Search Results for: change

Poor air quality affects chess players, and it might be affecting you too

Poor air quality affects chess players, and it might be affecting you too

by • Features, Wellbeing

Air pollution poses such a threat to strategic thinking under pressure that chess players often monitor the air quality of their surroundings.Humans are exposed to poor air quality and pollution almost everywhere. The World Health Organization estimate that 99 percent of the world’s population breathe in polluted air each day. Chess players competing indoors are no exception – and it can affect their performance. A recent study conducted by researchers from Maastricht University (Netherlands) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) analysed the quality of chess moves across multiple German chess tournaments. They found that chess experts perform worse when there is more particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air. More →

Sector leaders implore EU to be ambitious when setting carbon targets for buildings

Sector leaders implore EU to be ambitious when setting carbon targets for buildings

by • Environment, News

With a crucial vote fast approaching on the EU’s key piece of building legislation, a coalition representing 35 organisations is calling on politicians to seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity to eliminate carbon emissions from Europe’s building stockWith a crucial vote fast approaching on the EU’s key piece of building legislation, a coalition representing 35 organisations is calling on politicians to seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity to eliminate carbon emissions from Europe’s building stock. Europe’s buildings account for around 40 percent of energy consumption and 36 percent of CO2 emissions. Currently, EU policy only addresses the operational emissions of buildings but to support total decarbonisation of the EU building stock, policy must evolve to cover both operational and embodied emissions, known as Whole Life Carbon. Without addressing both sources of emissions it is inconceivable that the EU will be able to achieve its climate targets. More →

People who act as a go-between for colleagues more prone to abuse and burnout

People who act as a go-between for colleagues more prone to abuse and burnout

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employees who act as brokers, meaning they work as a go-between for coworkers who do not communicate directly, are more likely to burn out and become abusive towards their colleaguesEmployees who act as brokers, meaning they work as a go-between for coworkers who do not communicate directly, are more likely to burn out and become abusive towards their colleagues, according to new research from ESMT Berlin and published in the journal Organization Science. The research, led by Eric Quintane, associate professor of organizational behaviour at ESMT Berlin, examines the psychological costs of having to sustain communications with coworkers who do not communicate directly with each other. They could be coworkers who are in different units, regions, or time zones, which makes it hard for them to communicate. More →

New book aims to build connections in the building briefing process

New book aims to build connections in the building briefing process

by • Architecture, Company news

To help solve this conundrum in a new era, Juriaan van Meel and Kjersti Bjørkeng Størdal have updated their book Construction briefing: a practical guideMies van der Rohe once said: “An architect of ability should be able to tell a client what he wants. Most of the time a client never knows what he wants.” Not many clients will agree with these patronising words—nor, for that matter, will many architects. Yet, there is some truth in Mies’s statement in the sense that construction clients often have difficulty expressing what they want. To help solve this conundrum in a new era, Juriaan van Meel and Kjersti Bjørkeng Størdal have published their new book Construction briefing: a practical guide. More →

Debrett’s unveils etiquette guide for hybrid working

Debrett’s unveils etiquette guide for hybrid working

by • Flexible working, News

Debrett’s, the well-known authority on manners and etiquette, has created a guide to hybrid working etiquetteDebrett’s, the well-known authority on manners and etiquette, has created a guide to hybrid working etiquette, sponsored by Poly. The guide claims to offer updated advice for the hybrid work era at a time when -it says here – etiquette at work has never been more important. More →

Government Environmental Improvement Plan is ambitious but needs a clear plan

Government Environmental Improvement Plan is ambitious but needs a clear plan

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The UKGBC has welcomed the ambition and vision of the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, particularly the water efficiency roadmap which broadly aligns with UKGBC recommendations. Yet the lobbying group also claims that the Plan falls short of providing the practical targets and policiesThe UKGBC has welcomed the ambition and vision of the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, particularly the water efficiency roadmap which broadly aligns with UKGBC recommendations. Yet the lobbying group also claims that the Plan falls short of providing the practical targets and policies for the built environment to play its part in halting nature’s decline. Many critical areas of interest to our sector – including planning system reform, policies for environmental net gain, and tangible targets – are insufficiently explained or missing entirely from the Plan. More →

New study will explore the impact of economic turmoil on workplace experience

New study will explore the impact of economic turmoil on workplace experience

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

eople's workplace experience in the wake of recent economic upheavals is to be investigated as part of a major new survey led by Cardiff UniversityPeople’s workplace experience in the wake of recent economic upheavals is to be investigated as part of a major new survey led by Cardiff University and funded mainly by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The Skills and Employment Survey 2023 (SES2023), which also involves researchers at UCL, the Universities of Oxford and Surrey and the National Centre for Social Research, will help academics assess the impact of an extraordinary period of turbulence for workers which includes the economic downturn, Cost-of-Living Crisis, Covid-19 and Brexit. More →

New lighting guide updated to embrace era of hybrid working

New lighting guide updated to embrace era of hybrid working

by • Facilities management, Lighting, News, Workplace design

The Society of Light and Lighting has launched the latest Lighting Guide 07 (LG7): Offices to reflect trends such as hybrid workingThe Society of Light and Lighting has launched the latest Lighting Guide 07 (LG7): Offices [paywall for non CIBSE members]. There have been considerable developments since the previous edition, published in 2015. The new guide considers hybrid working, addressing uncertainty around how office space will be used in the future. With increased hybrid working and the use of portable devices, people are spending less time at their desks and in the office. This revision of Lighting Guide 7 now includes home office lighting advice. More →

The business case for the retrofit of existing buildings keeps getting stronger

The business case for the retrofit of existing buildings keeps getting stronger

by • Environment, Facilities management, Features, Property

The news last year that the M&S flagship Orchard House store on Oxford Street in London was to be demolished to make way for a new mixed-use development of shops, offices, restaurants and a gym sparked a very British sort of debate about the pros and cons of retrofit and refurbishmentThe news last year that the M&S flagship Orchard House store on Oxford Street in London was to be demolished to make way for a new mixed-use development of shops, offices, restaurants and a gym sparked a very British sort of debate about the pros and cons of retrofit and refurbishment. This is M&S after all. It may not be the cultural touchstone it once was but it remains an institution. But the debate was also about some things you might expect right now, including the ongoing deterioration of Oxford Street, the loss of a landmark building (and an art deco one at that) and the suitability of the ten-storey, mixed-use development that was to replace it. More →

Firms failing to embed net zero into operations

Firms failing to embed net zero into operations

by • Environment, News

While 85 percent of companies now have net-zero strategies, the majority are failing to incorporate them into daily business operations.A survey [registration] of 300 managers at organisations in industrial sectors across the U.K., U.S. and Germany by ESG consulting firm Sphera, claims that while 85 percent of companies now have net zero strategies, the majority are failing to incorporate them into daily business operations. Only 41 percent of operations managers have seen sustainability strategies produce significant changes in daily practices, and 32 percent say their firms do not align with science-based emissions targets.   More →

Half of people never thought they’d be back working in an office last year

Half of people never thought they’d be back working in an office last year

by • Flexible working, News, Property

More than half of UK employees did not believe they would return to office based work full time in 2022, according to a survey by GlobalDataMore than half of UK employees did not believe they would return to office based work full time in 2022, according to a survey by GlobalData. The poll from the analytics company which focuses its research on the insurance sector  suggests that increasing consumer demand for flexible working models presents both challenges and opportunities. GlobalData’s survey, conducted as part of research for its Insurance Intelligence Center, indicates that only 40 percent of those surveyed anticipated a return to the office in 2022. More →

AI presents us with a chance to rediscover what it means to be human

AI presents us with a chance to rediscover what it means to be human

by • Comment, Technology

We won't beat AI by relying on formulaic thinking and ideas, so we need to rethink creativity and what it means to be humanLike a lot of people right now, I am struggling to get my head around where we are going with AI. Look around and you’ll see the breathless excitement at the sheer amazingness of it all. And examples of its limitations, how it screws up, how military grade AI can be fooled by somebody hiding in a box, and its sense of humour failure. All of this is demonstrably, paradoxically true. More →

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