Search Results for: business

October 15, 2015

New research uncovers hours lost due to bad tech, meetings and distractions ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace

According to the Productivity at the Office report published this week by comms firm Jabra, UK businesses are continuing to find the creation of a productive workplace challenging. According to the study, although businesses are investing proactively in time and tools for skilled professional office-based staff to effectively collaborate and concentrate with each other, employees continue to face up to 17 different distractions throughout each working day, attend unproductive meetings and struggle to use technology that was originally intended to improve productivity. Amongst the key findings of the report are that 36 percent of respondents think office meetings diminish productivity, 46 percent think noise levels are the most distracting issue in the office and 28 percent are annoyed by too many emails, though 78 percent would rather send an email than make a call to resolve an issue.

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October 14, 2015

Workspace shortage as office to residential rights made permanent ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

The British Council for Offices (BCO) has warned that the UK needs to avoid a free-for-all following the government’s announcement it is to make permanent the relaxation of planning rules on the conversion of office to residential properties. According to recent BCO research, changes to the Permitted Development Right for office to residential conversion led to over 6 million sq ft of office space in England being converted to residential use in 2014. Some of the most concentrated commercial property markets have been significantly affected by this. In London, office to residential conversions are now occurring at a faster pace than ever before with 2.7 million sq feet of office space lost to residential conversions since May 2013. London Assembly Member Nicky Gavron questioned the decision to extend the scheme saying that it will reduce the availability of affordable workspace required by start-ups and small businesses in the capital.

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October 13, 2015

Third of employers admit rise in numbers of staff coming to work when ill ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Nearly a third of employers have reported an increase in people coming to work while they are ill, according to the annual CIPD / Simplyhealth Absence Management Survey. The survey of nearly 600 employers found that 31 percent have seen an increase in ‘presenteeism’ in the last year. It also claims that any increase is likely to be associated with a culture in which working long hours is seen to be the norm and where operational demands take precedence over wellbeing. Employers that have noticed an increase in presenteeism are nearly twice as likely as those that haven’t to report an increase in stress-related absence, and more than twice as likely to report an increase in mental health problems amongst its staff. However, despite this, nearly three-fifths (56 percent) of organisations that have reported an increase in presenteeism haven’t taken any steps in order to discourage it.

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October 12, 2015

How workplace design is more closely reflecting how we actually work ⁰

by Adrian Campbell • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

In years gone by, a ‘one size fits all’ approach to office design might have been the norm, but as the decades have progressed, so too have the options available to businesses designing ‘homes from home’ for their office-based workforces. As new interpretations of the office environment proliferated, so the open plan model came to into being and eventually evolved into the default office design model. This initially brought greater variety than ever before but, ultimately, a one size fits all mentality in workplace design ultimately prevailed – every worker was expected to work in certain ways, utilising the equipment and furniture supplied and designed for them. From inception through to occupancy, the average new office involves a six-year period of design and construction involving varying teams of people discussing the best and most attractive solution for the actual end user.

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October 8, 2015

Employers admit to an ad-hoc approach to flexible working practices ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Organisations tend to take a flexible approach to the provision of flexible working a new global report into agile working trends claims. According to a study by WorldatWork and FlexJobs, while the majority of companies surveyed (80 percent) offer flexible work to employees, only 37 percent have a formal, written philosophy or policy to support employee flexibility options. From 2011 to 2015, flexibility programs have varied according to the type of programme offered and the organization’s demographics, industry and culture, with the most prevalent flexibility programmes being telework days on an ad-hoc basis, flex time and compressed workweeks. And according to the data, mastering a culture of workplace flexibility is not something that organizations do on the first or even second try. It’s an evolutionary process that occurs as employees tap into what they need to achieve work-life effectiveness.

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October 7, 2015

Technology and Trends 15 events offer vision of the future of work ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Events, Facilities management, Insight promotion, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

A series of executive briefings taking place next week in Central London offers you the chance to learn about the next generation of technologies and their impact on the workplace, working practices and office design. Insight readers can enjoy a 15 percent discount by using this link. Tickets are going fast with some sessions already sold out, so we’d encourage you to book as soon as possible. Technology & Trends 2015 offers an expert analysis on new technologies such as the Internet of Things, Bluetooth Low Energy, iBeacons, smart buildings, wayfinding apps and collaboration tools such as Skype for Business and Surface Hub. Aimed at facilities managers, corporate real estate managers, architects and designers, IT managers and HR professionals, the event takes place at Herman Miller’s National Design Centre. Full details of the event can be found here.

October 7, 2015

Why Jeremy Hunt is wrong about the need to work long hours ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

This week the UK’s Health Secretary found himself at the centre of a storm because of some comments he’d made suggesting that eroding one of the UK’s welfare platforms would encourage people to work as hard as the ‘Chinese and Americans’. Most of the backlash against these comments was political, so make your own mind up on that score, but they don’t stack up from a practical point of view either. The British already work some of the longest hours in Europe so encouraging people to work more will do little or nothing to resolve the productivity puzzle, as a 2014 report from the Bank of England confirms. Of course, we should all have worked out by now that long hours and productivity are not the same thing. It’s been a longstanding issue in the UK where people manage to combine some of the longest working hours in Europe with levels of productivity that fall habitually behind those of our partners on the mainland.

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October 7, 2015

Millennial workers value variety over job security and tenure ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Employers may continuously be looking at ways to engage staff to ensure they still loyal to the organisation, but according to new research it seems they needn’t bother. Over one third (37 percent) of US workers — regardless of their satisfaction level — are seriously considering leaving their organizations, up from 33 percent of the workforce who were considering leaving in 2011. According to Mercer’s latest Inside Employees’ Mind research, which surveyed 3,000 people representing a complete cross-section of the US workforce, nearly one out of two employees who said they are very satisfied with their organizations and their jobs (45 percent and 42 percent, respectively) are still looking to leave. And perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s the Millennial workers who seem to value accelerated career paths and diversity (in the workplace and the work itself) over job security and tenure.

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October 6, 2015

Apple agrees deal for new tech palace and campus in California ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property, Technology

According to a report published in the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Apple is planning to add another tech palace to run alongside its Norman Foster designed campus in California. This time Apple is not commissioning a purpose made building but is buying one off the shelf, albeit one marked ‘exactly the sort of place Apple would occupy’. The HOK designed Central and Wolfe campus in Sunnyvale will house 3,000 employees in three connected six storey offices set in landscaped grounds that include walks, bike paths and retail and leisure facilities. The campus is designed to achieve a LEED Platinum accreditation so includes green roofs, solar panelling and water reclamation technology. According to the report: “The campus promises to dramatically alter a neighborhood dominated by single-storey industrial and R&D buildings. While Apple has been snapping up existing buildings all over the neighborhood, the massive new campus could become a new icon for the region.”

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October 6, 2015

Commercial property markets in world cities are evolving rapidly ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

The commercial property markets in the world’s major cities are evolving against a backdrop of ongoing economic and political uncertainty, according to the new 12 Cities Report from Savills. The authors suggest that the main consequence of this since 2008 has been for investors to switch their focus from paper assets to property. This in turn has led to a number of developments in local commercial property markets including global investors looking for alternatives to the major cities within key national economies. One of the key developments is that major tech firms are now willing to spend as much on their real estate as the previously dominant financial giants. One other interesting issue raised in the report is the growing inability of people to afford to live and work in the same place, especially in cities with restrictions on the amount of space available for development.

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October 6, 2015

Colleagues more positive towards older workers than employers ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

While the majority of UK professionals believe older workers make a valuable contribution to UK businesses, many struggle to find new employment, a report has found. The study from CV-Library found that 92.2 percent of workers believe older workers make a valuable contribution to UK businesses, 76.6 percent of staff believe that older workers bring years of experience and knowledge to an organisation that can’t be found in a younger worker and 92.7 percent of workers believe the mature staff should still be able to excel in the workplace. Yet although they received an overwhelming sense of respect from the UK workforce, it seems that the same regard for older workers is not echoed by employers. When asked to explain key issues on age in relation to work, seeking new employment was the most common concern, with almost half (46 percent) of 55-64 year olds considering age to be a hindrance.

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October 1, 2015

Employers plan to woo returning mothers with flexible working ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A fifth of UK businesses are planning to hire more returning mothers than they did a year ago, and are offering flexible working to attract them. New research from Regus claims returning mothers are valued by businesses because of their experience and skills, as well as reliability and time management. They are seen as less likely to change jobs, saving firms the cost of recruitment and re-training. Because the contrasting demands of motherhood and work are one of the main reasons women don’t return to work, respondents emphasised the important role flexible working plays in attracting female talent; with 81 percent believing that flexible working is key to attracting and retaining women. These workers are also valued for their experience and skills according to 73 percent of respondents and are seen as more reliable (24 percent) and organised (29 percent) than other staff.