January 28, 2021
A new generation of long-term homeworkers created by COVID-19 is at risk physically and mentally through inadequate employer support, claims research by EIZO. Employees are already feeling the negative effects of a home environment, often ill-equipped for the working day and EIZO warns there may be a rise in ‘Homeworking LOSERS’, or ‘Laptops On Sofas and Employment Rights Shelved’. More →
January 27, 2021
Recently lighting control firm Prolojik assembled an expert panel to talk about learning and working during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. The roundtable (online of course) involved participants from various fields related to the built environment including those involved in developing, designing and tech reflected on their own experiences over the last several months. While industry issues raised during the session included what productivity really means and how to measure it, what infrastructure needs to be in place to enable people to return to their place of work or education and why a joined-up approach to wellness is an indisputably necessary strand of building management. More →
January 27, 2021
January 26, 2021
The Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) has published its first guidance document designed specifically to address the key lighting tasks required of facilities managers. Lighting is absolutely critical to providing a safe and productive working environment and much of the management required to procure, maintain and optimise lighting systems falls to facilities managers. More →
January 22, 2021
New analysis by the Institute for Employment Studies has found that low paid workers are more than twice as likely to have lost their jobs during the pandemic and are at far greater risk of being temporarily laid off or having their hours cut. The research, funded by Standard Life Foundation, concludes that in this current lockdown it is likely that around two thirds of low paid workers – or four million people – are either temporarily laid off or working fewer hours than normal. This would be double the rate of work disruption for staff who are not classified as low paid. More →
January 21, 2021
The past year will go down in history as one of dramatic change. One of the most notable upheavals was the almost overnight transition to full-time remote working for millions of ‘non-essential’ employees. With England now in its third national lockdown, many of us will likely not be going back to our offices until April 2021, over a year since we left them. Even when people are able to return to our old workplaces, just 12 percent of employees want to do so full-time, according to Future Forum. This leaves no doubt that, when we are finally able to leave the pandemic behind us, hybrid working (partially from home and partially in the office) will remain. More →
January 21, 2021
With six weeks still to go until the Chancellor’s Budget, the CIPD is urging the Government to act early to extend the furlough scheme to protect jobs, support incomes and enhance skills development. Its calls are outlined in a report called The Future of Furlough – Recommendations for now and for any future wage subsidy. In order to support smaller firms who don’t pay an apprenticeship levy, the CIPD is also recommending the creation of a furlough scheme training fund of up to £100 million, which would be funded from levy-paying firms’ expired levy funds that would otherwise go to HM Treasury. The CIPD estimates that this could pay for training or outplacement skills development support for nearly 160,000 workers in small firms. More →
January 21, 2021
Smart Building Certification, the organisation behind the smart accreditation, awarded its first platinum building. The founders of Smart Building Certification handed the first official platinum certification over to Coen van Oostrom, Founder and CEO of EDGE. More →
January 20, 2021
Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of business leaders and 90 percent of CEOs across Europe see organisational agility as critical in driving business performance and growth, yet many are overestimating their capabilities, according to new research from ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW). More →
January 19, 2021
Improving air quality in the fight against COVID-19 could give businesses the edge over their competitors and attract more customers, according to a top UK university scientist. Writing in a new report for facilities services provider phs Group, Cambridge University Professor Paul Linden highlights the growing evidence for the airborne transmission of coronavirus and that tackling indoor air quality must be at the forefront of creating COVID-safe environments. More →
With data science lauded as the answer to COVID-19 recovery, organisations are planning to significantly increase their data science headcount this year. This is according to the latest research from 
Unemployed over 50s are two and a half times as likely as younger age groups to be out of work for at least two years, according to new analysis from
January 28, 2021
Philanthrocapitalism: a century-old concept for the modern age
by Richard Glynn • Comment, Wellbeing