Search Results for: Gen Z

Can we all stop shouting about AI (and start listening to each other instead)?

Can we all stop shouting about AI (and start listening to each other instead)?

by • AI, Comment, SF

Next time we see a debate about AI that gets a little heated, maybe we need to ask ourselves, why are we so afraid to admit it isn’t perfectRecently, the conversation around AI has been hotting up. This is not as a result of experts sharing new and innovative developments, but rather through grown adults exchanging insults and name-calling. LinkedIn is flooded with posts shouting about how the only people who don’t support and advocate for AI are running scared. Scared of progress. Scared of technology. Scared of the future. These posts read as childish and bullying and, whilst admittedly likely to be AI generated (or at the very least having had AI cast a glance or two over the content), they are positioning humans in a dichotomous way; for or against. You’re either with AI and therefore in the gang, or you are an ignorant luddite who is unwilling to get with the programme.

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Is a smart building worth it? My research says the answer is an unequivocal yes

Is a smart building worth it? My research says the answer is an unequivocal yes

by • Comment, Property, Technology

Too often, clients have paid contractors for the design and delivery of a smart building whilst ignoring the operational sideFor my book, The Smart Building Advantage, in which I tracked the evolution of the recent built environment, I trawled through more than a decade’s worth of data. I wasn’t short of material. I studied the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, 22 Bishopsgate in London and NEOM in Saudi Arabia, amongst many extraordinary examples of how buildings and technology can work together. From these, I concluded that smart buildings are like chameleons in the way they’ve adapted to meet the shifting demands of the corporate zeitgeist. (more…)

Circular design and human-centred innovation celebrated at BCO National Awards

Circular design and human-centred innovation celebrated at BCO National Awards

by • Environment, News, Property, Workplace design

An office built entirely on circular design principles, a 3,300 sq m living wall and the transformation of a Victorian infirmary into a modern workplace were among the projects recognised at the British Council for Offices (BCO) National Awards. Held on 7 October at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London, the event brought together more than 1,200 senior figures from across the office sector to celebrate excellence in workplace design, development and operation. (more…)

Most managers underestimate the role their emotions play in decision making

Most managers underestimate the role their emotions play in decision making

by • Business, News

Managers are less rational and more influenced in their decision making by emotions than they think.Managers are less rational and more influenced in their decision making by emotions than they think, according to a new poll. The study, The empathy problem: Balancing emotion in decision-making, part of the Building Better Managers series [registration], surveyed 279 people leaders across eight countries and 51 industries, with qualitative interviews assessing how emotions and biases impact workplace choices. While four in five managers reported making decisions without emotional influence, almost all shared personal stories during interviews that indicated the opposite. This gap reflects the unconscious nature of decision making, according to the report. It suggests that, while humans see themselves as rational thinkers, many of our choices are instinctively fast, intuitive and emotionally driven. (more…)

Britain’s AI ambitions face delays from planning and energy challenges, report warns

Britain’s AI ambitions face delays from planning and energy challenges, report warns

by • AI, News

The UK risks losing momentum in the global race to build the infrastructure for AI because of planning and energy constraints, according to a new report from the Centre for British Progress think tank. The study, Unblocking AI Growth Zones, argues that outdated regulatory processes, environmental approvals and pressure on the electricity grid could slow or derail major data centre projects. The authors say that while private investment of more than £30 billion has been committed to new sites, barriers in the planning system may prevent projects from being delivered quickly enough to compete internationally. (more…)

Not just cuckoo clocks. Why Switzerland is the world’s most innovative country

Not just cuckoo clocks. Why Switzerland is the world’s most innovative country

by • Business, News, Technology

Switzerland retains its long-standing position as the world’s most innovative economy, followed closely by the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and SingaporeIn Orson Welles’ famous scene-stealing cameo in The Third Man, his character Harry Lime comes out with that (in)famous speech about Swiss culture. “In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance,” he says. “In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” This does the Swiss a disservice in a number of ways, not least that a major new report claims that Switzerland is maintaining a long tradition as the most innovative country in the world. (more…)

Yale study finds little evidence that AI is taking people’s jobs

Yale study finds little evidence that AI is taking people’s jobs

by • AI, News

A new analysis from the Budget Lab at Yale University has found little sign that AI is having a measurable impact on the composition of the US workforceA new analysis from the Budget Lab at Yale University has found little sign that artificial intelligence is having a measurable impact on the composition of the US workforce, despite widespread debate about its potential to transform the jobs market and reduce levels of employment. The study, led by Martha Gimbel, Molly Kinder, Joshua Kendall and Maddie Lee, examined monthly labour market data since the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022. (more…)

Business leaders are told to move fast and break things. But sometimes they shouldn’t

Business leaders are told to move fast and break things. But sometimes they shouldn’t

by • Business, Comment

Business leaders are often told to embrace uncertainty, shake things up, and move fast. But this mantra masks the dangers of disruption, which can just as easily harm as help.Business leaders are often told to embrace uncertainty, shake things up, and move fast. But this mantra masks the dangers of disruption, which can just as easily harm as help. In recent research with Richard Haynes, Ingo Marquart, and Hai Anh Vu, we examined a disruptive leadership approach called “annealing.” My summary view: Although annealing can prompt change and innovation, most leaders should pause and reflect before trying. (more…)

Service charges rise as firms invest to encourage people to spend more time in the office

Service charges rise as firms invest to encourage people to spend more time in the office

by • Flexible working, News, Property

Office occupiers faced a 9 percent increase in service charges last year as landlords and managing agents invested more heavily in maintenance and amenities to encourage people back into workplacesOffice occupiers faced a 9 percent increase in service charges last year as landlords and managing agents invested more heavily in maintenance and amenities to encourage people back into physical workplaces. The findings come from BDO’s latest PropCost benchmarking report, which tracks more than £600 million of expenditure across over 1,000 commercial properties. The data shows the average cost increase for offices followed a 15 percent rise the previous year, underlining the pressure on both landlords and tenants from higher running costs. (more…)

Mandates fail to bring people back to the office, but design and flexibility might

Mandates fail to bring people back to the office, but design and flexibility might

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

Rigid return-to-office mandates are doing little to increase attendance, according to new research from international design practice Hassell. The firm’s latest Workplace Futures Survey, titled The Mandate Mirage, suggests that the real motivator for people to work in person is choice, particularly when supported by offices designed to offer more than just a desk. The sixth edition of the survey, which polled 3,000 office workers across the UK, US, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea, finds that strict policies are more likely to generate dissatisfaction than compliance. In the UK, poorly executed mandates cut compliance by up to 41 percent, while organisations that offered bonuses or travel subsidies saw attendance increase by a third. Recently renovated offices also boosted in-person working by 15 percent. (more…)

Mitsubishi Estate announces £800 million London Southbank mixed use development

Mitsubishi Estate announces £800 million London Southbank mixed use development

by • News, Property

The Japanese developer will deliver a 600,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme, to be called Vista, which will combine offices, studios, galleries and exhibition areas. As part of the development, 40,000 sq ft has been allocated as affordable workspace for creative businesses, a measure intended to support start-ups and smaller firms in the sector.Mitsubishi Estate has announced plans to invest £800 million in the redevelopment of the former ITV Studios site on London’s South Bank, a project that is expected to create 4,000 jobs and provide significant new space for the capital’s creative industries. The Japanese developer will deliver a 600,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme, to be called Vista, which will combine offices, studios, galleries and exhibition areas. As part of the development, 40,000 sq ft has been allocated as affordable workspace for creative businesses, a measure intended to support start-ups and smaller firms in the sector.

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Exhibitors to look out for at Workspace Design Show in Amsterdam

Exhibitors to look out for at Workspace Design Show in Amsterdam

by • Company news, Furniture, Workplace design

This November, Workspace Design Show returns to RAI Amsterdam, Hall 5 with the theme Activate the Senses — transforming the exhibition floor into a vibrant journey through sound, light, texture, and space. Over two inspiring days, 5–6 November 2025, the Benelux workplace design community will gather to explore how multi-sensory design is reshaping the way we work. Alongside 150+ international exhibitors, visitors will encounter interactive features and installations created by the likes of Biophilic Design Academy, Casper Schwarz Architects, UNS, Mecanoo, and Tank Design. (more…)

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