Search Results for: bco

Is your office worth the journey it takes to get to it?

Is your office worth the journey it takes to get to it?

Bishopsgate officeA couple of years ago, in the wake of a surge in self-care start-ups and viral diet fads, Forbes declared 2019 as the year of the “wellness revolution”. Three years and a global pandemic later, the revolution appears to have swept our offices. Why? Quite simply, we have woken up to the fact that we could be productive remotely, while also realising the risks of not accommodating employee wellbeing in the office. More →

An office reset was what we all needed, and wanted

An office reset was what we all needed, and wanted

The UK's best officePressing the ‘reset’ button is never easy. But I’m a firm believer that, once we do, we become much less averse than we perhaps expected to the change it inevitably brings. This is particularly true of the past eighteen months. From all of the sadness and hardship endured, we are beginning to emerge into a new, changed way of living. One that is both familiar and altogether different. The dichotomy is particularly evident in our workplaces. For many sections of the economy, the office was the ecosystem of our daily working lives. Initial questions of whether the office would survive quickly fell by the wayside, and a more interesting, nuanced, debate of what we want the office to be began. More →

Changing workplace means a changing role for finance heads

Changing workplace means a changing role for finance heads

pwc workplaceThe CFO and Finance Director role is undergoing rapid change. Not only are they required to manage the traditional priorities of the job, but they must now also juggle a wide array of operational, transactional and commercial responsibilities. With added pressure from clients because of Covid-19 and a rapidly evolving workplace, the role is increasingly hard to navigate. To gain a deeper insight into this and the evolution and future planning of a department that is central to the success of modern businesses, Totum recently surveyed CFOs and Finance Directors from among UK headquartered legal firms with annual revenue of £20m or more. More →

The weird science of personal creativity

The weird science of personal creativity

creativityPerhaps the most famous single act of personal creativity – with apologies to Archimedes – is Mary Godwin’s moment of inspiration for the story of Frankenstein in 1816. It was born from a wet summer in a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva, largely spent with her future husband Percy Shelley, John Polidori and Lord Byron. The poor weather and isolation meant the party had to entertain themselves the best they could. More →

Jooxter launches new Essential Collaboration Pack to help people plan where they work

Jooxter launches new Essential Collaboration Pack to help people plan where they work

Jooxter has announced the expansion of its operations into the UK and Ireland. Jooxter is a leading provider of smart workplace solutions designed to help businesses manage their digital workplace strategy by optimising building occupancy, managing workspaces and enabling collaboration. Founded in France in 2014 by CEO Fabien Girerd, Jooxter offers web and mobile applications combined with QR codes and IoT networks to provide real-time visualisation of a building’s occupancy and analytics. This gives companies a smart way of managing and optimising the use of the office space they have. More →

From the archive: A new approach to office design is redefining property

From the archive: A new approach to office design is redefining property 0

office design At the end of the 18th Century it was becoming apparent that overpopulation was something the human race would need to address for perhaps the first time. Advances in technology and the urbanisation that followed the Industrial Revolution had created a new set of challenges. These were most famously laid out in a 1798 book called An Essay on the Principle of Population, written by an English cleric called Thomas Malthus.

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Indoor air quality is more important than ever, and Tarkett is leading the way

Indoor air quality is more important than ever, and Tarkett is leading the way

indoor air quality and TarkettThe pandemic has certainly opened our eyes to the importance of constantly washing our hands, sterilising everything in sight and realising just how far germs can travel through the air, causing us to wince at the thought of a time where we huddled on public transport without masks. However, as we contemplate heading back to the office in the near future, businesses need to translate these learnings into workplace design and move indoor air quality to the top of the agenda. More →

The new dimensions of workplace wellbeing

The new dimensions of workplace wellbeing

A healthy, engaged and productive work environment starts with conversations about people’s needs. So whether you have always been on a co-located team or are a veteran of remote work, there are new circumstances and the old rulebook doesn’t quite help. The change has been sudden, in a sustained moment of uncertainty, and has disrupted employee routines and support structures. More →

Zoom fatigue is real and has four basic causes

Zoom fatigue is real and has four basic causes

zoom fatigueThe much discussed idea of Zoom fatigue turns out to be a real phenomenon according to new peer reviewed research from Stanford academics. The study published in the American Psychological Association’s journal Technology, Mind, and Behaviour found that meetings conducted via video calls leave participants feeling more exhausted and emotionally drained than those held face to face. The study found the four most important factors that make video calls so exhausting; the constant need for eye contact, the ability to see one’s own face constantly during meetings, the need to sit still for long periods and difficulties in interpreting or communicating via body language. More →

The link between wellbeing and green design is driving material innovation

The link between wellbeing and green design is driving material innovation

wellbeing and green building designOne of the most interesting developments in the way we talk about the design of buildings in recent years is how the issue of wellbeing has found an overlap with environmental concerns. We know instinctively that these are natural partners. What is good for the environment almost always has a direct beneficial effect on people’s physical and mental health, as well as their productivity. More →

Covid-19 will transform the way technology is used in offices

Covid-19 will transform the way technology is used in offices

technologyA new paper from the British Council for Offices outlines how technology is being used in offices to combat Covid-19. While offices may be shut in the UK until 2nd December at the earliest, the paper outlines how the sector is adapting and embracing a range of new technology to ensure that offices can comply with hygiene and social distancing measures. More →

Leadership in a new age of virtuality

Leadership in a new age of virtuality

workplace leadershipWe are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work. The pandemic has forced organisations to go virtual. New government guidelines, including a tiered alert system, suggest that this will be the norm for the foreseeable future. But step back from the noise and it is easy to see how the current crisis is simply accelerating the inevitable. A confluence of forces, including advancements in technology and infrastructure, increasing globalisation, shifting demographics and COVID-19, has enabled greater connectivity and mobility, making obvious to organisations, their leadership and individuals the wisdom of adopting flexible work models. More →