August 28, 2020

Using nature based solutions in buildings will help address climate change

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News

The IGNITION project from the UK Green Building Council has published its first report for businesses, titled ‘Nature-based solutions to the climate emergency: The benefits to business and society’ The report claims to provide organisations with the data they need to make informed decisions about the types of urban nature-based solutions (NBS) available to them and how these can help meet sustainability objectives to benefit business, society and the environment. It sets out to highlight the benefits of using NBS across the built environment and aims to inspire confidence in business leaders and investors to increase the use of NBS. More →

August 17, 2020

Is it time to get rid of all workplace policies and procedures?

by Freddie Steele • Comment, Workplace

After twenty-five years of telling employers that their first response to any workplace problem should be ‘draw up a policy’, it pains me to even suggest this; but what if we abolished all workplace policies and procedures? Yes, you heard me correctly – no policies for discipline and grievances, for handling sickness absence, menopause, mental health, flexible working, redundancies, emails, dress codes, discrimination etcetera. More →

August 14, 2020

People increasingly confident about return to offices

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Half (49 percent) of employed British adults feel positive about the prospect of returning to their place of work after lockdown, with less than one in five (18 percent) feeling negative, an Aviva study claims. The findings paint a relatively positive picture for businesses that have supported their people through lockdown, such as regularly communicating with workers and taking necessary steps to manage the risk of infection in the workplace. However, where businesses have not embraced risk management and prevention strategies, employees may decide not to return to work at all. More →

August 13, 2020

People plan to retain sustainable new habits after lockdown

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News

Britons are keen to continue with low-carbon lifestyle choices adopted during lockdown, according to research by Cardiff University and The University of Manchester. Two wide-ranging surveys conducted by the UK Centre for Climate and Social Transformation (CAST), which is coordinated by Cardiff University, suggested lockdown had upended people’s habits, from buying and travelling less, to reduced energy use and cutting down on food waste. More →

August 13, 2020

Workers largely trust their employers to create a safe workplace

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Three quarters of UK employees (74 percent) trust their employer to create a physically safe workplace and generally healthy work environment and the vast majority (92 percent) of employees are at least “a little” comfortable with contact tracing led by their employer for the purpose of organisational safety. This is according to a new survey Kronos Incorporated of 3,903 employees across 10 countries. More →

August 12, 2020

Casting a spell on the future of work and workplaces

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

There was a time we used to talk with dismay about the Japanese phenomenon of intense social distancing known as hikikomori. We would consider with horror the isolation, lack of engagement with society, poor mental health and loneliness of the people who had almost completely withdrawn to their rooms. Those poor bastards locked up in enclosed spaces linked to the outside world only by screens. More →

August 12, 2020

The death of the office? Wait a minute

by John Williams • Comment, Property, Workplace design

I have observed with some disbelief the numerous articles that have heralded the “death of the office” and other click-bait driven headlines. It makes for a fun read but fails to really understand exactly what the office is for and how the modern workspace is actually used. The best way to take a view of this is to understand why we will be desperate to return to the office and why organisations should be doing everything they can to ensure it does. More →

August 11, 2020

Rich, female and over- 45? It`s much more likely you thrived during lockdown

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The characteristics that meant you were most likely to thrive during the Covid-19 lockdown have been identified in new research by emlyon business school. The researchers, from emlyon business school’s Lifestyle Research Center, have studied people’s lifestyle, circumstances, and behaviour during the Covid-19 lockdown period, to examine how it has impacted their mental and physical wellbeing. The data comes from a survey of over 1000 respondents, split evenly across France and the UK, gathered near the end of the lockdown period in May. More →

August 11, 2020

UK businesses lead the way on lockdown wellbeing

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Business leaders around the world have focused on protecting their employees in their immediate COVID-19 response, with UK CEOs leading the pack on mental wellbeing support. Some 93 percent of UK CEOs (92 percent globally) prioritised protecting employee health and safety over everything else. However, UK CEOs were found to have been significantly more focused on their employees’ mental wellbeing than their global counterparts, with 90 percent providing wellbeing support and initiatives, compared with 61 percent of CEOs globally. More →

August 7, 2020

A dog`s life in the future of work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working

Once upon a time. Not so long ago. We used to get ideas for stories on lots of different topics. These included those I often dismissed at the time as quaint, such as somebody’s thoughts on why you should bring your dog to work. Now I often hanker for such whimsy, faced with day 127 of an inbox stuffed with nothing much more than ‘how to return to the office after lockdown’. More →

August 6, 2020

Cycling might be about to change our lives and offices permanently

by Eugene Tavyev • Cities, Comment, Workplace design

According to the latest data from the Cycle to Work Alliance, June 2020 saw a 120 per cent increase in the number of people joining the government Cycle to Work scheme. Introduced in 1999 as part of a series of measures under the government’s Green Transport Plan, it is now undergoing a revival as thousands of people remain reluctant to use public transport fearing exposure to COVID-19. More →

August 3, 2020

Isaac Asimov’s remarkable 1964 predictions about life and work in the 21st Century

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Making predictions about the future can leave people hostages to fortune. Just ask the Decca record executive Dick Rowe who in 1962 rejected a contract with The Beatles confidently asserting that “guitar groups are on their way out, Mr Epstein” or even multi-billionaire Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer who declared in 2007 that “there’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.” Some people buck the trend however. More →