Search Results for: change

The importance of patience in the workplace

The importance of patience in the workplace

patienceEmpirical studies on patience have demonstrated the positive effects it can have on creativity, product quality, collaboration and productivity as well as the long-term sustainability of companies. Being patient means listening, observing, waiting for information to come, consulting other people and seeking relationships that provide new resources to make good decisions. Patience is good for ourselves and others. (more…)

Self employment boom continues to shape UK cities

Self employment boom continues to shape UK cities

self employment in Uk citiesNew research from the Centre for Cities claims that we are still seeing the long-lasting consequences of the post-financial crisis self-employment boom in the UK’s cities. But too many people working for themselves lack access to training – raising concerns about their long-term security and many cities’ future economic strength. (more…)

What people want from an office is pretty basic

What people want from an office is pretty basic

what people want from an officeFollowing recent reports from the likes of Boss and Leesman as well as the work of Neil Usher in his book The Elemental Workplace, a new study from Workthere confirms that what people want from an office is primarily basic stuff such as comfort and privacy. (more…)

How the Dutch pioneered agile working, wellbeing and smart buildings

How the Dutch pioneered agile working, wellbeing and smart buildings

Edge AmsterdamMany of the challenges we face in selecting the right office design models became apparent during the 1960s as the world adjusted to the first signs of the technological revolution. At the same time, people across Europe were pressing for changes in the way organisations and the economy worked. (more…)

Workers would prefer to lose a job to a robot than a human

Workers would prefer to lose a job to a robot than a human

robot headA new study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour from academics at the Technical University of Munich and the Rotterdam School of Management claims that most people would prefer to be replaced in their job by a robot rather than another human. The study asked 2,000 workers in Europe and North America to respond to one of two scenarios in which they had to decide on the future of the workforce in an independent organisation or another organisation for which they themselves work which had decided to replace its current workforce completely with either robots or new human staff. (more…)

The unexpected benefits of not saying sorry

The unexpected benefits of not saying sorry

sorry blackboardOn October 5th 2018, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons said sorry about something on social media 151 times between them. There were no product recalls. It was just a normal day on corporate social media. I picked that date because it just happened to be the same day that Topshop apologised for removing a feminist book display and it made for a handy comparison. The book display apology got the headlines, but in the shadows of Topshop’s high-profile faux pas, four of Britain’s largest retailers were busy asking forgiveness too. (more…)

Organisations must meet needs of young parents or risk failure

Organisations must meet needs of young parents or risk failure

Organisations face a problem that could impact their very survival. Parents want to be supported by their employers during the transition to becoming working parents, but organisations are currently ill-equipped to deal with parental leave, or to keep people engaged throughout it. In a world of relentless change, companies failing to react to and meet the expectations of this part of their workforce risk disaster. (more…)

Workplaces should slow down and flex to improve wellbeing

Workplaces should slow down and flex to improve wellbeing

workplaces of the futureBy 2030 we will see dramatic change as office design creates hyper-flexible, human-centric workplaces to inspire new levels of productivity, according to the Workplace Futures report by Nespresso Professional and The Future Laboratory. This implies a fundamental shift not only in how offices look, but –more importantly -in the purpose they serve. (more…)

WeWork, false narratives and the superstate of office design

WeWork, false narratives and the superstate of office design

WeWork New YorkSo, WeWork then. As the dust settles on whatever has happened, some lessons may be emerging. Many of them are presented in this comment in The Economist and this piece in The Intelligencer in which Scott Galloway of NYU Business School claims that the problems have been evident for a long time. He doesn’t hold back. (more…)

Working hours and the truth about the demands we meet

Working hours and the truth about the demands we meet

As reported recently, Labour’s John McDonnell says that his party would introduce a 32-hour working week. Very French. What’s more, he states that this should not impact on people’s wages because ‘People should work to live, not live to work’. Don’t disagree there. However, for a vast number of workers this isn’t viable; especially in the knowledge economy. Admittedly, there will be people in factories, call centres, etc who will be relieved at the prospect of fewer working hours and more hours with loved ones. (more…)

Workplace experience fails to meet expectations in many new projects

Workplace experience fails to meet expectations in many new projects

The Edge in Amsterdam offers a world class workplace experienceThe latest report from workplace analysts Leesman explores the success rate of workplace change projects while analysing the factors behind why many fail. The Workplace Experience Revolution Part 2: Do new workplaces work is the product of a nine-year analysis across 557,959 employee responses in 3,932 workplaces worldwide. The first part of the study, published in 2018, unearthed what it claimed was a series of mission-critical ‘super drivers’ that provide the foundations for outstanding employee workplace experience. Part 2 takes this investigation further by exploring the challenges and stresses that organisations encounter when it comes to delivering employee experience in a new workplace.

(more…)

Best workplaces in UK honoured at BCO Awards

Best workplaces in UK honoured at BCO Awards

best workplaces in uk BCO AwardsLondon’s 2 Television Centre was celebrated as ‘Best of the Best’ at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) National Awards in the capital last night, also taking home the ‘Commercial Workplace’ award. The office was joined by six other award winners recognised as leading examples of excellence in office space. (more…)