June 25, 2019

WELL Building Institute signs up for UN compact

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has signed up to the United Nations Global Compact, the voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices. The UN Global Compact sets out ten principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. IWBI’s WELL Building Standard, a rating system for the creation of buildings and communities that aim to enhance human health and wellbeing, identifies in its standard how each of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are supported by WELL’s work. To date, over 2,100 projects have registered or certified nearly 400 million square feet of space. More →

June 20, 2019

EDGE enters UK market with project on South Bank

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Property, Technology

EDGE Technologies, the specialist developer best known for its groundbreaking The Edge building in Amsterdam has announced its entrance into the UK commercial property market with the £50m acquisition of 60 St Thomas Street on London’s South Bank. The acquisition is subject to planning permission, which EDGE will pursue in partnership with the seller. The partners will consult closely with Southwark Council and the local community. After completion of the development – four to five years from now – 60 St Thomas Street will be an optimised office environment and a new workspace fit for the future. More →

June 17, 2019

Wellbeing linked to two hours outdoors each week

by Matthew White • Features, Wellbeing

The idea that spending recreational time in natural settings is good for our health and wellbeing is hardly new. Parents have been telling their kids to “go play outside, it’s good for you” for generations. Now, colleagues and I have published a study in the journal Scientific Reports which suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing, a figure that applies to every demographic we could think of (at least in England). More →

June 14, 2019

The greenest building is no building, our false craving for silence and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

As climate scientists issue increasingly stark warnings about the global environmental catastrophe that is increasingly likely within a very short time frame, Will Jennings issues a timely reminder in the Architects Journal that the greenest type of building is no building at all. And that is doubly so when the building we are talking about is The Tulip, which would clearly be a very bad idea at any time. The author takes particular exception to the glossy environmental pledges made by high profile architects when contrasted with the ugly, vacuous grandstanding typified by The Tulip. More →

June 14, 2019

Top ten cities in UK for economic growth led by Edinburgh

by Freddie Steele • Cities, News

According to the 2019 Vitality Index by Lambert Smith Hampton, Edinburgh is the city with the best prospects for UK economic growth, with Cambridge and Manchester coming in second and third place, despite the UK’s uncertain economic and political environment. Compiled every year, The Vitality Index claims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the health of UK towns and cities, considering education, entrepreneurialism, affluence, productivity, growth and environmental factors.

May 30, 2019

Burnout recognised as a workplace phenomenon by WHO

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Although still not classified as a recognised medical condition, burnout has been included in the World Health Organization’s 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon. It is described in the chapter: ‘Factors influencing health status or contact with health services’ – which includes reasons for which people contact health services but that are not classed as illnesses or health conditions. More →

May 28, 2019

Majority of workers think their workplace is unpleasant

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Workplace design

Many of the UK’s workplaces are unpleasant, uncomfortable and at risk of driving down productivity, according to a new survey from Aspect.co.uk. The poll of 2,000 people claims that 83 percent of UK adults consider their workplace to be an “unpleasant” environment, with many citing uncomfortable temperatures, lack of natural light, unpleasant smells, damp and mould, poor ventilation and even vermin and insects among their complaints. The study set out to identify the most common causes of employee discomfort at work. On the whole, issues related to physical comfort were the most common complaints. 46 percent complained of workplaces that were “too hot”, 43 percent complained of workplaces being “too cold” and 28 percent complained of workplaces having poor ventilation.

May 22, 2019

Young people increasingly sceptical about work and institutions

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace

Younger people across the world are increasingly disillusioned with traditional institutions, sceptical of business’ motives and pessimistic about economic and social progress, according to the 2019 Deloitte Millennial Survey. The survey claims that despite global economic growth, expansion and opportunity, younger generations are wary about the world and their place in it. But they remain hopeful and lean on their values as both consumers and employees. More →

May 16, 2019

Firms must log employee working hours, ECJ rules

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

EU member States must require employers to set up a system to measure daily working hours for each employee, according to a new ruling from the European Court of Justice. The decision came following a case brought by the Spanish trade union, Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) which initially brought an action before the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court, Spain), seeking a judgement declaring Deutsche Bank SAE to be under an obligation to set up a system for recording the time worked each day by its members of staff. The union considered that such a system would make it possible to verify compliance with the stipulated working times and the obligation, laid down in national law, to provide union representatives with information on overtime worked each month.

May 8, 2019

Some of the great ways progressive firms are increasing productivity in the workplace

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Productivity in the office is a big thing, as the more productive employees are, the more successful the business will be as a result. While most people go through peaks and troughs of productivity during their working life, it’s important for employers to give it their all when it comes to trying to keep the workforce as productive as possible. Therefore, many have come up with ways to make this happen.

May 8, 2019

The dark side of wearables and wellbeing

by Freddie Steele • Features, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

While the use of wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are worn or inserted as implants, in smart building applications will give people completely new ways of interacting with their surroundings, their potential could be tempered by an increased risk to privacy due to the type and quantity of data being collected. The good news is that, combined with automated building controls, occupants will be able to control and automate their own ‘personal’ environment as well as improve their wellbeing. More →

May 2, 2019

UK should phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, claims government report

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, News

The UK can end its contribution to global warming within 30 years by setting an ambitious new target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has said in a report today. But the habits of people and organisations will have to change dramatically. Ten years after the Climate Change Act became law, now is the right moment to set a more ambitious goal. Achieving a ‘net-zero’ target by the middle of the century is in line with the UK’s commitment under the Paris Agreement; the pact which the UK and the rest of the world signed in 2015 to curb dramatically the polluting gases that cause climate change. More →