Search Results for: economic

November 12, 2015

English regions outside the Capital lead construction growth ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

The construction industry has returned to growth after six months of contraction, according to figures released by industry analysts Glenigan. Its latest Index also found that the value of projects starting on site are higher than a year earlier for the first time since March, fueled by growth across the industry; with housing, civil engineering and non-residential building sectors all up on a year earlier. Non-residential starts as a whole were up 4 percent on a year earlier, as growth in private sector activity offset continued weakness across the public sector. Industrial, office, retail and hotel and leisure starts all registered growth. Although UK construction has moved back into growth, it is the English regions outside of the Capital which are seeing most activity. London, Wales and Scotland last saw growth in March this year and South West England hasn’t recorded a rise in starts since May 2014.

November 11, 2015

British workers tend to take the most holiday leave in the world ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

British workers are the most likely to take all of their paid holiday leave – and they get a lot more of it, new YouGov research from around the world claims. During the Eurozone and Greek debt crises, the economic situation was blamed on laid back, siesta-taking southern Europeans. In fact Greece ranks fourth among OECD countries for average annual hours actually worked, and Spain ranks one place above the UK. Meanwhile German workers, with a reputation for working very hard, work the smallest number of hours. But out of 22 countries polled worldwide, spanning North America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Europe, British people are the most likely to say they will take all of their holiday leave this year. In one of the only places in the world where there is no statutory minimum holiday leave only 44 percent of Americans say they will take their days off this year.

November 5, 2015

Data transforms the roles of offices and the people who manage them

by Philip Ross • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace

The modern workplace creates the physical,technological and cultural point of intersection between a number of abstract or movable facets of the business, including people, technology, culture and creativity. That has always been true to a large extent but with the growing complexity of exactly how, when and where we work, this role of the office as the epicentre of it all has been thrown into sharp relief. With that has come a greater understanding of the intersections that exist between disciplines such as IT, FM and HR. In some areas, the roles already appear indistinguishable and I believe this will only become more apparent. The main driver of that growing convergence of roles will be the availability of data to make informed decisions about interrelated aspects of organisational culture, work practices, office design and management and the development and motivation of individuals.

November 4, 2015

Commercial property owners not keeping up with changing needs of tenants ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property, Workplace design

A new study from Northumbria University, sponsored by serviced office provider Citibase, claims that the owners of commercial property in the UK stand to lose out on £4.8 billion over the next decade because they are failing to adapt to the changing needs of tenants for more agile spaces. The study claims that property owners in 27 towns and cities in England, Wales and Scotland are already missing out on £325 million annually and paying out another £170 million on holding cost and there are stark differences between the prime and secondary office sectors. The report, Taking Stock: Secondary opportunities and the agile future, claims that out of all total empty stock calculated, only 10 percent of vacant office space is prime, the other 90 percent is secondary. The secondary sector currently has an estimated 26.4m sq ft of office space vacant compared to just 3m sq ft of empty stock in the prime market.

November 3, 2015

Almost half of UK employees plan to change jobs within three years ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

UK employees are among the least loyal in Europe, according to new research by ADP, with nearly half of UK workers (47 percent) planning to change jobs within three years, compared to a third (34 percent) in the rest of Europe. Just 17 percent want to spend the rest of their career in their present organisation, whilst 40 percent of German workers see this as an option. The job market is now becoming more competitive as employees are looking for opportunities outside their home country. However, attitudes towards foreign talent are generally positive with 69 percent of UK employees who don’t see foreign talent as a threat. Even though companies may benefit from a global talent pool, losing local workforce is causing a headache for some countries. Employees in Spain (49 percent), Italy (47 percent), and Poland (39 percent) are particularly concerned about a talent drain to other countries.

November 2, 2015

The October 2015 issue of Work&Place is now available to view online ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Premium Content, Work&Place

The new issue of Work&Place is now available. As ever it has informed and challenging contributions from some of the world’s greatest workplace thinkers. Antony Slumbers challenges the idea that an uncertain workplace is something of which we should be afraid; Giuseppe Boscherini considers how we choose where to go to have our best ideas; Beatriz Arantes takes a journey into the inner world of neuroscience and considers what it might mean for how we work; John Eary shares research on the link between personality and performance in agile workers; Amanda Sterling considers how workplace transformation is manifesting itself in New Zealand; Kati Barklund explores the relationship between workplace design and HR metrics; Paul Carder discovers the missing links between economic activity and the workplace; Sue Gregson weighs up the implications of an updated green building standard; and I look at how changing demographics are reshaping Government policy worldwide.

October 27, 2015

OECD report urges firms to use Big Data analytics for growth and wellbeing ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new OECD report claims that organisations could be doing far more to use the data they and their employees generate to deliver a wide range of social, economic, commercial and personal benefits. In Data-driven innovation for growth and wellbeing, it suggests that governments do more to encourage investment in Big Data and promote data sharing. The report urges countries to act to train more data scientists, reduce barriers to cross-border data flows and encourage investment in business processes to incorporate data analytics. It also claims that few companies outside the ICT sector are changing internal procedures to take advantage of data. This is particularly the case for small and medium-sized companies who face barriers to the adoption of data-related technologies such as The Cloud, partly because they have difficulty implementing organisational change due to limited resources.

October 27, 2015

Seven ways your choice of new office may boost business performance ⁰

by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Facilities management, Property

There are generally four main reasons why a business considers changing to new office space: your business is growing and your existing office can’t be expanded to accommodate that growth; your need for office space is reducing due to a change in business circumstances; your office lease is nearing expiration: you are prepared to explore whether a change in office could improve your current business performance. It is the last of these four reasons that sits at the heart of this article, but that does not detract from the validity of the other motivations for investigating options for new office space. Changing office space requirements and/or the fact your lease is expiring do not preclude searching for new ways to improve business performance. In fact, they provide a compelling excuse to explore alternatives and often organisations choose to move for a number of good reasons.

October 22, 2015

UK’s digital leaders set to deliver £92 billion boost to economy ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Company news, News, Technology

A new report from Virgin Media Business and Oxford Economics claims that the UK’s ‘Digital Leaders’ are set to use digital technology deliver a massive boost to the UK economy in the very near future. The study of 1,000 companies employing 470,000 people claims that the UK economy could see an increase of 2.5 percent in GDP (£92 billion) and create more than a million new jobs over the next two years. According to the respondents, they had already increased their revenues by 4.4 per cent and reduced costs by 4.3 per cent over the past year by making better use of digital technology, generating an estimated £123 billion contribution to the UK’s economy, equivalent to 3.4 per cent of GDP. In terms of jobs, 44 per cent of executives don’t expect any jobs to become obsolete and, across the economy, companies anticipate hiring 1.1 million employees as a result of digital investments.

October 21, 2015

Small businesses vital for cities, but London SMEs struggle with property costs ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

Two new surveys demonstrate that while small firms in creative sectors are essential for the economic success of the UK’s cities, many small businesses are struggling to find appropriate and well-priced office space in London and are now calling on the incoming new Mayor of London to address the issue as a matter of urgency. While a report from the Centre for Cities shows how small businesses in the creative, professional and digital sectors drive job growth, productivity and average wages in ten key UK cities, the study by the Federation of Small Businesses claims that the cost of commercial property remains one of the most pressing concerns for many SMEs based in London. The FSB study also found that the cost of living in London was also a concern for small employers in the capital, with many claiming it makes it incredibly hard to attract and retain employees.

October 16, 2015

Sydney leads the way in activity-based working finds global cities report ⁰

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

If employers want to attract the best, they need to create spaces where their staff want to work, because providing an inspiring and enjoyable office is now the most critical, cost-effective way to successfully attract the world’s most talented employees. Knight Frank’s Global Cities: The 2016 Report highlights a shift in thinking by the newest generation of workers who expect the same kind of environment which historically, was the preserve of technology and media firms. This new office combines collaborative spaces with individual work areas, as well as providing amenities that encourage people to think of work as an extension of home. Sydney is leading the way with just under a third (28 percent) of all offices already offering activity-based working (ABW) for employees, where the workspace is specifically designed to suit the whole range of activities which will be accommodated.

October 14, 2015

Workspace shortage as office to residential rights made permanent ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

The British Council for Offices (BCO) has warned that the UK needs to avoid a free-for-all following the government’s announcement it is to make permanent the relaxation of planning rules on the conversion of office to residential properties. According to recent BCO research, changes to the Permitted Development Right for office to residential conversion led to over 6 million sq ft of office space in England being converted to residential use in 2014. Some of the most concentrated commercial property markets have been significantly affected by this. In London, office to residential conversions are now occurring at a faster pace than ever before with 2.7 million sq feet of office space lost to residential conversions since May 2013. London Assembly Member Nicky Gavron questioned the decision to extend the scheme saying that it will reduce the availability of affordable workspace required by start-ups and small businesses in the capital.