outpaces the current availability of remote work offers. In the UK alone, listings for remote jobs have increased by 277 percent. Job postings for hybrid or remote positions received an increase in applications (189 percent) over in-office roles. People want to work remotely for various reasons. So they can live in their chosen home rather than in a tiny flat in London without sacrificing their career. So they can care for family – children, parents, grandparents. The demand for flexible work is driven by a desire for balance. The need has been clearly voiced – and the workforce is hungry for new modes of work. Looking at this background – the cheerful response to the passing of the bill is understandable. More →