Search Results for: workplace

May 18, 2015

European workers optimistic about the impact of workplace technology

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

The European workforce is optimistic about the impact of new and emerging workplace technology although many employers face challenges in pursuing digital business models, according to new research by Accenture. The report claims that more than four times as many workers think technology will improve their working lives than those who think it will have a negative impact. The study of over 2500 workers and 500 business leaders in the EU found that 57 percent of workers think technologies such as robots, apps, data analytics and artificial intelligence will improve their working experience versus eight percent who think it will worsen it. Fifty percent of EU workers believe that digital technology will improve their job prospects compared to 12 percent who think it will limit them.

May 14, 2015

Expert advice issued on managing mental health in the workplace

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Mental health can affect people’s personal lives, wellbeing and morale. But it can also impact on their performance at work and be costly for businesses. That’s the message from Acas, which, to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, has issued a guide to managing mental health in the workplace. It advocates creating an environment where people feel confident they can disclose conditions to employers; that employers be aware of any changes in behaviour that might suggest they’re having problems; and suggests that if a problem is being caused by work, look into ways of facilitating changes, such as offering flexible working opportunities. It is also suggested that wellness initiatives which encourage healthy eating, exercise and mindfulness can also help to reduce the severity of mental ill health.

May 1, 2015

Organisations advised to create a manifesto for digital workplace success ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology

The adoption of digital technology enables new, more effective ways of working which can help improve employee engagement and agility, research by Gartner claims. However, the report also warns that it’s important employers establish a ‘business manifesto’ that communicates the intentions and motives of the emerging digital workplace if they want to communicate and implement the policy changes that are required. According to the analysts, the manifesto should guide and clarify corporate culture as well as help employees embrace new ways of working. Employers must bear in mind that while corporate culture can be strong at the core, it may be less so for remote employees. That is why it’s important to foster a healthy digital workplace that brings the corporate culture alive to all employees.

April 30, 2015

Three workplace issues that could help to shape the general election ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Technology

With only a week to go until the general election, nobody seems clear on what exactly will happen at the polls, least of all the voters. The BBC’s political correspondent has described it as the Vanilla Election, with the major parties paralysed by the closeness of the race into not doing anything bold or imaginative enough to spook an ambivalent and undecided electorate. With little to differentiate the parties and an unprecedented degree of cynicism fuelled by social media and online commentary, it seems likely that voters may be swayed by what may in the past have been peripheral issues. Over the past few days several news items have even hinted that workplace related issues might have a role to play in making up people’s minds. Here are three.

April 23, 2015

Is it now time to take a stand on sitting in the workplace? ⁰

by Steve Taylor • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The search for wellbeing is taking over the workplace as companies look to attract and retain the very best talent. Bosting health, happiness and productivity in the office environment is now paramount to counter potential negative health effects and growing discontent from office workers. A key factor in this topic is the ill-effects caused by workers spending the vast majority of their day sitting inactive at their desks. Workers are now taking a stand in the office and companies are being forced to act. Recent research carried out by the American College of Cardiology reported that an office design that makes people sit at their desk or meeting room for hours every day is equally as bad as putting a cigarette in their hand; leaving them at raised risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

April 21, 2015

Workplace Week to increase office tours as part of plan to double money raised ⁰

by Sara Bean • Events, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

Plans have been unveiled to double the amount of money raised for BBC Children in Need at this year’s Workplace Week, the week-long showcase of workplace innovation. Last year’s event, which saw more than 100 people attend the workplace tours, day-long convention and fringe events, raised over £13,000. Andrew Mawson, MD of workplace consultancy AWA, and the brains behind the venture, which is now in its sixth year, has set a target of £25,000. To achieve this aim, the number of workplace tours will be doubled, which this year shall include PWC, [pictured] Mintel and the Guardian. Capacity will be increased at the convention, with a small number of paid-for exhibitors and programme advertising allowed. Organisations from the built environment will be encouraged to arrange relevant Fringe events – breakfast or lunchtime seminars, or evening sessions to take place during the week – for which they’ll pay a small donation.

April 14, 2015

The workplace as a strategic resource: a real life CEO’s perspective

by Jim Ware • Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

Raise your hand if you agree: “The workplace is obviously a strategic resource.” We facilities management professionals know that to be true. But if you often feel like a voice in the wilderness when speaking to anyone other than a fellow workplace professional, you are not alone. For many if not most senior executives, their facilities are a necessary evil that always cost too much. That reality frustrates me as much as it does you. So my colleague Paul Carder and I conducted two extensive research projects in 2012 and 2013 aimed at making the case (mostly to FM professionals themselves) that facilities and workplaces are incredibly strategic – and very poorly understood. And while we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about the work, we haven’t seen much change in mindsets, management practices or outcomes.

April 10, 2015

Workplace wellness programmes can reduce obesity levels of staff ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Workplace wellness programmes can help people lose weight, but are more effective when staff are actively involved in the process, a new study has found. The results of a two-year project published in the American Journal of Public Health show that providing healthier food choices and increasing opportunities for physical activity, successfully reduced the number of people considered overweight or obese by almost 9 percent. Results were particularly good when these efforts were designed with the input and active participation of employees. An estimated 68 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. As they spend on average a third of their lives at work; researchers based at the University of Rochester’s Department of Public Health Sciences worked with a local company to see how effective workplace intervention could be in addressing the obesity problem.

April 2, 2015

New study explores link between workplace design and productivity

by Mark Eltringham • Flooring, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The latest report linking specific workplace design elements with increases in productivity and wellbeing has been published by flooring manufacturer Interface and organisational psychologist Cary Cooper. The Human Spaces report into The Global Impact of Biophilic Design in the Workplace, claims that employees who work in environments with natural elements report a 15 percent higher level of well being, are 6 percent more productive and 15 percent more creative overall. The report is based on a study of 7,600 office workers from 16 countries. It concludes that office design is so important to workers that a third (33 percent) of global respondents believe it would ‘unequivocally’ affect their decision whether or not to work somewhere. Design is particularly important in India (67 percent), Indonesia (62 percent) and the Philippines (60 percent).

March 25, 2015

Report identifies the challenges and opportunities of workplace wellbeing

by Mark Eltringham • Briefing, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Much of what has been called workplace strategy in recent years has been more about cutting costs than supporting people, often to the detriment of the latter. That is the central claim of a new report authored by Kate Lister and Tom Harnish of Global Workplace Analytics and sponsored by office furniture maker Knoll. The paper, What’s Good for People? Moving from Wellness to Well-Being, explores how better workplaces, processes and practices can improve workplace wellbeing, employee engagement and organisational performance. The study starts from the premise that people are dealing with unprecedented stresses and pressures in the workplace which now need to be addressed in the context of a recovering economy, the limits of an approach that focuses on doing more with less and an increasingly scant pool of human resources and talents.

March 25, 2015

Workplace services provider to pay all staff the living wage

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, News, Public Sector, Workplace

Services and facilities management group Sodexo has announced it is to join the Living Wage’s Service Provider Scheme and in future will report on and address the gender pay gap. It is part of its Public Service Pledge, an ethical manifesto for its contracts and conduct that includes a set of commitments aimed at ‘achieving a fairer and better society’. The Pledge also details ways in which it will step up reporting on its public sector contracts to increase transparency and accountability. Chief among these are pledges to publish the savings produced for Central Government through its contracts, and to publish annually how it has contributed towards Government clients’ stated target outcomes. Sodexo employs 34,000 employees in the UK and Ireland, with over half of those working on Government contracts, in justice, defence, healthcare and education.

March 19, 2015

Six key workplace and property announcements from this week’s budget

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property, Public Sector, Technology

In yesterday’s budget announcement, the Chancellor maintained the Government’s focus on regional devolution and investment in both physical and digital infrastructure. In truth, there was little surprising in the announcements, many of which had been signalled in advance and were rooted in existing policies. Some of them arrived fully formed, such as the devolution of powers related to business rates. Others, including the much talked about and overdue investment in regional infrastructure such as the cross country fast rail link, were fleshed out. Given that this is a budget with both eyes on the forthcoming general election, it’s a shame that some announcements lacked detail. Here are six of the key announcements that will affect the workplace, technology and property sectors.