March 8, 2023
A new report from VTS claims that 62 percent of US landlords don’t have the tools they need to know how their properties are used, in spite of the ongoing pressure on them to understand the experience of occupiers and retain their business. More →
March 6, 2023
A surprisingly high proportion of UK businesses are unaware of new environmental legislation concerning the energy efficiency of their buildings, or even how energy efficient they are in the first place, according to a new survey commissioned by Irwin Mitchell: Redefining the Office – A report on office occupier trends in 2023. The new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) legislation means that from 1st April 2023, property owners must not continue to let properties that have an EPC rating of F or G (unless they have an exemption) and all let properties will need to have a minimum EPC rating of E. More →
February 22, 2023
Only 24 percent of people trust their remote working colleagues to get work done from home, according to a new poll from Envoy. However, the latest edition of its Return to the Workplace survey also suggests that 94 percent of workers believe their managers trust them to do their work from anywhere, home or the office. And the older the worker, the greater the confidence they have in expressing such a belief. Only 57 percent of ‘Gen Z’ feel strongly that they have their manager’s trust compared with 71 percent of ‘Millennials’ and 77 percent of ‘Boomers’. (Wot? No Gen X? – Ed) More →
February 21, 2023
Businesses that adopted a four day working week as part of a pilot programme say they are more profitable and their staff are fitter, happier and more productive, researchers have told MPs. A large majority of companies that took part in the pilot now plan to carry on. The programme, led in the UK by non-profit 4 Day Week Global, the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign and think-tank Autonomy, involved around 3,000 workers through a six-month trial of a four day week, with no loss of pay. This brings the global campaign’s total number of completed pilot participants to 91 companies and approximately 3,500 employees. More →
February 20, 2023
Any business that is looking to grow its consumer base or expand into new markets is likely to be relying on digital technology to a greater extent than ever before both in their operations and management. This also means that the world of employment, both for workers and enterprises, is necessarily evolving too. An inevitable consequence of this evolution has been that those for whom technology has been an essential part of their life and education — so-called digital natives — are in growing demand. More →
February 14, 2023
The cost-of-living crisis is driving a wedge between employers and their staff. In a recent research report, we surveyed 500 employers to discover what they believe causes their staff the most stress. Surprisingly, an overwhelming 96 percent did not believe that employee salaries are a major stress factor for staff during the cost-of-living crisis. Instead, they felt major contributors included heavy workloads, long hours, and tight deadlines. More →
February 10, 2023
Last week, Parent Mental Health Day renewed our focus on working parents and their resilience, the ability to adapt to change, deal with stress, and foster optimism despite difficulty. From a business perspective, resilience is the way that employees recognise and respond to challenges as opportunities to develop rather than as a threat or setback. Resilience is an important skill for us all as we manoeuvre through life’s daily trials and it is particularly important for working parents as we often juggle more responsibilities outside of the workplace. More →
February 8, 2023
Height-adjustable tables have become a staple in the home and office environment, offering users variety and comfort regardless of the tasks at hand. These pieces offer immense flexibility, but what if that flexibility could be pushed even further? What if a table could naturally provide more mobility, agility and range, broadening its multi-use capabilities—creating an instant workspace? Herman Miller’s Passport Work Table, the brand’s newest table offering, is designed to do all of that—all while keeping space prioritization top of mind. More →
February 6, 2023
Mies van der Rohe once said: “An architect of ability should be able to tell a client what he wants. Most of the time a client never knows what he wants.” Not many clients will agree with these patronising words—nor, for that matter, will many architects. Yet, there is some truth in Mies’s statement in the sense that construction clients often have difficulty expressing what they want. To help solve this conundrum in a new era, Juriaan van Meel and Kjersti Bjørkeng Størdal have published their new book Construction briefing: a practical guide. More →
February 6, 2023
Debrett’s, the well-known authority on manners and etiquette, has created a guide to hybrid working etiquette, sponsored by Poly. The guide claims to offer updated advice for the hybrid work era at a time when -it says here – etiquette at work has never been more important. More →
February 2, 2023
In previous articles, I shared that there is a McKinsey report that states that 75 percent of the organisations that were listed at the time on the S&P would no longer exist by 2025 – they would either merge, be bought out or go bankrupt. This all means that organisations have to change and adapt or die. That is now less than 2 years away, so some organisations are now gone, some are struggling and some have adapted. With that said, organisations can no longer afford to get change wrong – they have to get it right and right now. And one way of doing this is to focus on people centric change. More →
March 6, 2023
The six skills managers will need for the future of work
by Lea Kimpele • Comment, Flexible working, Technology