August 7, 2023

Sedus office cube solutions: a symbiosis of proximity and distance

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Furniture

Open space concepts, flexibility and new working styles will continue to be defining characteristics of the office of the future. They offer a number of advantages by eroding entrenched structures and supporting collaboration and communication. When people work in close proximity, with flexible meetings and spontaneous exchanges, they are able to determine the shape of each working day. Employees are increasingly deciding for themselves where and how they can best manage their tasks. Concentrated individual work shifts seamlessly into collaborative work and teamwork precedes periods of retreat or relaxation. For certain tasks, focus, silence and a sense of distance from the outside environment are essential. The office cube solution is one way of insulating people from interruptions and unwelcome noise. As an enclosed cubicle and thanks to its acoustically effective components, se:cube from Sedus can minimise acoustic and visual disruption. More →

August 2, 2023

Remote working and mental health: generational divide continues to manifest

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new study commissioned by Great Western Railway claims to reveal striking generational differences in attitudes towards remote working and its impact on mental health. The research, which explored the effects of remote working on different age groups, highlights a growing concern regarding the isolation experienced by older employees compared to their younger counterparts. More →

August 2, 2023

FOOTPRINT+ event moves to Old Billingsgate from Brighton

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Environment, Events

After two years on Brighton seafront, FOOTPRINT+ will relocate to London for 2024. The sustainability event’s new home will be Old Billingsgate Market; re-purposed by partner Marco Goldschmied of RSHP in 1985-88 for National Westminster Bank Plc. The building itself enjoyed a low-carbon retrofit, from the 19th century’s largest fish market to a central London prime event space. Old Billingsgate is naturally lit, with openable rooflights throughout, and an outdoor terrace directly facing directly out to the Thames. The venue provides the space to accommodate the growth of FOOTPRINT+ while providing greater accessibility for all the various sectors who will now have only a short walk from Monument and London Bridge stations. More →

August 2, 2023

JLL claims it has unveiled the first GPT model for commercial real estate

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Facilities management, Technology

JLL has announced the launch of JLL GPT, which it claims is the first large language model purpose-built for the commercial real estate sector. Developed by JLL Technologies, the firm claims the bespoke generative artificial intelligence (AI) model will be used by its 100,000 plus workforce around the world to provide CRE insights to clients in what it believes will be a whole new way. JLL’s extensive in-house data will be supplemented with external CRE sources, and the company plans to offer made-to-order solutions to clients later this year. More →

August 1, 2023

How many fingers am I holding up?

by Mark Eltringham • Comment

Quoting George Orwell is the kind of thing that people who haven’t read Orwell do. The term Orwellian is used by people who have not only not read him, but have latched on to some laundered idea of the themes of his work. They are not only misrepresenting him, but misrepresenting a misrepresentation. If it were true that the dead could spin in their graves, Orwell would solve the world’s energy crisis. He could power the Northern Hemisphere by reacting to the liberties taken with Nineteen Eighty-Four alone. Anyway. I have read him so you and he will have to forgive me for what I’m about to say. More →

July 31, 2023

Digital nomads are starting to price out local communities around the world

by Dave Cook • Cities, Comment, Flexible working

For eight years I have studied digital nomadism, the millennial trend for working remotely from anywhere around the world. I am often asked if digital nomads are driving gentrification. Before COVID upended the way we work, I would usually tell journalists that the numbers were too small for a definitive answer. Most digital nomads were travelling and working illegally on tourist visas. It was a niche phenomenon. Three years into the pandemic, however, I am no longer sure. More →

July 27, 2023

What Aldous Huxley can teach us about acoustics and distractions at work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

Over the last few years there has been something of a loud and widespread backlash to the idea that we need to have constant access to information and our colleagues to work effectively. The touchstone for this pushback is of course the open plan office which has become something of a scapegoat for the universal problem of interruption and distraction and a renewed interest in the complexities of acoustics in office design. It is also one of the main reasons people prefer to work anywhere other than offices some or all of the time. More →

July 26, 2023

One-third of hybrid working managers feel they need to prove their worth when working from home

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A poll of 3,000 workers in Europe and North America from Insights Learning & Development claims that managers of hybrid working teams see multiple benefits to a new working arrangement. These include improved team performance, improved team agility and increased ability to deliver on objectives. However, on a personal level, many managers highlighted the need for more support. Almost one-third (30 percent) of these managers feel they need to prove their worth when working from home – significantly higher than the non-management population. More →

July 26, 2023

Cost of living crisis and other employee concerns are top risk concerns of businesses

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The managers and owners of firms across the UK now believe that the cost of living crisis is the top risk to their business, closely followed by a range of employee related issues, according to a new poll. Employee related risks in the top five include lack of skilled talent, employee retention and cost of salaries. Despite the cost of materials continuing to rise over the last 12 months, this risk has dropped back from first place in 2022. Risks relating to debts, late payments and fraud all make an appearance in the top ten for the first time. More →

July 25, 2023

Putting a new approach to office design in the frame

by Kyrylo Komarov • Comment, Workplace design

It is now a truism to suggest that the traditional ways we think about office design need to be rethought in response to the new and emerging challenges businesses now face. Most people accept this but are still trying to work out the implications for the way we design and manage the physical workplace. The office needs to tell a new story. And one way to structure this narrative this is to borrow ideas from the movie screenwriting process. More →

July 24, 2023

Should work help to define your identity? Perhaps, but first consider this…

by Dr Tracy Brower • Comment, Wellbeing

The last few years have put work at the forefront of our consideration as individuals and our discussions as a society. Globally, people are thinking consciously about their work, its meaning and its place in their lives. This focus will surely create the conditions for a great reinvention —a reset of how we work as well as where, when and for whom. Identity is an important part of the dialogue: Should work be central to someone’s identity? Is it healthy for work to occupy our focus? And how much is too much? More →

July 22, 2023

Flexible working bill gains royal assent, but doubts remain

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

Employees across the UK will be given even more flexibility over where and when they work, according to the government, as the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill receives Royal Assent. Originally a 2019 manifesto commitment to encourage flexible working, and now a private members bill from Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi, the Act will require employers to consider and discuss any requests made by their employee – who will have the right to two requests a year – within two months of a request, down from three.

However some employment law experts have highlighted some of the Act’s limitations. “It is absolutely crucial to bear in mind that this is still only a right to request – not a right to receive flexible working’, warns Hina Belitz, Partner and employment law specialist at Excello Law. “In that sense, in order to assess its efficacy and whether it will truly make a difference to the day-to-day lives of employees struggling with flexibility issues, we need further information and consideration on whether this will actually lead more people to get the flexibility they need.”Will we just see employers get better at finding clever and ostensibly fair ways to refuse these things? Will we see an increase in discrimination or similar claims linked to supposedly unfair refusals of flexible working requests? Potentially, which may prove a strain on our already full to bursting employment tribunal system.”

CIPD research shows that 6 percent of employees changed jobs last year specifically due to a lack of flexible options and 12 percent left their profession altogether due to a lack of flexibility within the sector. This represents almost 2 and 4 million workers respectively.

Workers will benefit from the following new protections once the Act is in force:

New requirements for employers to consult with the employee before rejecting their flexible working request.
Permission to make two statutory requests in any 12-month period (rather than the current one request).
Reduced waiting times for decisions to be made(within which an employer administers the statutory request) from three months to two months.
The removal of existing requirements that the employee must explain what effect, if any, the change applied for would have on the employer and how that effect might be dealt with.

Alongside the measures in the Bill, millions of workers will be given the right to request flexible working from day one of a new job. This will bring an estimated 2.2 million more employees in scope of the entitlement following a change in regulations.

The Government is also today launching a call for evidence on non-statutory flexible working to improve on knowledge of the extent of flexibility in the labour market. The aim is to increase understanding of the role of informal flexible working in meeting the needs of both employers and employees.

In response to this legislation, Acas will be updating its statutory Code of Practice following a consultation, which was launched on 12 July. The aim of the Code is to provide employers, employees and representatives with a clear explanation of the law on the statutory right to request flexible working, alongside good practice advice on handling requests in a reasonable manner.