November 10, 2022

BDP reports on successful year for the design firm

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Works Magazine

BDP has published its results for the financial year ended 30 June 2022. The practice achieved revenues of £136.6m and an operating profit of £13.2m. The multidisciplinary practice won a number of prestigious projects in the financial year and expanded into new locations by establishing new presences in New York, Lima and Edinburgh to create a network of integrated, collaborative studios with global reach. The organisation’s employee numbers have also returned to pre-pandemic levels as it welcomed talented people back to its workplaces across the globe. More →

November 10, 2022

Plans for largest datacentre in Europe approved by London council

by Jayne Smith • News, Property, Technology

Havering Council has agreed to move forward with the £5.3bn East Havering project, which will bring Europe’s largest datacentre to the borough in Greater London, delivering a major piece of national infrastructure. The Cabinet agreed for the council and its prospective partner, Digital Reef, to continue to develop the proposals to bring forward the site. This decision means the Council in its capacity as Local Planning Authority can begin to take a view on the appropriate planning route for this project. More →

November 10, 2022

Summing up where the office now stands in the scheme of things

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working

The argument about what it takes to encourage people to come into the office more often seems to have boiled down to an equation. It’s now common to hear somebody argue that the office has to be worth the commute it takes to get to it. So, if you want people to spend more time in the building, you need to do the maths. O must be greater than or equal to C More →

November 10, 2022

UK will be only developed country in world with lower employment in 2023 than pre-pandemic

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new report claims that the UK is undergoing one of the worst employment recoveries in the world, fuelled by a shrinking workforce and lack of access to effective employment support. Coming the week after the Bank of England forecast that unemployment could rise by half a million next year, and a week before the government announces its new spending plans, the case for reforms to how we help people and employers to fill jobs has never been stronger. More →

November 10, 2022

Two thirds of employees are now worried about paying for essentials

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

As real time pay fails to keep up with rising costs and soaring inflation, employees are increasingly anxious about their financial situation. And employers are failing to keep up according to a new survey from Personio. The poll suggests that over two thirds (69 percent) of employees are worried or stressed about their ability to pay for essentials if the economy worsens over the coming months. A further 22 percent are concerned about losing their job whilst a fifth (20 percent) are worried they will need to take on a second job to support themselves. More →

November 9, 2022

Disability pay gap rises despite greater awareness and efforts of campaigners

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Non-disabled employees now earn around 17.2 percent more on average than disabled workers in 2022, an increase from the 16.5 percent disability pay gap last year, according to analysis published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The research suggests that the disability pay gap for 2022 was £2.05 an hour, or £3,731 per year for those working a 35-hour week. The pay gap starts at age 20 at 65 pence an hour and increases to a peak of £3.55 an hour, or £6,461 a year, for disabled workers aged 40 to 44. More →

November 9, 2022

Workplace wellbeing remains a neglected issue for many firms

by Freddie Steele • News, Wellbeing

Two in five businesses have either cut or maintained workplace wellbeing budgets despite growing pressures on their staff, according to a new report. Faced with stressors such as the cost-of-living crisis, political uncertainty, and the ‘return to work’ post-Covid, just 16 percent of directors and risk practitioners said their wellbeing budgets had seen a significant increase. Around 40 percent of businesses had increased their budgets slightly to tackle issues such as mental, physical, financial health, organisational vision, values, culture and working standards, according to the poll by Deloitte, the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) and the Institute of Directors (IoD). More →

November 8, 2022

Hybrid working driving demand for areas with easier commutes

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Property, Workplace design

A report from Unispace claims that employees’ new preference for hybrid working has created an immediate need for firms to re-think their real estate footprint. Today, with over 60 percent of office-based employees preferring to work remotely or in a more flexible way, rather than commute to city centres five days a week, employers are considering the greater use or addition of satellite offices to their portfolio. According to the study of 3,000 office workers across Europe, 79 percent of the workforce would be happier to return to the office if it was just five to 10 minutes away from their home, suggesting that satellite offices could be a solution to boost collaboration, socialisation, engagement and staff retention. More →

November 7, 2022

EFG utilises KI products to create an elegant, sophisticated workspace

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Works Magazine

Swiss private bank firm EFG International has recently moved to Park Street in London’s Mayfair neighbourhood. Their new facilities are a manifestation of their brand and provide an elegant, sophisticated experience for their team and visitors alike. The move has allowed the business to change its layout from traditional offices to a more open space that supports hybrid working. The new space was designed by Simon Hart and Stefano Albanese of AIS Interiors. As part of the transition, project furniture consultants byBailey selected KI desking and storage solutions. More →

November 4, 2022

The human mind and body are not really machines for living in

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace

It is ironic that while we live in a world in which we are witnessing the automation of more and more human skills and capabilities, we are often best able to understand the way people function with symbols of mechanisation. That is the underlying conceit of what turned out to be one of the animated film events of recent years, Pixar’s Inside Out. The movie depicts the inner workings of the human brain as under the control of tiny people, literally inside our heads, making decisions on our behalf we only half understand. More →

November 4, 2022

BCFA rebrands to shape the future of commercial interiors

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

Commercial Interiors UK, is to be the new name for the BCFA – the UK’s largest trade association representing the commercial interiors sector. Its 250+ members represent leading manufacturers, suppliers, and designers – all shaping inspirational commercial interiors internationally. The rebrand comes after an in-depth strategic review ensuring that this highly respected trade association continues to deliver unrivalled support to its members, addressing the business challenges they face, and in doing so, championing issues affecting the commercial interiors sector as a whole. More →

November 4, 2022

Responsible capitalism, and space as a service will shape real estate industry over next 20 years

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

Europe’s real estate leaders have set out a long-term vision for the industry. In this scenario the most successful firms have adopted ‘responsible capitalism,’ the user is the centre of attention, the cycle of demolition and development has been broken, mixed-use is the norm and multi-disciplinary and in-house teams deliver space as a service across a range of sectors. Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2023, the twentieth annual survey of European real estate sector leaders’ expectations by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PwC, has looked beyond the year ahead at the trends shaping the industry over the next two decades. This report captures the views of over 900 sector leaders from across Europe. More →