November 8, 2018

Your relationship with your boss may be playing a role in your stress levels

by Martin Turner and Matthew Slater • Comment, Wellbeing

Everybody knows how horrible it is to be stressed out at work. Sadly, across the world, employees are being subjected to increasing work demands and, as a result, work stress is on the rise. As we try to understand the root of the problem, we often end up blaming our boss. But is that really fair? Our new study, published in The Leadership Quarterly, suggests that your relationship with your boss does influence how you respond to stress.

November 8, 2018

Flexibility of home working must be balanced with a need to connect

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Over half of home workers say they appreciate the benefits that home working offers but nearly a quarter complain of loneliness too, a new survey from BHSF claims. When asked how working from home makes them feel, the top three responses were: free (50 percent), in control (47 percent) and calm (46 percent). However, a significant number of those surveyed chose more negative words to describe their feelings. Just over a quarter (26 percent) said that working from home made them feel remote, 24 percent felt isolated and 21 percent lonely. More →

November 7, 2018

Will technology prove a threat or a godsend in the new workplace?

by Matt Weston • Comment, Technology, Workplace

In the past decade, the business landscape has fundamentally shifted with the emergence of companies like Uber and Netflix, in addition to the rapid growth of large technology companies such as Apple and Amazon. Underlying this shift is the constant evolution and implementation of technology into the workplace. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum stated that digitisation could add a staggering $100 trillion to businesses by 2025.

November 6, 2018

Third of UK workers find it hard to maintain a work life balance

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Almost a third (30 percent) of UK workers don’t feel that they have a good work life balance in their current role, despite the fact that the majority (73 percent) would like to keep their work and home lives separate from one another. According to a study of over 2,000 workers across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the UK from ADP (Automatic Data Processing), UK workers have a tougher time separating their personal and professional lives than European workers. An average of one third (33 percent) of European workers surveyed felt a bad day at work affected their personal life, compared to 38 percent in the UK. Worryingly, almost a third (30 percent) of British workers feel their work does not make a difference. Across Europe, women tended to find a work life balance more appealing, with 62 percent identifying it as a very important feature of their ideal job, and only 52 percent of men doing the same. Interestingly, the younger the employee the less likely they were to identify work life balance as important.

November 1, 2018

CBRE launches its offering for the flexible office sector

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Property

CBRE, one of the world’s largest commercial property firms has launched a flexible office service that will compete with groups such as WeWork and IWG, who own the Regus brand, for corporate tenants. The company has appointed a former Zipcar executive, Andrew Kupiec, to head Hana, a new wholly owned subsidiary that will operate flexible offices aimed mainly at larger corporate clients. Unlike its competitors Hana will not lease office spaces from landlords; instead, it will partner with them through joint ventures.

November 1, 2018

South American firm to join global workplace design and fit-out network

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Workplace design

South American workplace designer and fit out specialist Contract Workplaces has become the latest organisation to join The United Workplace (TUW). With over 20-years’ experience working across ten countries from Mexico in central America right down to Southern Ocean, Contract Workplaces dramatically increases the reach of the TUW as a global business network of workplace design and fit-out firms. Beginning with its founding partners Fourfront Group in the UK and Amicus in Australia, TUW now has members in the Middle East, USA and South America.

October 31, 2018

Top global industries leading the way in remote work

by Neil Franklin • Features, Flexible working, Property

More business owners are swapping rigid 9-5 schedules and traditional office environments in favour of flexible space and remote work as an option for saving costs, retaining employees and encouraging a healthy work-life balance. With this in mind, Instant Offices has investigated what industries are leading the way for remote working and how to overcome the typical challenges of managing a remote team.

October 31, 2018

Conversations may be more productive when held in the great outdoors

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Conversations are more responsive in natural environments such as parks and gardens than indoors, finds new research by the University of Manchester and Cardiff University. The researchers recorded conversations between three- and four-year-old children and their parents while they explored a city park and the park’s indoor education centre and found that the conversations in the park were more responsive and connected compared to those recorded indoors. The study ‘Responding to nature: Natural environments improve parent-child communication’ is published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

October 26, 2018

Flexible workspace market in Asia-Pacific outpaces global markets

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property

The flexible workspace market in Asia-Pacific has been the fastest growing in the world over the past 12 months, according to a new study from Instant Offices. Supply of flex centres in the regions key cities has grown consistently above 15 percent with the only inhibitor to growth being a lack of available space for expansion. Supply of flex space increased by 16 percent over the last year with an estimated 8,600 centres now providing flexible office solutions across the APAC region. This influx of capital to the flex market, alongside increasing levels of demand from clients for flexible offices, has enabled rapid expansion in a short period of time. Of the 10 largest global markets for flexible office space, which incorporates co-working, executive suites, serviced offices and hybrid space, six now fall within Asia Pacific.

October 24, 2018

Two fifths of new recruits don’t have the right soft skills for the job

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Two-fifths of job-seekers are being hired into new roles only to discover they have the wrong soft skills for the job. This means over half are leaving companies because their personality or work style didn’t fit, claims news research published by HireVue. The 53 percent of those who had left for this reason saying the format of the hiring process had prevented them from discovering the mismatch earlier. While four-fifths (82 percent) of candidates are confident in their ability to articulate their soft skills and personality traits in an interview, many doubt that pre-hire assessments can showcase these important attributes. More →

October 23, 2018

Flexible working to contribute £148 billion to UK economy by 2030

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

A predicted boom in flexible working could contribute £148 billion to the UK economy by 2030, equating to 16 times the cost of the London 2012 Olympics, according to the a socio-economic study of changing workplace practices. The analysis, commissioned by Regus and conducted by independent economists, studied 16 key countries to delve into the state of flexible working now and predictions for 2030.

October 23, 2018

Cultural attitudes define the race for 5G connectivity as Germany and Holland inch ahead

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

New research commissioned by international law firm Osborne Clarke claims that businesses in Germany and the Netherlands could be leading the global race to embrace next-generation 5G connectivity. The Next Generation Connectivity research of executives and managers from 11 countries, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, also claims that approaches and attitudes to adopting connectivity vary country to country. This, Osborne Clarke says, could hinder future opportunities.