Search Results for: Working from home

Turn your commercial buildings into virtual power plants

Turn your commercial buildings into virtual power plants

A new white paper from OakTree Power explains how an innovative technology called Green Demand Side Response (DSR) can help organisations transform their commercial buildings into a virtual power plant. Paradoxically, commercial buildings not only represent one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, but also have the potential to utilise their own electricity as a resource to sell back into the Grid – a process familiar to many domestic homeowners with solar panels or Tesla Powerwalls. More →

Is it time to ban out-of-hours emails?

Is it time to ban out-of-hours emails?

The global pandemic has blurred the lines between home and work for millions of people around the world. Where once there was a clear distinction between being on and off duty, the demands of remote working and ever-presence of smartphones has created an ‘always on’ culture in many organisations. The trend has led to a number organisations in the UK to now call for a ban on out-of-hours emails in order to alleviate pressures on employees mental health. But is this really necessary, or even logistically possible, for the new world of work? We asked four leading experts for their thoughts. More →

Cities could be more important post-pandemic, not less, suggests report

Cities could be more important post-pandemic, not less, suggests report

Manchester, one of the UK's great citiesParadoxically, more in-person work environments and the concentration of jobs in cities could be a medium- to long-term impact of the pandemic’s shift to remote working, suggests Citi GPS Technology at Work: The Coming of the Post-Production Society, a report produced by Citi and the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. The report cites the automation of manufacturing and clerical tasks alongside the potential for professional services jobs that can be done remotely to be done cheaper overseas as the start of a foundational shift in developed economies. The future of work in these countries, it suggests, could be based largely on innovation, exploration and creative thinking which require face-to-face interaction and geographic proximity. More →

For many people, there will be a return to regular office life by September, poll claims

For many people, there will be a return to regular office life by September, poll claims

returnMore than half (52 percent) of global companies anticipate a return to the office in earnest by the end of Q3 2021, according to new research by Unispace. However, over a third (35 percent) claim that devising a strategy for the future workplace is the most significant barrier they face. More →

Suburban commercial property markets outperform City Centres for first time in a decade

Suburban commercial property markets outperform City Centres for first time in a decade

suburbanResearch from The Instant Group claims that suburban commercial property markets are outperforming City Centres for the first time in over ten years. The increased demand is largely being driven by those who no longer want to work from home, but don’t want to be back in larger cities. More →

UK and Western Europe have least engaged employees

UK and Western Europe have least engaged employees

employeesGallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report claims that the UK and Western Europe have the lowest employee engagement levels globally at just 11 percent, but the region’s employees assessed themselves as having high life evaluations (55 percent are thriving) and low negative emotions compared with employees in many other world regions. More →

Never mind the agile workplace, here is something you already know

Never mind the agile workplace, here is something you already know

The myth has it that John Lydon’s audition for the Sex Pistols consisted largely of wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt with the words I HATE scrawled above the prog rock group’s name. It appealed to the new band’s managers and its existing members at a time when they needed a singer with the right attitude as much as the right chops. Before Lydon’s involvement, bass guitarist Glen Matlock had taken to approaching anybody he saw of his age group with short hair to ask them if they could sing. This was a time when everybody had long hair.

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Third of firms plan to reduce office space

Third of firms plan to reduce office space

office spaceMajor UK employers plan to reduce their office space by up to nine million square feet, equivalent to 14 Walkie Talkie buildings – the 37 floor high rise on London’s Fenchurch Street – according to PwC’s Occupier Survey of 258 of the UK largest companies. The fresh figures show half of the organisations surveyed expect to reduce the size of their real estate portfolio and, of these, one third believe they will reduce their office footprint by more than 30 percent. More →

Real Estate, HR and Technology leaders must collaborate to create a future of work fit for the 21st Century

Real Estate, HR and Technology leaders must collaborate to create a future of work fit for the 21st Century

An office that depicts the future of workHR leaders, heads of real estate and IT decision-makers have not always spent huge amounts of time working together – their roles and responsibilities have often been siloed. But in the new world of work, that’s all changing. These three groups of senior leaders are being asked to collaborate on one of the biggest challenges corporate occupiers, as they try to figure out when and how to return to office-based working and shape the future of work. Failure to collaborate will increase the probability of workplaces having low occupancy rates, low employee engagement and decreased productivity. More →

BT invests in landmark new Dundee office development

BT invests in landmark new Dundee office development

BT has today announced plans to develop a brand new, multi-million pound contact centre in Dundee which will become the new home to around 1,000 employees. The new office will be at West Marketgait in the heart of the city centre, close to the waterfront and part of a £1bn regeneration area. When the building is complete, expected in late 2023, the contact centre will be one of around 30 of BT’s new future-fit offices in the UK, developed as part of its ‘Better Workplace Programme’ – the largest workplace improvement and consolidation scheme of its type ever undertaken in the UK. More →

The power of nudge: How behavioural science and AI can improve workplace wellbeing

The power of nudge: How behavioural science and AI can improve workplace wellbeing

workplace wellbeingWhen the global pandemic struck last year, many companies were forced to close offices and enable employees to work remotely – bringing forward their digital transformation roadmap by a good few year.  A year on, and while it seems that the Covid-19 restrictions are reducing, there is unlikely to be a complete shift back to the office. Instead, most companies are now planning to adopt a hybrid work model; with employees working a mix of in-office or remotely. More →

Majority of employers looking to shift to flexible work arrangements

Majority of employers looking to shift to flexible work arrangements

workThe COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition away from traditional workforce models, and 56 percent of companies are expecting to shift more of their roles to contingent, project or contract work as a result, according to a new report by Randstad Sourceright. More →