Search Results for: business

Work-related stress costing UK economy £28bn a year

Work-related stress costing UK economy £28bn a year

New data and economic modelling from AXA UK and Centre for Business and Economic Research (Cebr) claims that people are struggling with burnout and work-related stressNew data and economic modelling from AXA UK and Centre for Business and Economic Research (Cebr) claims that people are struggling with burnout and work-related stress, with an estimated £28bn lost last year due to poor mental health at work. The majority of this cost is due to loss of working days because of stress, burnout and general poor mental health, with businesses losing 23.3m working days as a result of these issues.  More →

Magenta Associates reinforces its commitment to responsible marketing by signing The Anti-Greenwash Charter

Magenta Associates reinforces its commitment to responsible marketing by signing The Anti-Greenwash Charter

Magenta Associates, the communications specialist for the built environment, has signed The Anti-Greenwash Charter, an agreement to promote responsible marketing within the industryMagenta Associates, the communications specialist for the built environment, has signed The Anti-Greenwash Charter, an agreement to promote responsible marketing within the industry. Magenta has a long-standing commitment to responsible and sustainable practices, and by signing The Anti-Greenwash Charter it enhances that commitment to honest, sustained messaging. More →

MIPIM 2023 confirms that green sells. But is commercial real estate buying?

MIPIM 2023 confirms that green sells. But is commercial real estate buying?

MIPIM may have returned last year, but 2023 was the year it felt backMIPIM may have returned last year, but 2023 was the year it felt back. That was despite widespread concerns over the rising costs of refinancing and a banking crisis that started with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and quickly moved to Europe, with Swiss financial regulators beginning to put together during MIPIM week the deal that would see UBS buy Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue. More →

The five ages of the office and the man who shaped the way we talk about them

The five ages of the office and the man who shaped the way we talk about them

Pioneering SAS office complex in StockholmThe office has passed through five ages. The ‘coffee houses’ of the 17th century, yielded to the ‘clerical factories’ of the 19th as machines revolutionised work. After the Second World War, the ‘corporate offices’ of global corporations and William Whyte’s Organization Man dominated the scene. Following the launch of IBM’s PC in the early-1980s, we saw the rise of ‘digital offices’ in the 1990s, complete with internet, email and social media. And for the past few years we have been moving inexorably towards the latest age: ‘network offices’. Each age was shorter than its predecessor: both the digital and network ages began less than a career span ago. More →

Company culture is one of the hardest but most valuable things to get right after a merger

Company culture is one of the hardest but most valuable things to get right after a merger

There are major consequences for company culture, which is so important to get right in the mergers and acquisition process.Like never before, 2021 saw record-breaking levels of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity globally, a trend that continued into 2022 until a challenging macroeconomic landscape resulted in a sharp decline in activity. This was mainly because businesses waited to see what the coming months would bring. Whilst experts believe that M&A activity won’t return to levels seen in 2021, they do expect an increase as markets adapt, recover, and look for ways to increase profit. And that has major consequences for company culture, which is so important to get right in the mergers and acquisition process. More →

New guide to office fit-out and refurbishment launched by trade body

New guide to office fit-out and refurbishment launched by trade body

Trade association FIS has launched a revised Client Guide to Office Fit-Out and Refurbishment with the aim of promoting best practice in the fit-out processTrade association FIS has launched a revised Client Guide to Office Fit-Out and Refurbishment with the aim of promoting best practice in the fit-out process and to take account of new working practices post-pandemic, the Building Safety Act and advances in sustainability. First published in 2017, this updated guide is aimed at clients, contractors and architects involved in fit-out projects in a changing world. It is available for free download. More →

Getting back to basics in The Great Workplace Conversation

Getting back to basics in The Great Workplace Conversation

There’s nowhere near enough talk about our base instincts in the Great Workplace Conversation.There’s nowhere near enough talk about our base instincts in the Great Workplace Conversation. Objectively speaking, we remain relatively highly evolved, communal and intelligent primates. And so we are driven by things we like to admit to – love, empathy and the Golden Rule. But also things we don’t care to admit to in quite the same way – status, jealousy and self-interest. More →

Canary Wharf Group shifts its focus to life sciences sector

Canary Wharf Group shifts its focus to life sciences sector

The development of a major life science cluster at Canary Wharf continues to build momentum with a range of life sciences focused start-ups and scaleup businesses joining the growing community of technology businessesThe development of a major life science cluster at Canary Wharf continues to build momentum with a range of life sciences focused start-ups and scaleup businesses joining the growing community of technology businesses at its specialist co-working and office hub, Level39, according to a new statement from Canary Wharf Group. Launched by Canary Wharf Group ten years ago, Level 39 is now home to over 180 start-ups and scaleups innovating in FinTech, Cyber Security, CleanTech, Blockchain, Life Sciences and HealthTech. More →

UK productivity continues to drag despite variations across sectors

UK productivity continues to drag despite variations across sectors

The UK has seen a significant dip in productivity growth since the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-8, according to a new report from PwC UKThe UK has seen a significant dip in productivity growth since the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-8, according to a new report from PwC UK. However, this new analysis also highlights sectoral differences in productivity growth, with some sectors performing better than others in recent years. The slowdown in manufacturing productivity is also shown to have played a significant role in the fall in economy-wide productivity, but there is positive sentiment amongst manufacturers, with almost 1 in 5 expecting to see gains of 10-25 percent in the coming year. According to PwC UK’s new UK Productivity Tracker, a lack of sustained investment expenditure may be behind the UK’s weak performance. More →

American employees spend 200 hours a year watching adult sites on their work computer

American employees spend 200 hours a year watching adult sites on their work computer

American employees are wasting hundreds of contracted work hours a year using their work equipment for personal tasks and activities, according to a new survey from ExpressVPN. The survey, conducted by the consumer privacy and security company, found that some people are spending only 33 percent of annual contracted hours on work tasks. With a steep rise in hybrid and home working in recent years, many companies have provided employees with work devices to use in the comfort of their own homes, including work laptops, desktops, phones, and microphones. More →

Workspace Design Show goes from strength to strength this year with visitor numbers up by 76 percent

Workspace Design Show goes from strength to strength this year with visitor numbers up by 76 percent

The Workspace Design Show returned to the Business Design Centre from 27- 28 February 2023, with exhibitors and visitors alike hailing it as a must-attend addition to the trade show calendarThe Workspace Design Show returned to the Business Design Centre from 27- 28 February 2023, with exhibitors and visitors alike hailing it as a must-attend addition to the trade show calendar and a place where the workplace community can come together to be inspired and network. The overarching theme for this year’s show was Destination Workplace: Places Where People Want To Be, exploring how to create environments where employees have a desirable experience at their workplaces. More →

Most hybrid workers worldwide don’t think they’ll return to old ways of work

Most hybrid workers worldwide don’t think they’ll return to old ways of work

A poll of 3,000 office workers by Insights Learning & Development claims that 70 percent of hybrid workers in the UK want to maintain the arrangement permanently.A poll of 3,000 office workers by Insights Learning & Development claims that 70 percent of hybrid workers in the UK want to maintain the arrangement permanently. According to the report, UK employees are generally happy with their hybrid working arrangements – more so than employees in the US, Canada and France. Overall workers in the Netherlands are most satisfied with their hybrid working arrangements. More →