April 15, 2024

Open competition launched to find design team for new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, News, Workplace design

The Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, Real Estate Company ADM, the City of Helsinki and SAFA the Finnish Association of Architects have launched an international, open design competition to find a design team for a new 10,050 sq m (GFA) museum building in Helsinki’s South Harbour. The new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki, Finland, is planned to open in 2030 and will combine the Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki. These institutions were successfully merged in January 2024, and the new museum will retain and grow the staff of both its predecessors. More →

April 9, 2024

The significance of women’s health is increasingly acknowledged in the modern workplace

by Olga Kokshagina • Comment, Wellbeing

Women, on average, outlive men but, as reported by the World Economic Forum (WEF, 2024), spend approximately 25 percent of their lives in poor health. According to the WEF, addressing the disparities in women’s health could dramatically reduce this statistic, enhancing the lives of billions globally. Notably, strategic improvements in women’s healthcare could add an average of seven days of healthy living per year for each woman, cumulatively offering more than 500 additional healthy days over a lifetime. This progression not only promises to elevate the quality of life for women but also holds the potential to boost the global economy by at least $1 trillion annually by 2040. More →

April 4, 2024

AI can help people deal with burnout, say HR managers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report from Sage claims that HR professionals now welcome AI to ease the burden of admin jobs, take away time consuming tasks, and, ultimately, ease burnout. The annual report, titled ‘The Changing Face of HR’ [registration], surveyed over 1,000 HR leaders across a range of sectors and countries, finding that 77 percent believe AI has the potential to revolutionise ways of working within their company. With 95 percent of respondents reporting an increase in their workload over the past year and 91 percent seeing an increase in more responsibilities in their role. HR leaders in the UK are particularly strained with workloads, with respondents twice as likely to work over 45 hours per week compared to before the pandemic, the report claims. More →

April 4, 2024

When it comes to the carbon conundrum, real change will come from collaboration

by Roger Olsen • Comment, Environment, Facilities management, Property, Wellbeing

Last week we launched our first white paper: Carbon Conundrum to Carbon Control and we were so delighted to be joined by a panel of experts across development, , engineering, design and consultancy. Through their discussion and with excellent engagement from our audience of developers, designers, contractors, agents, engineers and end users, there were a number of very pertinent industry topics raised. The mood was upbeat and collaborative, but the emphasis was certainly on action and innovation, with a commitment to collective responsibility, education and being bolder. More →

April 1, 2024

British workers now entirely unproductive, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The overwhelming majority of UK workers don’t do anything productive at all, according to a new report published today. The study of available research into the illnesses, injuries, distractions, wastes of time, procrastinations, productivity drains and paralyses that afflict British workers found that the annual cost to the British economy is around £1.8 trillion, equivalent to 98.9 percent of GDP.

March 25, 2024

When you empower your colleagues, you’re delivering excellence for them and your clients

by Jennifer Davidson • Business, Comment, Wellbeing

The level of engagement within a company’s workforce significantly impacts clients satisfaction and its bottom line. Recent research by Gallup shows that teams with high levels of engagement enjoy a 10 percent uplift in client loyalty and a 23 percent increase in profitability compared to low-engagement teams. Empowering colleagues with learning and development programmes can dramatically improve their engagement with a business. Supporting them in this way is crucial if you want them to deliver excellence. When people are encouraged to own their careers, they care more about the outcomes of their work, which translates into exceptional productivity and happy clients. More →

March 25, 2024

Biophilic design has a long history and an even bigger future

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

There are plenty of definitions of the modish concept of biophilic design around right now. But perhaps nobody can top that of Erich Fromm, the sociologist and psychoanalyst who first described it in his 1973 book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness as “The passionate love of life and all that is alive”. More →

March 22, 2024

Most US firms are yet to match their culture to the demands of flexible working

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

A survey of 900 leaders in HR, real estate, IT, and product roles at US based firms suggests that most employers have not adapted their working culture and practices to support the shift to flexible working. In addition, according to The 2024 Workplace Flexibility Trends Report from TechSmith Corporation in partnership with workplace research firm Global Workplace Analytics and Caryatid Workplace Consultancy three quarters of workers have yet to receive any training for the rise of flexible working arrangements. More →

March 21, 2024

Fitwel Announces 2024 Best in Building Health Awards

by Freddie Steele • Environment, News, Wellbeing

Fitwel, the building health certification system, has announced the winners of the 2024 Best in Building Health Awards. The awards are designed to honour the most innovative real estate companies and individuals ‘setting the standard for health and wellbeing in the built environment across the globe, leveraging the trusted Fitwel Standard to enhance quality of life and drive value through design and operational excellence’. This year’s winners include projects from Canada, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and the United States. More →

March 21, 2024

AI is already transforming the legal sector, but challenges remain

by Sarah Murphy • Comment, Technology

As AI technologies continue to gain traction, just about every sector you can think of is going to face huge changes in the coming years – and that’s especially the case in the legal industry. From the rise of large language models (LLMs) to the integration of AI into existing software, this cutting-edge technology is already uprooting the way we work now, and it’s making us think deeply about what work will look like in the future. More →

March 21, 2024

Architecture must transform to meet the climate challenge, say RIBA

by Jayne Smith • Architecture, Environment, News

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a new horizon-scanning programme with a set of scans that identify the most pertinent environmental issues facing the built environment over the next ten years. Developed by leading academics, The Environmental Challenge themed horizon scans provide foresight into the most significant actions the architecture profession can take to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, adapt buildings to withstand weather extremes, promote biodiversity and scale up engagement and activism. More →

March 19, 2024

Isolated under-40s far less likely to have strong workplace relationships

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Workers under 40 are 80 per cent less likely to have trusted workplace relationships compared to workers over 50, impacting their mental health, physical wellbeing and productivity, according to a new report from TELUS Health. The TELUS Mental Health Index sets out to explore the mental health of employed people in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Europe, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. More →