October 5, 2020

Coronavirus will lead to a permanent change in the way we work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Coronavirus will have a lasting impact on office use and levels of remote and flexible working, new figures from the Institute of Directors suggest. That is the unsurprising findings of a survey of close to a thousand company directors conducted in September. The poll claims nearly three quarters (74 percent) of respondents said their firms would maintain increased levels of remote and flexible after the pandemic ends. More →

October 2, 2020

What (nearly) everybody gets wrong about work and the coronavirus

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

You’ve probably read and heard dozens, or even hundreds, of different viewpoints about the effect of the pandemic on the world of work. Most of them (until recently perhaps) have dished up one of the two binary options as part of a zero-sum game. Many are based on hackneyed ideas and expressed as clichés. More →

September 28, 2020

People still love the office, but would prefer one closer to home

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new survey from IWG claims that commuting remains the biggest barrier to the return to office life post-Covid, with only 8 percent of British workers now prepared to travel more than an hour to get to work. In the short term, workers are set to follow Government guidance by continuing to work from home, in the longer-term, six in ten (57 percent) want an office that is closer to home and an even greater proportion (77 percent) say that a more conveniently located office is a must-have for their next job move. More →

September 26, 2020

The world of work explored in all its glory in Issue 3 of IN Magazine

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Cities, Features, Flexible working, Premium Content, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Some things will never change. IN Magazine continues to offer the best content you can find on the changing world of work. The digital edition of Issue 3 is now available and print copies will be posted out later in the week. More →

September 25, 2020

Office space costs fall for only the second time

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has published the results of its annual Total Office Costs Survey (TOCS), claiming that the average outlay of occupying office space in the UK fell by 1.3 percent over the 12 months to June 2020 for new build accommodation and 1.6 percent for 20-year old buildings. This is only the second time costs have fallen in the survey since the global financial crisis in 2008 and contrasts sharply with the 3.6 percent increase in costs in 2019. More →

September 2, 2020

Are employees more productive since lockdown?

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

With many companies announcing that they will not force employees back to the office until next year, 34 percent of UK workers have admitted to feeling more productive since working from home. That’s according to new ‘Work Different’ research from Qualtrics.

The research, which surveyed 2,000 UK workers, also claims that a third (31 percent) of workers have felt creative since working outside of the office, while over a quarter (27 percent) believe it’s been easier to collaborate with their colleagues since the coronavirus lockdown began. More →

August 26, 2020

There is more to lighting a space than meets the eye

by Carolina Florian • Environment, Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The best lighting design is the one you don’t notice. Coco Chanel once said: “dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.” It’s the same with lighting. If you notice the light sources, and you can feel annoyed by them, then the design just doesn’t work. Essentially, there’s more to lighting than first meets the eye. More →

August 17, 2020

Is it time to get rid of all workplace policies and procedures?

by Freddie Steele • Comment, Workplace

After twenty-five years of telling employers that their first response to any workplace problem should be ‘draw up a policy’, it pains me to even suggest this; but what if we abolished all workplace policies and procedures? Yes, you heard me correctly – no policies for discipline and grievances, for handling sickness absence, menopause, mental health, flexible working, redundancies, emails, dress codes, discrimination etcetera. More →

August 12, 2020

Casting a spell on the future of work and workplaces

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design

There was a time we used to talk with dismay about the Japanese phenomenon of intense social distancing known as hikikomori. We would consider with horror the isolation, lack of engagement with society, poor mental health and loneliness of the people who had almost completely withdrawn to their rooms. Those poor bastards locked up in enclosed spaces linked to the outside world only by screens. More →

July 28, 2020

Containing office costs in the post-lockdown era

by Guy Brett • Comment, Property

As companies transition back to the office and set out on the road to economic recovery, business leaders are focussed on developing resilient and sustainable strategies. Faced with a new business environment, companies are looking for opportunities to contain office costs, both in the short-term and in the future. Some who have been immune from cost pressures in the past are looking to contain if not reduce costs for the first time. And, after a forced trial of remote working, many are viewing their property portfolio in a new light and questioning whether they are paying for more space than they need. More →

July 22, 2020

Employee anxiety and stress levels massively up on last year

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Anxiety in employees has rocketed over the last year, according to a new report from Inpulse. The research, which includes the views of over 3,000 UK employees, claims that anxiety is the most dominant negative emotion at work and has risen 240 percent over the same period as last year – up from 5 percent to 17 percent. Stress is another high negative emotion for employees, at 11 percent, while Isolation rates stands at 7 percent. More →

July 21, 2020

People should have the right to paid bereavement leave

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

In an open letter to the Business Secretary Alok Sharma, the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, is calling on the Government to introduce the right to bereavement leave and pay to all employees experiencing a close family bereavement. The call follows the introduction of Jack’s Law, a legal right to paid bereavement leave for working parents who lose a child under the age of 18, in April this year. More →