Search Results for: engage

Biophilic design the key to improving mental health, productivity and stress levels

Biophilic design the key to improving mental health, productivity and stress levels

by • Architecture, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

An expert panel at this week’s Welcome to the Biophilic Concrete Jungle event in London made the case for incorporating the principles of biophilic design into the workplace, including for health and wellbeing considerations, the promotion of productivity and to address workplace stress and urban disconnection from nature. HOK organised the event.  Panellists included Joyce Chan, Head of Sustainability and Trina Marshall, Regional Leader of Consulting from HOK, Professor Derek Clements-Croome from Reading University, Alexander Bond from Biophilic Design and Dr Ed Suttie from BRE.

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Two new studies set out business case for contemporary office design

Two new studies set out business case for contemporary office design

by • News, Workplace design

A brace of new reports sets out to identify the challenges organisations set themselves by inhabiting dated offices and how modern office design principles could address them. According to the Meeting Expectations report, released by K2 Space, workplace productivity is being impeded as a direct result of dated office design. The second study from Saracen Interiors focuses more on the role of office design as a recruitment tool. The reports follow the recent publication of a major report on similar themes from Worktech Academy and Fourfront Group.

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Poor support offered to professional women returning from maternity leave

Poor support offered to professional women returning from maternity leave

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Little support for professional women returning from maternity leaveA new survey of professional, mainly management-level women has revealed a lack of support for maternity returners by employers. According to the survey by working parents website MMB, more than four fifths of pregnant women begin their maternity leave unhappy and lacking in confidence about work – and over a third feel so isolated when they return that they want to hand their notice in. The survey of more than 1,000 mothers, 72 percent of whom were in jobs at management level or above found that only 18 percent of maternity returners felt happy and confident about work – having seen the way previous maternity returners had been dealt with by their employer. Over a third (37 percent) felt so unsupported and isolated on their return that they wanted to leave and just 17 percent felt they received good communication and support through the maternity process.

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Will technology prove a threat or a godsend in the new workplace?

Will technology prove a threat or a godsend in the new workplace?

by • Comment, Technology, Workplace

In the past decade, the business landscape has fundamentally shifted with the emergence of companies like Uber and Netflix, in addition to the rapid growth of large technology companies such as Apple and Amazon. Underlying this shift is the constant evolution and implementation of technology into the workplace. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum stated that digitisation could add a staggering $100 trillion to businesses by 2025.

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Employers need to prepare workers for the new era of artificial intelligence

Employers need to prepare workers for the new era of artificial intelligence

by • Automation, News, Technology, Workplace

Employers need to prepare workers for the new era of artificial intelligencePeople and machines are entering a new era of learning in which artificial intelligence (AI) augments ordinary intelligence and helps people realise their full potential. But CIOs need to prepare workers for a future in which people do more creative and impactful work because they no longer have to perform many routine and repetitive tasks, according to analysts speaking at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo.  Although AI will give employees the time to do more, organisations will need to train and retrain their employees in anticipation of AI investments, with CIOs also likely to be the leader or instigator of AI initiatives in their organisation.

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Third of UK workers find it hard to maintain a work life balance

Third of UK workers find it hard to maintain a work life balance

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Third of UK workers find it hard to maintain a work-life balance

Almost a third (30 percent) of UK workers don’t feel that they have a good work life balance in their current role, despite the fact that the majority (73 percent) would like to keep their work and home lives separate from one another. According to a study of over 2,000 workers across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the UK from ADP (Automatic Data Processing), UK workers have a tougher time separating their personal and professional lives than European workers. An average of one third (33 percent) of European workers surveyed felt a bad day at work affected their personal life, compared to 38 percent in the UK. Worryingly, almost a third (30 percent) of British workers feel their work does not make a difference. Across Europe, women tended to find a work life balance more appealing, with 62 percent identifying it as a very important feature of their ideal job, and only 52 percent of men doing the same. Interestingly, the younger the employee the less likely they were to identify work life balance as important.

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CIPD research argues role of HR is increasingly vital to the world of work

CIPD research argues role of HR is increasingly vital to the world of work

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

CIPD research argues role of HR is increasingly vital to the world of workA new report from the CIPD has found that most of those working in the HR and people management sector are confident exercising their judgement, with six in ten (64 percent) agreeing their job gives them the opportunity to fully express themselves as a professional. But more than just providing stimulating work, the people profession in 2018: UK and Ireland report shows the profession enables individuals to contribute to the ‘greater good’ and gives them a sense of purpose. People professionals also enjoy their job, with more than two-thirds of respondents  saying their work makes them happy (70 percent) and energised (67 percent).

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Employees call for radical new approach to address stress at work

Employees call for radical new approach to address stress at work

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employees call for radical new approach to address stress at work

Today marks the start of International Stress Awareness Week, 5th – 9th November 2018, and new research claims that two-thirds of employees (64 percent) have ‘poor’ or ‘below average’ mental wellbeing according to the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). The research, conducted by The Stress Management Society and commissioned by workplace consultants, Peldon Rose found that over a third (36 percent) of people say their workplace stress has been on-going for the past five years.

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The death of desks, the truth about smart cities and a long list of things architects should know

The death of desks, the truth about smart cities and a long list of things architects should know

by • Features

You can’t judge an international marketplace by wandering around an exhibition of its products for a day or two. This is a simple fact overlooked by a new piece in Dezeen which declares that desks are finished. This notion is based on a trip to the Orgatec furniture fair in Cologne. Our own review of the show will appear tomorrow, with the hysteria dialled down to a dull roar and with some added facts about what organisations actually buy most from office furniture companies (spoiler: desks and chairs) compared to what makes the sector more interesting.

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Two fifths of new recruits don’t have the right soft skills for the job

Two fifths of new recruits don’t have the right soft skills for the job

by • News, Workplace

Two fifths of new recruits don’t have the right soft skills for the jobTwo-fifths of job-seekers are being hired into new roles only to discover they have the wrong soft skills for the job. This means over half are leaving companies because their personality or work style didn’t fit, claims news research published by HireVue. The 53 percent of those who had left for this reason saying the format of the hiring process had prevented them from discovering the mismatch earlier. While four-fifths (82 percent) of candidates are confident in their ability to articulate their soft skills and personality traits in an interview, many doubt that pre-hire assessments can showcase these important attributes. More →

Regus to sue WeWork; blinkers for office workers; and some other stuff you should know about

Regus to sue WeWork; blinkers for office workers; and some other stuff you should know about

by • Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

What to make of the announcement that Chengdu is thinking of creating an artificial moon so that it can do away with street lights, bathing the city’s streets in permanent dusk? Well possibly a big thumbs up for the ingenuity and maybe thumbs down for the impact on people’s circadian rhythms and awareness of what’s in the heavens. People really should look up more, both figuratively and literally. Maybe there’s also room for a thought about we we can over-complicate designed solutions when we look to innovate beyond a certain point.

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Fewer than half of UK managers would recommend their workplace to others

Fewer than half of UK managers would recommend their workplace to others

by • News, Technology, Workplace

Less than half of UK managers would recommend their workplace to othersUnder half (47 percent) of British managers ‘completely agree’ that they would recommend their workplace to others, lagging behind other countries, such as Austria (66 percent), Finland (53 percent), Switzerland (53 percent), and France (51 percent). This is according to a Cornerstone OnDemand and IDC survey of over 1,900 European HR, IT and line of business managers, Future Culture 2018: Building a Culture of Innovation in the Age of Digital Transformation (registration required). More →

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