Search Results for: workplace

Infographic: how work related social media use varies by country, gender and sector

by • Knowledge, Technology, Workplace

A new survey from Microsoft has highlighted a widespread mismatch in the use of social media in a business context across regions and between gender and age groups. It also claims that firms should be more open to social media use and that their unwillingness to adopt them more openly is hampering personal productivity. In the survey conducted in conjunction with Ipsos, nearly half of employees report that social tools at work help increase their productivity, but more than 30 percent of companies underestimate the value of these tools and often restrict their use. An infographic of the survey’s main results can be found here.

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RIBA and CIBSE call for collaboration in CarbonBuzz initiative

by • Environment, Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Property, Public Sector, Technology

RIBA and CIBSE call for pan-industry collaboration in CarbonBuzz initiative

The CarbonBuzz energy benchmarking initiative, backed jointly by the RIBA and CIBSE gets a new online platform next week. The CarbonBuzz project allows users to record, share and compare the real energy use of building projects and to shed light on the differences between predicted and operational performance. Now RIBA and CIBSE are calling on architects and building services engineers to upload their projects to CarbonBuzz and re-energise the industry’s benchmarking database, which was first launched in 2008. Both institutes have spearheaded the publication of energy data in their annual awards schemes and point out that CarbonBuzz is the best way to demonstrate energy credentials. (more…)

UK employment recovery could take up to four years finds research

by • Knowledge, News, Workplace

UK employment recovery doubts due to rising jobs gap

It will now be more than four years before the UK restores the employment rate of 2008 – and jobs recovery could take far longer. According to a new analysis from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation, it is now all but certain that the current jobs recovery will take longer than that following either the 1980s or 1990s recessions. The new findings are based on calculations of the UK ‘jobs gap’, the number of jobs the UK needs to create in order to restore the 2008 employment rate. The tough figures are explained partly by the UK’s ageing workforce, as a third of the current jobs gap is down to the growing share of the workforce aged over 64, which is growing twice as fast as the population aged 16-64. (more…)

Shared rather than serviced offices could save businesses thousands

by • Company news, Facilities management, News

Office genie on savings in sharing office space

London desk renters could save almost £200 a month by choosing a shared office over a serviced office, according to new research. The Office Genie Price Index has revealed that the average desk in a shared office in London costs £335, while a desk in a serviced office was found to cost on average £513 per month; £178 more. This saving of 35 per cent on the price of a serviced desk makes shared offices an affordable alternative in the world’s most expensive city for office rental, where a single square foot of office space in London can cost up to £170.

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UK public sector leading the way in procurement and sustainable building

by • Comment, Facilities management, Public Sector, Technology

Nottingham City Council's Loxley Building

Nottingham City Council’s Loxley Building

Over the last few years, the UK Government has grown increasingly interested in finding ways of making its £30 billion property portfolio more efficient. Both the last Labour government and the current Coalition administration have been driven by the opportunities offered them with the advent of new technology, new ways of working and new procurement models. They’ve pursued these issues to cut costs by reducing and changing the way property is designed and managed but have also found how that can also help to establish best practice in sustainable building. What is increasingly apparent, especially given recent news from the Major Projects Authority about cost savings in procurement is that the public sector is now leading the way as models of good practice.

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Mayor confirms £1billion China gateway business district in London

by • News, Property

Royal DocksLondon mayor Boris Johnson has confirmed the details of a £1bn investment in a new business district that will transform the Royal Docks into a 35 acre gateway project aimed primarily at firms from China and Asia looking to establish a business foothold in the UK and Europe. The site is intended to deliver more than 2.5m sq ft of office as well as retail and leisure facilities under the plans. Chinese owned developer ABP will work with Stanhope and architects Farrells with the first firms taking up occupancy in 2017. The Greater London Authority said the proposed development would create 20,000 full-time jobs, and inject £6bn into the UK economy, with £23m in business rates generated annually. No tenants are confirmed at this stage although the developers claim interest from Chinese banks is said to be high.

Crowds brave the grey weather to enjoy Clerkenwell Design Week

by • Comment, Flooring, Furniture, Products, Workplace design

Clerkenwell_Design_WeekIn contrast to last year when the sun shone and temperatures were giddily high, Clerkenwell in late May was distinctly chilly, with a constant stiff breeze, on and off rain, and even a hailstorm. The weather may have been unseasonably cold but that didn’t stop the crowds flocking to the most popular venues and showrooms, and several of the evening parties were so crowded they had to close their doors. The signs had been good, even before the show opened. Advance registrations were over 46,000, compared with last year’s 22,000 visitors and by the end of the show, total registrations had reached 55,000.

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Crown Estate in £320m joint venture to redevelop area around Regent Street

by • Company news, News, Property

St James Market architect's impression-2

The Crown Estate, which manages the Queen’s property portfolio has announced a joint 50/50 – £320 million venture with Canadian real estate company, Oxford Properties. The Crown Estate, which will retain the freehold and take the lead role in the development says the St James’s scheme will provide 210,000 ft2 of prime office and 50,000 ft2 of flagship retail and restaurant space in two blocks located between London’s Regent Street and Haymarket. The project forms part of the Crown Estate’s ten-year investment strategy for St James’s and will transform a run-down back street service yard and taxi ‘rat-run’ with: “a fantastic new amenity for St James’s, revitalising half and acre of public realm and creating a new 10,000 ft2 pedestrian square for world-class business, shopping and dining.” (more…)

Three quarters of London investment banks set to trim corporate real estate

by • Knowledge, News, Property

AxeAccording to a new report from CBRE, nearly three quarters (72 percent) of investment banks based in London are looking to cut their corporate real estate portfolios over the next two years as they adjust to a changing global market for their services as well as structural changes in the UK’s regulatory framework.  As well as trimming London based properties, the report says that banks will continue to relocate functions to the UK regions in an effort to reduce costs.  Since the low point of 2009, rents in the City of London have increased from £42.50 per sq ft to about £55 per sq ft. The survey also found that just over a third (34 percent) of banks expect to see cuts as a result of mergers and acquisitions in the sector.

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Wellness programmes largely a waste of time, claims US report

by • Knowledge, News, Workplace

CranberryMuffinAccording to press agency Reuters, a long-awaited report on workplace wellness programmes, which has yet to be published, delivers a blow to the increasingly popular efforts by employers to address the waistline of employees as well as the bottom line of their businesses. According to a report by researchers at RAND Corp in the US, the now commonplace corporate sanctioned wellness programmes that encourage employees to become healthier and reduce absenteeism and medical costs only have a modest effect. RAND delivered the analysis to the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services last Autumn as part of a Government review ahead of new legislation.

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Are these the world’s most spectacular corporate buildings?

by • Architecture, Comment

BMW Welt

BMW Welt

Building data provider Emporis has issued a list of 16 of what it calls the World’s Most Spectacular Corporate Buildings. The list is intended to show how firms use architecture to convey their identity and to impress anybody viewing their supposedly imposing  corporate edifices. The Germany based firm claims the list was compiled by a jury of buildings experts from around the world who considered a range of factors and included buildings from all kinds of industries. Even so, the list is far from subtle with not even an attempt at lip service paid to the esoteric or surprising. It is dominated instead by glamorous blue chip businesses and buildings that are tall, designed by renowned architects or literal reflections of each company’s business. (more…)

Interiors Group wins new projects in MIddle East

by • Company news, News, Workplace design

37-STA_7947Abdul Latif Jameel, a Saudi Arabia based distributor for Toyota has appointed The Interiors Group to fit out 22,000 sq feet of space in their new corporate headquarters in Dubai. The Interiors Group will work alongside the UAE based operations of  BDP and Whitby Mohajer to deliver the project. The contract is the latest success for the company in the region following its recent win of a  contract to fit out the new Middle East Headquarters of OiLibya. The project, based in the Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai, covers some 11,000 sq feet and is due for completion in June. The project was architecturally designed by Artillery with services by Whitby Mohajer Engineering Consultants. The Interiors Group have also been awarded a 3500 sq feet contract for Optasense in Dubai, in the Jumeirah Business Centre.

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