Search Results for: change

Workplace anthropology will help us make sense of the now and anticipate what’s next

Workplace anthropology will help us make sense of the now and anticipate what’s next

workplace anthropologyWe are scarcely nine months into the Covid-19 pandemic, after a long spring and harsh summer. Social distancing has led to remote working becoming widespread, leading to doubts regarding the office’s long-term relevance. However, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) argues in a recent report that the office’s traditional domain will expand, with new functions including fostering collaboration, facilitating company culture, and promoting human experience. Similarly, experts increasingly characterise the workplace as a hybrid ecosystem combining virtual and physical elements with geographically-dispersed campuses. More →

Body language still matters when you are working online

Body language still matters when you are working online

body language mattersWhether we’re always aware of it or not, body language plays a vital role in face-to-face discourse. In fact, over half of our effective communication comes via body language; that range of non-verbal cues that covers everything from facial expressions and gestures to posture and tone of voice. Meeting in person constantly draws on these signals, and we interpret them by instinct and via conscious analysis to guide the way we interact, frequently to help steer communication towards our goals. But nearly a year of lockdowns, remote working and general separation has challenged these norms, with video-based communication acting as a widespread, imperfect substitute. More →

Working from home experience boosts demands for hybrid working

Working from home experience boosts demands for hybrid working

working from homeNew data from Steelcase claims to highlight what the UK workforce is enjoying most about working from home, and which elements of work are suffering without access to the physical office. Nearly all (97 percent) of respondents want to return to the physical office for some or most of the time when possible, but nearly a year of working differently has altered expectations of the office, and businesses need to make vital changes to reflect this. More →

Frontline workers overlooked in employee engagement strategies

Frontline workers overlooked in employee engagement strategies

employeeNew research from Opinion Matters, commissioned by SocialChorus, claims there is a stark disparity between desk-based/wired and frontline workers when it comes to Digital Employee Experience (DEX) with a fifth of HR and Internal Communications (IC) respondents admitting to focusing on employees in the office, and just 12 percent prioritising deskless workers. More →

Siemens commits to making Smart Infrastructure HQ carbon neutral by 2023

Siemens commits to making Smart Infrastructure HQ carbon neutral by 2023

SiemensSiemens Smart Infrastructure plans to transform its global headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, into a carbon neutral location by 2023. To achieve this, a comprehensive renovation of an existing building on Theilerstrasse 1c will commence in May 2021 for a period of two years. Siemens has earmarked around EUR 63 million (CHF 70 million) for the refurbishment works. More →

Surging UK tech investment fails to deliver due to ineffective training

Surging UK tech investment fails to deliver due to ineffective training

trainingNew research by CWJobs, claims three quarters of UK businesses (72 percent) increased their overall investment in tech tools, talent and training by an average of £1.48 million in 2020, as digital capabilities enabled them to maintain business continuity throughout the pandemic. More →

Why command and control doesn’t fit in the 2021 workplace

Why command and control doesn’t fit in the 2021 workplace

Until recently, the nature of business was widely predictable. Tried and tested operational methods enabled businesses to forward plan confidently based on what had worked before. Even before the cataclysmic events of the global pandemic,  the workplace landscape was shifting dramatically, with innovation, disruption, workforce and consumer expectations evolving at a pace. As we enter 2021, every business will need to rapidly adapt and evolve to survive and workforce agility will be a critical factor for that survival. More →

The office will bounce back, but not as we remember it

The office will bounce back, but not as we remember it

Manchester officeLooking back, who could possibly have predicted 2020? It’s been such a difficult pandemic year for so many individuals and companies. Yet it’s also been a transformative time, which has seen dramatic shifts in the way we work. So, with some trepidation, here’s my forecast for the near future. This year will see the office bounce back, but not as we remember it. The office of the future will have an important new role as the physical embodiment of a changing corporate culture. More →

New guidance for renewable energy procurement and carbon offsetting

New guidance for renewable energy procurement and carbon offsetting

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published Renewable Energy Procurement and Carbon Offsetting Guidance for Net Zero Carbon Buildings. This guidance provides clarity for the property and construction industry on the procurement of high-quality renewable energy and carbon offsets for net zero buildings and organisations in the UK. More →

Working near home could save employees over £2,200 a year

Working near home could save employees over £2,200 a year

employeesEmployees could save over £2,200 a year and ‘get back’ 98 mins a day if companies adopted a ‘Work Near Home’ model for offices in the future, claims research from workspace company, The Instant Group and site location company, Hickey. For companies that adopt this approach, they could save upwards of 23 percent by utilising a “Hub and Spoke” model that removes reliance on city centres for office locations. More →

The new dimensions of workplace wellbeing

The new dimensions of workplace wellbeing

A healthy, engaged and productive work environment starts with conversations about people’s needs. So whether you have always been on a co-located team or are a veteran of remote work, there are new circumstances and the old rulebook doesn’t quite help. The change has been sudden, in a sustained moment of uncertainty, and has disrupted employee routines and support structures. More →

Well, at least nobody is whinging about open plan offices anymore

Well, at least nobody is whinging about open plan offices anymore

Years of pathologising offices should have prepared us for the patholigisation of virtual spaces. It seems like months since anybody has come out with that tired old rant about open plan. Certain vociferous and obsessive authors on the subject have had to find some other outlet for whatever their real problem is. Still, it’s not hard right now to find similar stuff about the toxicity of virtual meetings and especially those hosted by poor old Zoom, who get the blame for everything.

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