May 1, 2024
The British Council for Offices Awards for London have gone to seven office buildings across the city. Held at the Park Plaza hotel, the BCO’s annual London Awards Lunch recognised projects that demonstrate best practice in office design, fit-out, operation and sustainability, setting the standard for excellence across the sector. More →
April 29, 2024
We now have a policy of not offering ourselves as an outlet for any of the deluge of comment pieces and surveys that are published each year to accompany the various days – and increasingly weeks and months – dedicated to certain conditions like stress and anxiety. They are a gift both to and from the PR industry. This is largely because we cover such issues year round so don’t feel the need to add to the PR feeding frenzy they generate. Whatever you make of the findings of the reports and others like them, even cynics would have to acknowledge they tap into an unmistakable feeling that work is not as enjoyable as it should be. More →
April 23, 2024
A report published by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation sets out what its authors claim are best practices developed by pioneer cities that are reducing carbon emissions from urban development projects. As cities grow in population and importance, urban construction will continue to gather pace. It is estimated that the global floor area is expected to double by 2060, the equivalent of building out New York City every month for the next 40 years. The report, Reducing Embodied Carbon in Cities: Nine Solutions for Greener Buildings and Communities, highlights nine innovative solutions for all phases of construction and demolition. More →
April 19, 2024
London, the crouching monster, like every other monster has to breathe, and breathe it does in its own obscure, malignant way. Its vital oxygen is composed of suburban working men and women of all kinds, who every morning are sucked up through an infinitely complicated respiratory apparatus of trains and termini into the mighty congested lungs, held there for a number of hours, and then, in the evening, exhaled violently through the same channels. More →
April 17, 2024
An extraordinary edition of CIFF Guangzhou has just concluded, recording the highest number of exhibitors and visitors ever. This success rewarded the strategy of CIFF, an ever-evolving exhibition event with a key role in the development of the global furniture industry, promoting design and innovation, boosting consumption, and fostering international furniture trade. A total area measuring 850,000 square metres; 4,700 exhibitors, 11.8% more than the all-time pre-pandemic peak in 2019; 363,449 trade visitors, 22.06% more than in 2019, including 51,205 international visitors from 178 countries, an increase of as much as +43.11% compared to 2019. More →
April 10, 2024
With an estimated 27,000 delegates from 90 countries, MIPIM is still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to opportunities to network and learn as delegates, with organisations using the week to deliver news, insights and thinking. The theme for MIPIM this year was The Global Urban Community; and it really did feel more international than previous years, the majority of attendees are still from France, Germany and the UK, but there were significant delegations from the United States, Canada, Oman, Egypt and Hong Kong, more from Asia generally and a show stopper from Saudi Arabia, more of which later. More →
April 8, 2024
Focusing attention on your mobile phone instead of your partner doesn’t just strain your relationship – it also affects creativity at work, according to researchers from the Universities of Bath, Aston, and IESE Business School. The study claims to shed light on the negative effects of ‘phubbing’, the idea of snubbing someone in favour of your phone, which is known for its detrimental impact on relationships and mental wellbeing. Now the study of working couples in the US points to repercussions in the workplace as well, but only for female partners. More →
April 5, 2024
The nascent years of new ways of working in the late 80s and early 90s coincided with a widely held but soon to be discarded belief that the Japanese had cracked management practices. So it was perhaps inevitable that the principles of a process called just in time manufacturing – most famously applied in the factories of Toyota – should migrate to new forms of office design and the rapidly developing practice of flexible working.
April 2, 2024
New research from a survey of 2,000 UK office workers by BW: Workplace Experts suggests that poor quality office design is now thoroughly out of favour, as one in three people (33 percent) have an issue with a lack of privacy in the workplace. In fact, over a third (34 percent) ranked the most valuable spaces in the office as available meeting rooms, adequate amounts of breakout spaces, and social spaces, reflecting a desire to have more varied private and collaborative spaces. 27 percent said that they also value wellness spaces (e.g., exercise room, meditation room) and roughly one in 10 (11 percent) said access to outdoor space would influence them to go into the office more often. More →
March 26, 2024
A recent story involving Avanti West Coast, who provided a gift bag to staff experiencing menopause, is the latest in a series of misjudgements of menopause support by employers. The bag contained items such as a fan “for the hot sweats”, a jelly baby “in case you feel like biting someone’s head off” and a paper clip “to help you keep it all together”. The ASLEF Union suggested that rather than “insulting gimmicks” Avanti should focus their efforts on developing workplace policies and procedures that “value and support perimenopausal and menopausal women”. So what should employers be doing to provide adequate support and why are so many getting it wrong? More →
March 25, 2024
New office footfall data from IWG taken from more than 400 locations across the UK, suggests that over the past two years workers have significantly increased their use of office workspaces in rural, suburban and commuter towns, choosing to forgo lengthy daily commutes and work closer to home. More →
May 16, 2024
We need a cultural revolution in the way we talk about women’s health
by Siera Torontow • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace