September 23, 2021
Research from Omnipresent, in partnership with Remote Social, claims that four in 10 employers (40 percent) feel that COVID-19 has positively or extremely positively impacted employee retention. In contrast, less than a quarter (24 percent) feel that it has negatively or extremely negatively impacted this area. The survey considered the views of 250 HR managers and C-Suite professionals across the UK. More →
September 22, 2021
Hybrid working could bring nearly four million people “locked out” from work such as parents, carers and disabled people into the workforce and enable part-time workers to work more hours adding £48.3bn to the UK economy each year, according to a new study by Virgin Media O2 Business and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). More →
September 21, 2021
Predicting behaviours in the commercial property market is never an easy thing, yet we know that the pandemic has drastically altered this market. Whilst some players have advocated ‘the end is nigh’ for all office space, research shows a different picture emerging – namely the office space as we know it is evolving into something different. The impact of prolonged uncertainty has fuelled change. However, there are other forces at work shaping a brighter and more varied future for office space. More →
September 21, 2021
Huge changes in the world of work over the past 30 years have led to people having a greater attachment to their work, but also rising levels of stress and falling levels of control, which has coincided with low earners losing their ‘job satisfaction premium’ over higher paid colleagues, according to new research from think tank the Resolution Foundation. More →
September 20, 2021
Scotland is to become the latest nation to trial a four-day working week, after the SNP government announced it was setting up a £10 million fund to enable some office businesses to cut workers’ hours without reducing their pay. Similar trials are underway in Ireland and Spain, following on from trials in Iceland several years ago. Some firms have also been experimenting with a four day week, while other nations such as Japan are encouraging their employers to think about it too. More →
September 17, 2021
New research into workplace discrimination, commissioned by CIPHR, claims just how widespread employment bias is in the UK. On average, one in six people (16 percent) report having suffered ageism, one in ten (10 percent) say they have been the subject of gender-based discrimination (12 percent of women and 7 percent of men), and around one in twelve feel that they have been on the receiving end of prejudicial treatment because of a disability, their race or sexual orientation (9 percent, 9 percent and 8 percent respectively), at some point in their careers. More →
September 15, 2021
As the Government is due to unveil its winter plan for COVID-19 and the ONS confirms employee numbers are back at record levels, according to the latest survey from CV-Library, three-quarters (75.2 percent) of professionals feel employers should be allowed to ask staff if they’re vaccinated against COVID-19. What’s more, a further 59.7 percent stated that recruiters should be allowed to ask this question during an interview. More →
September 14, 2021
Today, companies cannot shy away from their responsibilities towards the environment. With Extinction Rebellion keeping the climate crisis firmly on the news agenda, and COP26 in November gathering more international attention than ever, how businesses approach and champion sustainability is under significant scrutiny. At a local level, organisations are being set targets by the UK government to commit to 100 percent renewable energy sources by 2050, and failing to meet these objectives could have substantial repercussions. More →
September 14, 2021
New ways of working will boost UK productivity and increase employment levels in cities outside of London, according to a new report from KPMG. And as businesses in some sectors prepare for employees to spend two to three days a week working from home on a permanent basis, demand for office space could see capacity potentially increase by as much as 40 percent, according to a new KPMG report, New working patterns and the transformation of UK business landscape.
The increased availability of office space in major business hubs is expected to attract businesses from smaller areas to fill up the vacant space, with cities like Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds and Birmingham set to see employment rise by 5-10 percent as a result. This will have a significant knock on effect for demand for office space.
Areas in central London are also expected to benefit, as well as smaller towns and cities with a large proportion of the workforce working partially from home. Meanwhile, less dense business areas could see a decline in employment and may need to be transformed into more residential, leisure, retail and other uses.
As the business landscape consolidates, KPMG analysis also claims the change could boost overall UK labour productivity by 0.5 percent, thanks to businesses being able to tap into a larger pool of workers, suppliers, and clients.
Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at KPMG UK, commented on the report: “As we emerge from the pandemic, businesses need to adapt to the new environment they will be facing. Some may choose to relocate to larger business hubs to boost profitability, while others in less central areas could see their local customer base profile change. While the overall impact on the UK economy is expected to be positive, the changes ahead could prove challenging for those businesses already saddled by the pandemic.”
The report examines how local high streets in residential towns and neighbourhoods are expected to reap the benefits of greater homeworking through increased demand by residents during the week. But the impact on high streets across the UK is unlikely to be uniform. Some places may be hit relatively hard by the loss of office workers due to their proximity to a larger business hub, which may be compounded by the loss of commuter footfall among remaining employees due to the prevalence of working from home.
Yael Selfin added: “As people spend more time working from home and less time in the office, we could see a revival of the local high street.
“They will need to transform into places of purpose to meet demand for community-based services, hospitality, culture, as well as retail. High street offering in smaller towns and cities may need to become more focused on residents’ needs and less focused on businesses and commuters.
“This transformation will require local government, residents and businesses to work together to map their future shape and make concrete plans to support and enable the necessary changes to make the most of the new post-Covid business reality.”
Chris Hearld, Head of Regions at KPMG UK, commented: “Over time, a shift in business location could support the rise of several major business hubs across the UK. An increase in the concentration of businesses and workers has the potential to make those businesses located there more productive and enable these areas to serve as the engines of economic growth. This should also support the Government’s Levelling Up agenda. Cities like Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, and Newcastle stand to benefit from such a consolidation of business locations. For this to happen they will need government to work closely with local leaders to ensure the transition is smooth and any barriers to growth are quickly ironed out.”
September 9, 2021
While lower occupancy has reduced the carbon footprint of many commercial office buildings amid the pandemic, higher CO2 emissions from hybrid working significantly outstrips these declines, according to data analysed by Cushman & Wakefield’s sustainability team. More →
September 3, 2021
How has COVID-19 affected your office management practices? And what adaptations are you expecting to keep, as other parts of the building experience go back to normal? One area of adaptation that is prime to be kept long-term is greater effort spent monitoring property health and wellness metrics. While occupancy and cleaning frequency are both important to keep track of, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is also critical for landlords to keep an eye on. More →
September 23, 2021
Resilient companies need the trust of their employees more than ever
by Kate Field • Comment, Workplace