June 30, 2020
Search Results for: benefits
June 30, 2020
Companies fail to consider employee needs during digital transformation
by George Eltringham • News, Technology
Lenovo has published a new study which claims that organisations are placing business and shareholder goals above employee needs during their digital transformation. The research, conducted among 1,000 IT managers across EMEA, suggests that just 6 percent of IT managers consider users as their top priority when making technology investments. (more…)
June 29, 2020
Winners announced for 2020 KI Award from Royal College of Art and Imperial College
by Freddie Steele • Company news
The winners of the annual KI Award, now in its fifth year, were announced in the lead up to the upcoming digital graduation show. The awards and cash prizes are given to final year students selected from the RCA’s ‘Design Products’ and the RCA/Imperial College London’s ‘Innovation Design Engineering’ double masters course. The winning projects showed an outstanding approach to functionality, durability, sustainability and enhancement to user experience for our future working or learning experiences. A summary of each award winner is included below. (more…)
June 24, 2020
The links between coffee, shared ideas and the office go back a long way
by Mark Barrell • Briefing, Premium Content, Wellbeing, Workplace design
The BBC recently published a piece on its website to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Ridley Scott’s movie Alien and what it could tell us about office design and the workplace (of whatever sort). One of the interesting points raised in the piece was how the depiction of the conditions on board the spaceship Nostromo did away with the gloss and swish of previous visions of the future, replaced by grime, exposed services and strictly utilitarian interiors. The environment was one of the characters, a trick Ridley Scott later repeated in Bladerunner. (more…)
June 24, 2020
Carers consider giving up work due to lack of employer support
by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Working culture
New research suggests that almost half (44 percent) of working carers in England and Wales, equivalent to around 1.6 million people, are struggling to cope with the pressures of balancing their work and caring responsibilities – and that a quarter (24 percent) have considered giving up their job entirely. These are the findings in a newly published report, titled “Supporting working carers: How employers and employees can benefit”, from the CIPD and The University of Sheffield. (more…)
June 23, 2020
BBP and BSRIA publish new soft landings report for property owners
by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property
Better Buildings Partnership, together with BSRIA (Building Services Research and Information Association), has today published the joint report: Soft Landings: The Benefits to Commercial Property Owners. The commercial property sector is waking up to the fact that it needs to take responsibility on climate change and there is a broad recognition that a significant gap exists between the design expectations and operational performance of buildings. Part of taking climate action involves minimising this gap, the report’s authors claim. (more…)
June 17, 2020
Time to apply the lessons we learned during lockdown
by Louise Bancroft • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing
So far, 2020 has not gone to plan. For businesses, and the people they employ, the next few months may be just as bumpy, as each country, state and city takes its own approach to a phased return to work after lockdown. Today, in Houston, offices are limited to 25 percent capacity, in London, the underground is capped at 13-15 percent capacity, while in New Zealand and other countries hospitality and retail are returning with heightened hygiene measures and social distancing in place. (more…)
June 15, 2020
Wellbeing for remote workers should not be lost in translation
by Brendan Street • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the world of work – seeing many businesses remote working – employers are learning more about the importance of effective communication. Diminished in-person contact can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness among employees. And managers are also facing new challenges in providing the level of social interaction and support that is crucial in maintaining the mental health wellbeing of employees while away from the office. (more…)
June 15, 2020
The here and now, no BS guide to the workplace
by Colin Macgadie • Company news, Workplace design
For years, forward-thinking employers have offered a choice of work spaces to match the varying levels of concentration and collaboration different tasks demand. And those spaces included employee’s homes. In March, all organisations were suddenly bounced by the COVID-19 restrictions into supporting homeworking for their office employees. It’s too early to say what lasting impact this will have on work patterns, though it’s a fair guess that the effective mass trial of remote working could trigger a cultural shift as more employers and employees see the benefits of using the home as an extension of the workplace, when it suits both parties. Research commissioned by BDG in April found that of 200 CEOs surveyed, almost one in four believes the long-term impact of COVID-19 will be “continued remote working”. (more…)
June 12, 2020
Fewer than one-third of UK employees feel a sense of belonging
by George Eltringham • News, Working culture
Just 32 percent of UK office workers feel as though they completely belong within their company, despite this being essential in order for employees to feel motivated and loyal, according to new research. Over a third claim they have no bond with their employer at all. (more…)






According to research conducted by conference call provider 






Environmental concerns and the changing work landscape could lead to a noticeable drop in both domestic and international business travel, as nearly half of UK workers (48 percent) are concerned about its negative environmental impact, according to new research from 




June 19, 2020
We are in danger of reanimating some bad ideas about work
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Working culture