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Top UK workplaces honoured at BCO national awards ceremony

Top UK workplaces honoured at BCO national awards ceremony

by • News, Property, Workplace design

London workplaces dominated at this year’s annual British Council for Offices National Awards dinner last night as a record six awards went to offices in the capital. London’s Sky Central was awarded the Best of the Best workplace at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) annual National Awards in London last night. The office was also recognised as the Best Corporate Workplace in the UK, joining a list of six other award winners recognised for excellence in office space. Sky Central was praised by judges for bringing 3,500 of Sky’s workforce under one roof at their landscaped campus near Heathrow, West London. The judges were impressed by the building’s eighteen 200-person workspace neighbourhoods, arranged around six cores that resurrect ‘Büro Landschaft’ inspired planning rules. Judges also commended the vast array of services and amenities on offer, including six restaurants and cafes, a 200-seat state of the art cinema, 200-person event space and a technology ‘lounge’. We know all about Sky Central and a full write up from Sky’s then Workplace Director Neil Usher can be seen here.

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VodafoneZiggo workplace in Rotterdam sets out to redefine call centre design

VodafoneZiggo workplace in Rotterdam sets out to redefine call centre design

by • Case studies, Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

When you think of a call centre you probably picture a line of people seated in row upon row of desks in a featureless room. But call centre design is changing. As companies recognise their growing importance, the boiler room approach is disappearing and call centres are beginning to morph into a corporate centrepiece. Dutch telecoms company Ziggo is a case in point. The company merged with Vodafone in 2017 and today offers broadband and mobile services to both residential and commercial customers across the Netherlands. It has a large call centre and like many companies invests significant resources in training call centre employees in both technology and interpersonal skills. VodafoneZiggo’s call centre in Rotterdam, designed by Evolution Design is spread over several large open plan areas, which were converted into series of smaller work spaces, using low cost solutions such as simple wooden frames, acoustic panelling or a change of flooring to demarcate different zones. Staff can now choose to work in areas as diverse as a plant covered ‘greenhouse’, open plan spaces with bright yellow accents and colourful floor tiles or in a more urban-style zone that uses reclaimed wooden pallets to divide and decorate. Throughout the centre, desks are height adjustable so employees can choose whether to sit or stand. There is also a central reception area with meeting and training rooms and a colourful break out space with comfortable sofas, a café and a games zone complete with table football and video games.

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Overwhelming majority of Scottish workers say flexible working improves the quality of their lives

Overwhelming majority of Scottish workers say flexible working improves the quality of their lives

by • Flexible working, News

Around nine out of 10 Scots who work flexibly say it improves their quality of life and makes them happier, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by Family Friendly Working Scotland.  However, the study also found that fewer than half of Scottish workers (46 percent) said they are offered flexible working by their employer. The figures are published to coincide with National Work Life Week, which sets out to encourage firms to explore flexible working options and help their staff find a better work-life balance. The poll of more than 1,000 Scots claims that among those who already work flexibly, 77 percent say they are more productive and are willing to “go the extra mile” for their employer. Almost half of people who took part (49 percent) say changing their start and/or finish time would help while nearly a third (32 percent) would like occasional time off for family emergencies, deliveries or school events. Just one in five (21 percent) say reducing their hours, or going part time, would be valuable.

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Time to start a new culture to tackle stigma on mental wellbeing issues in the workplace

Time to start a new culture to tackle stigma on mental wellbeing issues in the workplace

by • Comment, Wellbeing

mental wellbeing at workAs a recent Workplace Insight story reported, UK workers are still uncomfortable about having honest conversations at work, with nearly two thirds (61 percent) feel they keep an aspect of their lives hidden in the workplace. Family difficulties (46 percent) was the most likely hidden issue at work, followed by mental health (31 percent). Talking about mental wellbeing worries to employers can be very distressing for individuals and not only make a person’s condition worse, but also, leave their career in a worse place according to our latest thought leadership research report: Mind Culture. Our latest research study shows that more than half (51 percent) of survey respondents who had confided in their line manager about a mental health issue did not receive any extra support. Even worse, 8 percent respondents faced negative consequences, including being sacked or forced out, demoted or subjected to disciplinary action.

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Majority of workers are optimistic that automation will enhance their work life balance

by • AI, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Majority of workers are optimistic that automation will enhance their work life balanceUK workers are largely optimistic about the impact automation will have in the workplace, with three in four believing it will give them more time to concentrate on their primary job duties and work more flexibly, claims new research. Workfront’s annual State of Enterprise Work report, which aims to capture not only how work is being done and what challenges office workers see in the present, but also how they see current workplace trends playing out in the near future reveals that 84 percent agreed with the sentiment that “the use of automation in the workplace will let us think of work in new and innovative ways.” 82 percent expressed excitement at the chance “to learn new things as the workforce moves toward more automation;” and while the overwhelming view on automation was positive, around 2 in 5 (38 percent) feared that rising automation will place humans and robots in competition for the same jobs in the future.

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How smart workplaces increase performance and attractiveness 0

by • Case studies, Facilities management, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

The workplace can and should be used as a strategic tool to support work and cooperation, to shape the experience of the brand and to produce competitive advantage for the organization. Even when not used as a strategic tool the workplace still affects all these parts and there is always a risk that the workplace has instead a negative impact if we are not aware of the relationship and really use workplace as a strategic tool to affect attractiveness, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. The workplace makes a great difference and it is becoming an important differentiator between successful and less successful organizations. I also strongly believe that the workplace management area is a key for us in the FM industry to bring FM to a higher level, to shift from cost focus to more value focus, and this is something we need to do together within the FM industry and we really should take the driver’s seat. But, let’s start from the beginning.

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Ongoing drive to replace full-time employees with freelancers and contractors in US, claims report

by • News

According to a new report from software firm Mavenlink, over three quarters (79 percent) of US executives believe that the use of contracted white collar workers offers them a competitive advantage, while 63 percent of employees say they would quit their current job to take advantage of a freelance opportunity.  The study, On the Verge of a White Collar Gig Economy: On-Demand Workforce Trends According to Today’s Business Leaders claims to have uncovered significant trends in enterprise use of external contractors, an influx of highly skilled contractors into the workforce and increased individual interest in flexible working structures. This study conducted interviews with 300 professionals from different US based organisations with titles of director or above.

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European businesses could save $243 billion by reducing wasted space in office buildings

by • Environment, Facilities management, Lighting, News, Technology, Workplace design

The Edge building in Amsterdam Research published to mark the beginning of World Green Building Week suggests that businesses in Europe could realise savings of up to $243 billion in reduced rental costs alone if their office buildings were refurbished to the most efficient standards. The analysis from Philips Lighting, claims the impact that could be made on rents across the world’s offices if business owners replicated the efficient usage of space achieved in a leading green building. The research suggests that in addition to reducing their carbon footprint, office tenants could see vast financial savings if their buildings were renovated in a way that uses space more effectively, particularly in buildings with a high number of empty spaces. The report calls for a doubling of the renovation rate of offices in developed countries to reach 3 percent per year, which it says will be a key factor in reducing emissions and offsetting increased global demand for energy from population growth and urbanisation.

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Growing concerns about staff wellbeing will transform real estate over coming years, claims study

Growing concerns about staff wellbeing will transform real estate over coming years, claims study

by • News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The UK commercial property market will be transformed over the next few years as a growing number of firms use their workplaces to address the physical and mental wellbeing of staff, claims a new report from law firm CMS. The report, Smart Healthy Agile, is based around the findings of a survey of 1,000 office workers and 350 real estate firms. It claims that the most common problems associated with office life and sedentary lifestyles, such as weight gain, stress, depression and musculoskeletal disorders are encouraging employers to adopt a different approach to working culture and office design.

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Global insurance sector workers call for workplace culture modernisation

by • News, Workplace

New research from Dive In, a festival for diversity and inclusion in the insurance sector, claims that almost three-quarters (71 percent) of insurance professionals surveyed believe that the culture in their firm needs to change. The survey of over 2,800 festival attendees, suggests that in order to attract and retain the best talent for the market, firms need to become more inclusive. Close to two thirds of the insurance industry believe that their firm should do more to advance diversity and inclusion in gender, LGBT and mental health.

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An inability to develop skills at all ages leaves people unprepared for the future of work

An inability to develop skills at all ages leaves people unprepared for the future of work

by • News, Workplace

Efforts to fully realise people’s economic potential in countries at all stages of development are falling short due to ineffective deployment of skills throughout the workforce, development of skills appropriate for the future of work and adequate promotion of ongoing learning for those already in employment. These failures to translate investment in education during the formative years into opportunities for higher-quality work during the working lifetime contributes to income inequality by blocking the two pathways to social inclusion, education and work, according to the World Economic Forum’s Human Capital Report 2017. The report measures 130 countries against four key areas of human capital development; Capacity, largely determined by past investment in formal education; Deployment, the application and accumulation of skills through work; Development, the formal education of the next generation workforce and continued upskilling and reskilling of existing workers; and Know-how, the breadth and depth of specialised skills-use at work. Countries’ performance is also measured across five distinct age groups or generations: 0-14 years; 15-24 years; 25-54 years; 55-64 years; and 65 years and over.

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British organisations must step up to the challenges of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation

by • AI, News, Technology

A report published by the RSA think-tank has encouraged UK businesses to embrace artificial intelligence, automation and robotics. arguing that new technology has the potential to raise productivity levels, boost flagging living standards, and phase out ‘dull, dirty and dangerous’ tasks in favour of more purposeful and human-centric work. The Age of Automation report warns, however, that the UK is fast becoming a ‘laggard’ in the adoption of new machines and called on UK business leaders to accelerate their take-up of technology. The RSA found that sales of robots to the UK decreased over 2014-15, with British firms falling behind the US, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. A YouGov poll of UK business leaders, commissioned by the RSA, found that UK business leaders are currently wary of adopting AI and robotics, with just fourteen percent of firms currently investing in this technology or soon planning to. Twenty-nine percent of businesses believe AI & robotics to be too expensive or not yet proven and twenty percent want to invest but believe it will take several years to ‘seriously adopt’ the new technology.

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