June 20, 2019

Area opens new Birmingham office

Office design and fit-out form Area is expanding its UK operation and opening a new office base in Birmingham to support and grow its existing client base. The move to Birmingham – one of the UK’s most dynamic regions – comes on the back of a series of successful projects in the region and builds on strong relationships with local clients such as Mills & Reeve, Zurich, Legal & General, Jaguar Land Rover, KPMG, Handelsbanken, Aviva, Grant Thornton and Deloitte. Birmingham and the West Midlands are regarded by economists and businesses alike as one of the most promising places in Britain to invest and grow, which creates opportunities for the commercial property market. More →

June 14, 2019

Discrimination against workers highest in UK

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new Europe wide study claims that reports of discrimination are highest in the UK where more than a third (38 percent) of respondents say they have been discriminated against, compared to a European average of 30 percent. It seems young people are also particularly affected, with 49 percent of UK workers aged 25-34 reported they had faced some form of discrimination. The ADP Workforce View in Europe 2019 (registration) surveyed over 10,000 employees in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, delving into how employees feel about issues in the workplace. More →

June 13, 2019

People are too quick to click on emails

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Modern working culture makes it impossible for employees to always make the right decision about what to do with emails, claims a new report from cybersecurity company Tessian and the University of Central Lancashire. The report Why Do People Make Mistakes? presents findings from a new survey of 1,000 UK employees, who were asked about their working environment and practices. Additionally, the report includes insights from cyber-psychologists Dr Helen Jones, University of Central Lancashire and Professor John Towse, Lancaster University, which further explains how certain factors in the workplace can cause people to make poor decisions. More →

June 12, 2019

People can hit career dead end in their fifties

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

With a rising retirement age and the prediction that by 2020, a third of UK workers will be aged 50 or over, new research from job board Totaljobs and recruitment firm Robert Walters found that many workers in their 50s find their career options and development opportunities are extremely limited.

June 4, 2019

Failure to understand employees creates culture of mistrust

by Marie Hillen • News, Workplace

Employees trust their CEOs less than they did seven years ago, although trust in line managers remains the same, new research claims. It also suggests that one of the reasons for mistrust is that CEOs seem unable to understand the role of their employees and the contributions they make to working culture. According to Trust in Leaders, by The Institute of Leadership & Management, workers trust their CEOs considerably less than they did in 2011, as compared to then, the results show trust in CEOs has fallen by 8 percent.

May 21, 2019

London office building at post Brexit high

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

New office building in central London is at a three-year high, with 13.2 million square feet of space under construction, up 12 percent on the figure six months ago, according to the Deloitte Real Estate’s London Office Crane Survey. Some 55 percent of the office space under construction was already let and for larger schemes of over 100,000 square feet, more than three quarters was already committed to, Deloitte said. The survey covers seven major central London office markets – The City, West End, Docklands, King’s Cross, Midtown, Paddington, Southbank – as well as three emerging submarkets – Vauxhall-Nine Elms-Battersea, White City and Stratford. More →

May 3, 2019

Take up of office space in central London strongest for six years

by Marie Hillen • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

The first quarter of 2019 saw take-up of office space in central London at its strongest for six years, as it continues to outperform expectations. This is according to Savills, which also reports 1.16 million sq ft of new lettings being agreed in the City of London. In the West End, 42 transactions completed in March alone took total activity for Q1 2019 to 98 office lettings. In the City, there were 100 occupational deals for the year to date, of which 33 completed in March. The tech & media sector accounted for the largest share of take-up in the West End, at 25 percent, while the City benefited from a surge of serviced offices.

April 3, 2019

London, Paris and Stockholm lead ranks of European coworking hotspots

by Neil Franklin • Coworking, News, Property

London, Paris and Stockholm are among the major cities featured in a new research report from Cushman & Wakefield (registration) into the coworking and flexible office sectors, which pinpoints future demand and the next likely growth hotspots across Europe. According to the report, coworking’s rapid expansion in recent years has quickly disrupted global office markets. The report charts the current state of the sector, the emergence of flexible working space across continental Europe and where future growth will occur. More →

March 22, 2019

New centre will assess potential for bias in algorithmic decision-making

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The potential for bias in the use of algorithms in crime and justice, financial services, recruitment and local government will be investigated by the UK government’s new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI). The CDEI will explore the potential for bias in existing systems and to support fairer decision-making. This may include increasing opportunities for those in the job market in existing recruitment and financial services systems. It will also explore opportunities to boost innovation in the digital economy. More →

March 21, 2019

Interiors are not enough to win the war for talent

by Ben Capper • Comment, Workplace design

I often refer to Google and Facebook in my blog, due to their influence on workplace design. Many consider them to be workplace interior’s holy grail. But today’s big employers are competing with one another on a much broader set of principles. Cool interiors alone just won’t cut it. Zürich, like many European cities is home to a large number of global brands, with bustling financial services and tech sectors. I regularly hear of people with multiple job offers taking a job with a lower salary, rather than accepting a role in a company that doesn’t reflect their ideals. This decision can be influenced by office design and facilities, career development options, corporate culture and much more. More →

March 19, 2019

Demotivated workers would be driven by higher pay and more flexibility

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Almost a third (31 percent) of UK professionals state that their expectations are ‘not being met at all’ by their current employer, whilst a further 24 percent state that their needs are only just ‘moderately’ being met. The findings, which come from research undertaken by recruiter Robert Walters and job board CV-Library – also suggest that while the amount they were paid was most important to staff, other benefits are increasingly playing a more prominent role in keeping staff motivated. Well over half (61 percent) claimed that work-life balance, flexible working hours (39 percent), and cultural fit (25 percent) are crucial to keeping them happy at work. More →

March 12, 2019

UK jobs boom set to end as finance and business sectors lose confidence

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

The boom in the UK jobs market is coming to an end just as the Brexit countdown reaches its final stages. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, the national Outlook for the second quarter of 2019 has fallen to +4 percent, on a par with the weakest levels of confidence seen in recent years. More worryingly, the negative Outlook in the Business and Financial services sector – which employs nearly a fifth of all UK workers – suggests jobs are set to be lost in Britain’s most important sector. The report found that the Finance and Business Services sector has fallen five points to -1 percent, only the second time in the last decade it has been in negative territory.