Search Results for: Gen Z

Offices valued as a place to get work done, not just connect

Offices valued as a place to get work done, not just connect

The Workplace Survey from the Gensler Research Institute sets out to explore how offices can more successfully support peopleThe latest Workplace Survey from the Gensler Research Institute sets out to explore how employees are spending their time as they return to the office, how offices can more successfully support them, and the strategic design interventions that will have the biggest impact on the workplace experience. As companies consider the future of their workplaces, the new data suggests that U.S. employees are looking for offices that are both highly effective and offer a desirable mix of experiences. The highest-performing workplaces are those that support all modes of work, offer a wide range of experiences, and are located in amenity-rich buildings and/or neighbourhoods. (more…)

Half of people never thought they’d be back working in an office last year

Half of people never thought they’d be back working in an office last year

More than half of UK employees did not believe they would return to office based work full time in 2022, according to a survey by GlobalDataMore than half of UK employees did not believe they would return to office based work full time in 2022, according to a survey by GlobalData. The poll from the analytics company which focuses its research on the insurance sector  suggests that increasing consumer demand for flexible working models presents both challenges and opportunities. GlobalData’s survey, conducted as part of research for its Insurance Intelligence Center, indicates that only 40 percent of those surveyed anticipated a return to the office in 2022. (more…)

AI presents us with a chance to rediscover what it means to be human

AI presents us with a chance to rediscover what it means to be human

We won't beat AI by relying on formulaic thinking and ideas, so we need to rethink creativity and what it means to be humanLike a lot of people right now, I am struggling to get my head around where we are going with AI. Look around and you’ll see the breathless excitement at the sheer amazingness of it all. And examples of its limitations, how it screws up, how military grade AI can be fooled by somebody hiding in a box, and its sense of humour failure. All of this is demonstrably, paradoxically true. (more…)

Vast majority of IT managers prioritise commercial success over sustainability

Vast majority of IT managers prioritise commercial success over sustainability

A new poll claims that the vast majority of tech managers prioritise commercial success over sustainability, despite the fact that nearly all agree with the idea that sustainability is good for businessA new poll claims that the vast majority of tech managers prioritise commercial success over sustainability, despite the fact that nearly all agree with the idea that sustainability is good for business. The report from Software AG is based on a survey of 2,000 senior IT decision-makers from the US, Canada, UK, Germany and France. It suggests that most organisations prioritise commercial objectives over sustainability in the face of economic challenges. This is despite the fact that almost all (95 percent) leaders agree sustainability is either a top or high priority and a similar number (97 percent) agree that other firms’ sustainability credentials are either essential or important in their own buying decisions. The annual Reality Check reports seeks to investigate how technology initiatives can benefit both sustainability and commercial objectives. (more…)

A workplace for entrepreneurial mindsets to thrive should be your goal

A workplace for entrepreneurial mindsets to thrive should be your goal

Workplace entrepreneurial mindsetThese days it seems like everyone is looking to become more entrepreneurial. It’s a word that’s often used by big companies on the hunt for innovative thinkers and new ways of doing things. But sadly, the workplace doesn’t always work for those with entrepreneurial minds. It is too rigid, too hierarchical, too conventional. Entrepreneurs, by nature, are rule-breakers, always looking for new opportunities and fresh ideas that could change the world. From my research, they differ from other businesspeople in some fundamental ways – six ways, to be exact. (more…)

TOG opens what it claims is Central London’s tallest mass timber office building

TOG opens what it claims is Central London’s tallest mass timber office building

Flexible office provider TOG has announced the opening of its first project built from the ground upFlexible office provider TOG has announced the opening of its first project built from the ground up – The Black & White Building, located in Shoreditch. The firm claims that The Black & White Building is Central London’s tallest mass timber office, standing at 17.8 metres high and covering 38,315 sq ft. The workspace has been built using renewable materials and innovative construction methods, which TOG claims results in embodied carbon creation being reduced by 37 percent compared with a concrete structure of the same size. (more…)

How the 21st Century office was born in post war Europe

How the 21st Century office was born in post war Europe

Central Beheer Building There was a curious addition to a 2016 report on the Top 10 Technologies Driving the Digital Workplace from tech researchers Gartner. It wasn’t a technology at all but rather a slightly obscure office design concept that originated in Hamburg in the late 1950s, but which tells us a lot about how we work in the 21st Century office, according to Gartner. Its history lies with the German consulting firm Quickborner. Led by the brothers Eberhard and Wolfgang Schnelle, the firm applied the egalitarian principles of the post war world and rejection of the scientific management theories that had created the familiar factory-like rows of desks that had come to dominate open plan offices to create something more in tune with the new age.

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Wellbeing and organisational agility will dominate workplace conversations in 2023

Wellbeing and organisational agility will dominate workplace conversations in 2023

Mental health and wellbeing will dominate conversations about the role of work in people's lives this yearMental health and wellbeing will dominate conversations about the role of work in people’s lives this year, due in part to the effects of the global pandemic, as well as social and economic instability around the world, according to the latest megatrends report from UKG. The report claims that many people are feeling overwhelmed in the face of negative news cycles headlining economic uncertainty, climate change, violence, and political unrest have contributed to a spike in mental wellbeing issues. (more…)

What IS hybrid working?

What IS hybrid working?

A man working at a laptop in a pub to illustrate the possible definition of hybrid working In an uncharacteristically Waddellian moment*, the Word of the Year for 2022 according to The Economist was ‘hybrid work’. Yet despite its ubiquity, in the comparative calm of social channels over the holiday period lurked claims that no-one knows what hybrid working is. Even though millions of people are doing it. Given that such an assertion came as a surprise, there was only ever going to be one opening post for 2023: an attempt to explain it. (more…)

Never mind the workplace predictions, here’s some bollocks

Never mind the workplace predictions, here’s some bollocks

A painting of Janus to depict the number of workplace predictions and retrospectives at the end of the yearTime of the year for looking backwards and forwards. For workplace predictions and retrospectives. The Economist announces that the word / term of the year is hybrid work. This is interesting because, although The Economist is using it as an interchangeable term for flexible working as many do, a great deal of energy is still expounded on defining exactly what it means. We may work out when the obsession with three days in the office, two at home thing started. But for now, determining where people are at any given time doesn’t seem very flexible to me. (more…)

Flokk brand Connection opens new state of the art manufacturing facility and offices in the UK

Flokk brand Connection opens new state of the art manufacturing facility and offices in the UK

Staff gather outside the new Connection facility, a part of the Flokk GroupConnection, the latest brand to join European office furniture giant Flokk group have opened a bespoke designed and built manufacturing facility, housing warehouses and offices in Mirfield, Yorkshire. Attending the opening were Lars Røiri, CEO of Flokk and René Sitter, Senior Vice President, Central Europe, as well as key stakeholders to celebrate with the Connection team. (more…)

Bisley introduces Outline to epitomise the modern way of working

Bisley introduces Outline to epitomise the modern way of working

A Bisley outline work areaBisley has introduced its Outline frame collection designed with flexibility and modern working in mind. Inspired by the need for versatile and open space environments, Outline works not only as a zone divider but also as a display and storage unit – ideal for establishing distinctive areas to work, collaborate and relax. (more…)