March 28, 2019

Managers frustrated by email from colleagues in the same building

Over a third of managers find it frustrating when colleagues email them when they are based in the same building, according to a new survey from 247meeting. The study of 2,000 managers with varying degrees of seniority claims that 36 percent find it frustrating when colleagues email them when they are based in the same building, proving that face-to-face interaction is still the preferred communication at work. Other irritants described in the report include lack of communication from senior management and lunchtime meetings (cited by 41 percent). Overall the two most preferred forms of communication are face to face meetings and phone calls. More →

March 28, 2019

Millions more people say they would like to work as freelancers

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The so-called gig economy is likely to increase dramatically over the next few years, new research suggests. Along with over 8 million people who currently work on a freelance basis, over 5 million more say they would like to go freelance. The data collated by Direct Line for Business claims that 5.3 million people (10 per cent) dream of becoming their own boss in the future, by embracing a career as a freelancer. This is in addition to the 8.6 million (16 per cent) who currently freelance and are either full time self-employed or carry out contract work alongside their main jobs.

March 28, 2019

Gender diversity celebrated at London event

by George Eltringham • News

Intuit UK yesterday hosted almost 200 women, with diverse backgrounds across class, ethnicity and age, who are part of The Pipeline’s alumni of their Leadership Summit programme. Over 50 percent of women in the room who attended Leadership Summit have been promoted or have broadened their role since finishing the programme.
More →

March 27, 2019

The pursuit of happiness, lumpy tech, space science and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Underlying most of the stuff you read about the workplace is the quest for happiness. Indeed happiness has become something of a preoccupation for those pondering the issue at the apex of social and economic thinking, as epitomised by Gallup with its latest World Happiness report. As always, the Gallup report stumbles over definitions of happiness, often using the word interchangeably with wellbeing and stuffs it with other ideas without explaining how or even whether they contribute to happiness.

March 27, 2019

New book on the future of work argues that the office is not just surviving, but thriving

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property, Workplace design

A new book from RIBA Publishing, which examines the future office, argues that despite predictions that the office is on the verge of extinction, it is not only surviving, but thriving. Digital technologies have spurred this transformation, and with it, the metamorphosis of our entire working environment. The office of today can vary from a sweeping open expanse of ergonomic, futuristic workstations, to a local coffee shop. Future Office: Next-Generation Workplace Design debates tradition, change, and the future of how we work and where.

March 26, 2019

Automation could replace 1.5 million UK jobs, according to Government study

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology

Around 1.5 million jobs in England are at high risk of some of their duties and tasks being automated in the future, Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis shows. The ONS has analysed the jobs of 20 million people in England in 2017, and has found that 7.4 percent are at high risk of automation. Women, young people, and those who work part-time are most likely to work in roles that are at high risk of automation. More →

March 26, 2019

CIPD report finds employers can do more for women going through the menopause

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

CIPD: employers need to do more to help women going through the menopause The majority of working women experiencing the menopause say it has a negative impact on them at work, finds a new survey from the CIPD. The research found that three out of five (59 percent) working women between the ages of 45 and 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms were finding it impacted them at work. In response, the CIPD has launched free guidance on managing the menopause at work to help break the silence surrounding the topic. More →

March 26, 2019

Majority of UK business leaders believe costs and red tape will rise after Brexit

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Workplace

Over half (58 percent) of UK business leaders expect costs to rise after Brexit, even if a deal is struck and just over a third (38 percent) believe that access to local business funding and grants will also become more challenging post-Brexit, claims a new survey from Vistage. Respondents were also sceptical about the so-called ‘bonfire of red-tape’ which was a key part of the Leave campaign’s manifesto. Thirty-eight per cent believe bureaucracy will become more of a hurdle post-Brexit, versus just 17 percent who believe a deal with the EU will lead to fewer regulations and less red-tape.

March 22, 2019

The future of work will be defined by four models, claims RSA

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

The RSA’s Future Work Centre has released research that models four ‘futures of work’ by 2035 – and claims to show how out of touch politicians are with changes in the workplace. The report, published in partnership with Arup, claims to avoid the usual sensationalism around topics such as automation, the Internet of Things, surveillance, gig work and AI to establish what workers can expect in the workplace in the near future. The report applies morphological analysis to generate its four models of work.

March 22, 2019

UK workforce increasingly concerned with impact of Brexit on employment

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

More than a third (34.25 percent) of UK residents believe that Brexit would affect their current employment in a negative way, and only a negligible 3 percent of respondents think that Brexit will positively affect their current employment. Compared to the survey from Personal Group in 2018, there are some gender, age and professional nuances. Twelve times as many men than women have become more concerned about the impact on Brexit on their current employment. In February 2019 the number of men who believe Brexit will affect their employment negatively increased by almost 8 percent (7.89 percent) compared to a less than 1 percent (0.63 percent) rise amongst women.

March 21, 2019

Interiors are not enough to win the war for talent

by Ben Capper • Comment, Workplace design

I often refer to Google and Facebook in my blog, due to their influence on workplace design. Many consider them to be workplace interior’s holy grail. But today’s big employers are competing with one another on a much broader set of principles. Cool interiors alone just won’t cut it. Zürich, like many European cities is home to a large number of global brands, with bustling financial services and tech sectors. I regularly hear of people with multiple job offers taking a job with a lower salary, rather than accepting a role in a company that doesn’t reflect their ideals. This decision can be influenced by office design and facilities, career development options, corporate culture and much more. More →

March 21, 2019

Performance-based pay linked to employee mental-health problems, study suggests

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

In what its authors claim is the first big-data study combining objective medical and compensation records with demographics, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Aarhus University in Denmark discovered once a company switches to a pay-for-performance process, the number of employees using anxiety and depression medication increased by 5.7 percent over an existing base rate of 5.2 percent. More →