June 1, 2022

Simone Fenton-Jarvis on the new era of human-centric workplaces

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Premium Content, Wellbeing, Workplace

Plain speaking doesn’t always go down well, especially on social media and especially when cultural differences come into play. I recently had a friend intervene on my behalf to explain to an increasingly exasperated LinkedIn adversary that I wasn’t being rude, I was just ‘Northern’. This may well be a stereotypical Northern trait. If so, it is one that is shared by Simone Fenton-Jarvis, although then again it is one of the very few stereotypical things about her. More →

June 1, 2022

Demand for a four-day week continues to grow

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

According to a new report from ADP exploring employees’ attitudes towards the current world of work, six-in-ten (60 percent) UK workers would like more flexibility as to when they work, such as condensing hours into a four-day week. This number increased to two-thirds (67 percent) in Greater London. The report claims that this desire for great flexibility comes at a time when there is a mental health “ticking timebomb” in workplaces. Over half (51 percent) of men and 45 percent of women believe that their work is suffering due to their poor mental health. This is leading to over a quarter (29 percent) of workers actively trying to change their job and/or move into another industry. More →

May 31, 2022

Change can make employees cynical so must be managed by effective communication

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Providing clear, timely explanations and implementing an effective communications strategy can help minimise the damage to employee morale in the wake of adverse or significant change, new research from Aalto University School of Business and others suggests. Professor Marjo-Riitta Diehl and colleagues from Vlerick Business School, Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics, and University of Waterloo, discovered that workers vary in their level of attachment to the organisation that employs them and this affects how they react to major changes. More →

May 31, 2022

A great employee experience depends on great technology

by Chris Brett • Company news

So often, organizations that excel on delivering value for customers, fall short when it comes to delivering the same for their employees. In fact, we can often be guilty of failing to value our employees’ time full stop. Given that we’re living through what’s been dubbed ‘the Great Resignation,’ that’s a major gamble. Companies need to take a step back and understand exactly why employee experience (EX) should be a priority. Plus, how technology can be a key enabler in doing so. More →

May 31, 2022

Over-50s urged to return to work to deal with staff shortages

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

The British Chambers of Commerce has said employers and the Government need to work together to bring older people back into the workforce. According to ONS data, around 500,000 older people have left the workforce in recent years, many of them prompted to do so by the pandemic. The number of over-50s who aren’t working or currently looking for work rose by 493,000 between October 2019 and December 2021. According to the Office for National Statistics, one in five did so due to stress or other mental health concerns. More →

May 29, 2022

Decarbonisation of buildings key to cities hitting net zero targets

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

City governments are setting ambitious sustainability targets, often well ahead of national goals; yet plans to tackle the carbon emissions from buildings are frequently given insufficient attention. To deliver an effective plan for the decarbonisation of buildings, partnerships with landlords, investors, developers and occupiers are essential, the report claims. In a study of 32 global urban centres, Decarbonising Cities and Real Estate, JLL’s research claims that real estate’s contribution to emissions averages 60 percent, even higher in the world’s largest business centres – as much as 78 percent in London, 73 percent in Tokyo, 71 percent in Washington, DC, 70 percent in Paris and 66 percent in New York. More →

May 29, 2022

Two-thirds of employees don’t know how, when and where they’re supposed to work

by Freddie Steele • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A survey of 2,000 employees has revealed that more than half (53 per cent) do not describe their employer as a good communicator, and 70 per cent cannot agree that their employer is clear about the company’s work policy now that Covid-19 restrictions have eased. The research, conducted by Magenta Associates, the integrated communications consultancy for the built environment, also found that two-thirds of employees do not know how, when and where they are supposed to work. More →

May 29, 2022

Office occupiers should invest in neurodiversity, report argues

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Wellbeing

A new report from the British Council for Offices urges landlords and office occupiers to invest in design for neurodiversity, as disabling workspaces continue to hinder wellbeing. The report examines how the neurodiverse community remains underserved and often unsupported in the current employment ecosystem, and in turn, outlines the considerations that built environment practitioners can take to make offices enabling environments, and the crucial role of more inclusive designs. More →

May 24, 2022

Disabled workers to get their own mentor programme from World Economic Forum

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

The Valuable 500, which claims to be the largest network of global CEOs committed to disability inclusion, has announced the launch of Generation Valuable, a programme designed to accelerate opportunities for disabled workers to join the boardroom. Generation Valuable plans to connect and incubate C-Suite talent with disabled talent. Over 1.3 billion people across the world live with some form of disability yet, according to Return on Disability, only 4 percent of businesses are focused on making offerings inclusive of disabled people. Moreover, research shows that minority talent faces promotion barricades just below the Executive rung. More →

May 24, 2022

Climate neutral buildings roadmap for EU launched by Green Building Council

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has launched a new policy plan for the European Union to accelerate progress on decarbonising buildings and construction, one of the most heavily emitting sectors in the world. Developed with the support of a coalition of over 35 leading industry bodies through WorldGBC’s flagship BuildingLife project, the EU Policy Roadmap claims to be the first of its kind in Europe to address the whole life carbon impact of the built environment with the aim of creating climate neutral buildings. More →

May 23, 2022

The future of work isn’t what it used to be

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

At the 1983 International Design Conference in Aspen, Steve Jobs delivered a speech addressing the theme of the conference; The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be. In it he set out his thoughts on new technology, intuitive design, personal computing as well as the need for a constantly evolving idea of what the future will look like, including the future of work. More →

May 20, 2022

Half of people aren’t comfortable talking about disability in the workplace

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new poll from Samsung UK claims that people are generally uncomfortable talking about disabilities, including the issue of disability in the workplace. According to the survey, nearly half of the population (45 percent) admit to feeling uncomfortable saying the word ‘disabled’ or ‘disability’ in everyday conversations. Meanwhile, over half of people with disabilities say they have tried to conceal their challenges from work colleagues due to the fear of stalling their professional progression or landing a promotion (almost 45 percent) or being judged and made to feel like an outsider (41 percent). Forty percent felt that their colleagues valued them less after they realised they had a disability. More →