August 6, 2019

Voices from the age of uncertain work

by David L Blustein • Features, Working culture, Working lives

On the surface, the wellbeing of the American worker seems rosy. Unemployment in the U.S. hovers near a 50-year low, and employers describe growing shortages of workers in a wide array of fields. But looking beyond the numbers tells a different story. My new book, “The Importance of Work in an Age of Uncertainty,” reveals that some Americans are experiencing an erosion in the world of increasingly uncertain work that is hurting their wellbeing, relationships and hopes for the future. More →

July 17, 2019

How Charles Handy changed the way we speak about the workplace

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management

There are writers whose language pervades our discourse so extensively that even those who have never heard of them will echo not only their sentiments but also their means of expression. One of these people is Charles Handy, who has just published his latest book 21 Letters on Life and its Challenges at the age of 87. His work resonates to this day and not least because he was so far ahead of the curve in detailing many of the characteristics of modern organisations and the challenges created for everybody by the changing nature of work and business. More →

July 9, 2019

Fifth of people do not last a year in self-employment

by Neil Franklin • News

One-fifth of sole traders in self-employment don’t survive one year, and the majority don’t survive five, according to a new study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The analysis of HMRC tax records by researchers at the IFS was funded by the Office for National Statistics through the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) and the Economic and Social Research Council. More →

June 19, 2019

Coworking is now the key driver of change in property market

by Daniel Wright • Comment, Property, Workplace design

Having disrupted the property sector over the last decade, coworking continues to impact investors, developers and end users as the concept appears to be the dominant force in the commercial sector. Coworking can trace its roots back as far as the 1980s when Regus (now part of IWG) popularised the idea of a serviced office, by taking on leases of office buildings, subdividing the available space and leasing it out to small business, fully furnished and ready to rent. More →

June 10, 2019

Coworking disrupts office design ⁰

by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Coworking, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design

In his book How Buildings Learn, the author Stewart Brand outlines the process whereby buildings evolve over time to meet the changing needs of their occupants. He describes each building as consisting of six layers, each of which functions on a different timescale. These range from the site itself which has a life cycle measured in centuries, through to the building (decades), interior fit out (years), technology (months), to stuff (days). The effectiveness of a design will depend on how well it resolves the tensions that exist between these layers of the building, and this is one of the benefits of coworking that isn’t discussed enough.

June 10, 2019

More disabled people opt for self-employment

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

More disabled people than ever before are choosing self-employment, but are being let down by poor support from government, according to new research from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) and the Community trade union. The study, Making self-employment work for disabled people, claims that 611,000 UK disabled people now work for themselves in their main job. The report also found that although they overwhelmingly see self-employment as a positive way of working, they do not get the support they need from government. More →

June 3, 2019

Come for the rent, stay for the experience of coworking

by Aki Stamatis • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design

When attending last year’s CoreNet Global Summit in Boston, there was a poll of the real estate executives gathered to discuss the key trends affecting the world of commercial property. During the event we were asked about our attitudes to coworking by the event organisers and Cushman & Wakefield. What emerged was a portrait of genuine revolution in real estate thinking. The number of employees from the respondents’ organisations using coworking space had doubled in the previous two years and now stood at around 11 percent of all employees. More →

May 31, 2019

London leads the way in coworking

by George Eltringham • Coworking, News

Over recent years, we have witnessed significant changes when it comes to the workplace. Women are continuing to push through the glass ceiling, offices are starting to look more likes homes and businesses are opting for a more flexible and sociable working environment. This rise in coworking and other forms of flexible office space is just one of the latest trends to emerge from the corporate world, and according to a report by office brokers Office Freedom, London is at the forefront of this growing market. More →

April 24, 2019

The meteor strike of coworking and the beasts that will remain

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

The concept of coworking has only been with us for a short time, but there are already signs that it is evolving into something rather different. The most common misperception about the way evolution works is that it is based on some steady progression, driven by the merciless principle of survival of the fittest, with the best adapted climbing towards the top of an evolutionary tree. This gives rise to one of the most common questions posed by sceptics: if we evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

April 23, 2019

The flexible solution to workplace loneliness

by Guzman de Yarza Blache • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

For years, the word ‘office’ would doubtless conjure images of the traditional individual cubicle. However, times have changed, and where the cubicle once ruled the roost, a flexible working revolution is already disrupting the office market and reshaping the world of work.

April 5, 2019

Remote working boosts self-employed flexibility and productivity

by George Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Remote working boosts flexibility and productivity among the self-employed, new research by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) and People Per Hour claims. The report suggests that freelancers overwhelmingly viewed remote working positively, with nine out of ten (87 percent) working remotely at some point in the last year. More →

April 3, 2019

Coworking and a new golden era for the workplace and the people who inhabit it

by Gary Chandler • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design

The idea of coworking is starting to resonate with a growing number of businesses and for a growing number of reasons. People new to the concept, or those who are aware primarily of its roots, may discover or retain a notion that it is a way for start-ups and freelancers to share space as a way of keeping down costs or networking with similar organisations. There is still a great deal of truth in this, given that the initial growth of coworking was based almost exclusively on the need for small tech and creative organisations to occupy space near to their larger clients, in precisely those urban enclaves that demand eye-watering rents and conventional leases.