Search Results for: covid

Hybrid working driving demand for areas with easier commutes

Hybrid working driving demand for areas with easier commutes

An office cafe to illustrate the new wave of hybrid workingA report from Unispace claims that employees’ new preference for hybrid working has created an immediate need for firms to re-think their real estate footprint. Today, with over 60 percent of office-based employees preferring to work remotely or in a more flexible way, rather than commute to city centres five days a week, employers are considering the greater use or addition of satellite offices to their portfolio. According to the study of 3,000 office workers across Europe, 79 percent of the workforce would be happier to return to the office if it was just five to 10 minutes away from their home, suggesting that satellite offices could be a solution to boost collaboration, socialisation, engagement and staff retention. More →

Responsible capitalism, and space as a service will shape real estate industry over next 20 years

Responsible capitalism, and space as a service will shape real estate industry over next 20 years

A flexible office space from Instant Offices, a pioneer of space as a serviceEurope’s real estate leaders have set out a long-term vision for the industry. In this scenario the most successful firms have adopted ‘responsible capitalism,’ the user is the centre of attention, the cycle of demolition and development has been broken, mixed-use is the norm and multi-disciplinary and in-house teams deliver space as a service across a range of sectors. Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2023, the twentieth annual survey of European real estate sector leaders’ expectations by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PwC, has looked beyond the year ahead at the trends shaping the industry over the next two decades. This report captures the views of over 900 sector leaders from across Europe. More →

Winter is coming: don’t be in the dark about blackouts

Winter is coming: don’t be in the dark about blackouts

a lit candle to illustrate the idea of blackoutsThe National Grid has warned that the UK could face blackouts this winter. The worst-case scenario is that homes and businesses could lose power for pre-defined periods of up to three hours if gas power plants are not able to keep running due to the energy crisis that keeps on giving – or rather, taking. While the British government has dropped its energy rationing campaign, which once formed a crucial part of its plan to prepare for potential energy shortages and blackouts, countries across Europe are drawing up winter contingency plans, as are forward-thinking businesses. More →

Remote workers can find it hard to switch off. There’s now an app for that

Remote workers can find it hard to switch off. There’s now an app for that

flexible working and remote workersThe last few years have seen our approach to work change dramatically. Technology has helped to unlock whole new ways of communicating and interacting, providing the flexibility for employees to work in a way that suits them best and creating a large number of remote workers for the first time. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, this switch was on the cards. From an employer perspective, digital tools can allow for communication across the world, opening up access to a whole host of talent and wider consumer exposure. More →

Three tips for battling noise in the workplace

Three tips for battling noise in the workplace

Offices have been reopening and trying to entice employees back for a while now. And while many people have thrived while working from home, the return to office has been a welcome change, with staff missing in-person interactions with their clients and colleagues. However, as people have become accustomed to the relative quiet at home (kids excluded, of course), being thrust back into an office setting could take some getting used to. Research shows 56 percent of office workers are concerned that noise levels in the office will make them less productive. Between colleagues chatting over each other, desk-phones ringing, and impromptu virtual calls, there are a range of distractions staff must contend with. More →

Flexible working may help to entice large numbers of older people back into work

Flexible working may help to entice large numbers of older people back into work

A middle aged man in a suit to portray flexible working for older workersThere are 712,000 additional people aged over 50 who are economically inactive compared with the same period three years ago (pre-covid pandemic), according to new analysis from Rest Less, a digital community and advocate group for people in their 50s, 60s and beyond. The organisation is now calling on firms to ensure their flexible working practices and in-house training schemes are suitable for all age groups and not just targeted at younger people. More →

Office utilisation in US returning to pre-pandemic levels, but structural changes remain

Office utilisation in US returning to pre-pandemic levels, but structural changes remain

office utilisation returning to normal?A new report from JLL claims that utilisation rates of US offices are returning to something closer to those of the pre-pandemic world, although hybrid working remains a far more widespread working practice than before. In addition, the focus of the market is shifting away from major city centres towards smaller, regional towns and cities. The US Office Outlook Report [registration] also suggests that higher quality office space is essential as lower grade offices are more likely to remain abandoned. More →

What effect will the Employment Bill have on hybrid working?

What effect will the Employment Bill have on hybrid working?

hybrid workingThe long-awaited Employment Bill may be published later this year. The draft Bill, first introduced in the Queen’s speech in 2019, was put on hold and repeatedly delayed due to the impact of COVID-19. There is some confusion around what the change to flexible working will entail should the Employment Bill come into force. In the Queen’s speech, as set out in the Conservative’s manifesto earlier that year, it was announced that the proposal was to make flexible working the default position unless an employer had a ‘good reason’ not to allow it. This proposal would have been a radical change in favour of employees as flexible working would become an automatic right – thereby weakening an employer’s ability to push back on hybrid working requests. More →

BDG architecture + design and FUTURE Designs, showcase AERO313 at London Design Festival

BDG architecture + design and FUTURE Designs, showcase AERO313 at London Design Festival

future designsBDG architecture + design and FUTURE Designs will display the only AERO313 luminaire in the country, at Borough Yards, London Bridge, as part of this year’s London Design Festival which runs from 17-25 September 2022.  FUTURE Designs was appointed by BDG architecture + design in 2020 to create this innovative custom light fixture that is a centrepiece of the latest WPP campus project in Detroit, USA. Faced with transatlantic logistics and regulations, the sheer scale of the product, as well as a global pandemic, the team involved tackled unprecedented challenges in order to deliver this ground-breaking luminaire to practical completion for a client on time and to budget. More →

The wellbeing of parents should be a greater concern for employers

The wellbeing of parents should be a greater concern for employers

wellbeingA recent Oxford University study revealed that levels of stress, anxiety and depression unsurprisingly rose in parents and carers during the pandemic lockdowns. Although social restrictions have now lifted, the recovery from the significant mental impact will continue to take parents some time. Now, more than ever, organisations have a key role in remedying stress and burnout and supporting working parents’ wellbeing. More →

Workspace Design Show sets out plans for 2023 event

Workspace Design Show sets out plans for 2023 event

Workspace Design ShowAfter a hugely successful debut edition, Workspace Design Show returns to London’s Business Design Centre on 27-28 February and will once again be the venue where creatives from the UK’s workplace industry gather to discover the latest design innovations in work space design. With the theme of this year’s show being ‘Destination Workplace’ there will be over 3,000 workplace professionals looking to source the latest furniture, lighting, acoustics, surfaces, storage, materials, tech and biophilic products and solutions to transform their office interiors.  More →

Remote work and the things we have learned about it

Remote work and the things we have learned about it

remote workTwo plus years after the onset of the pandemic and many employees are continuing to work remotely, either full or part-time. We know that the ability to work remotely increases employee happiness by as much as 20 percent, but employees will tend to work longer hours and are more likely to experience burnout. The debate over whether remote work is “better” than being in an office is reductive and misses critical nuances around hybrid work models. More →