July 23, 2024

If you offer people universal basic income, they work less but have more choice, study finds

A new study from the Open Research Lab found that while unconditional cash transfers such as universal basic income slightly reduced employment rates and work hours, they increased the financial stability and agency of recipients. People were 2 percent less likely to be employed and worked 1.3 fewer hours weekly but had higher incomes when including the cash transfers. The financial support allowed individuals to pursue education, caregiving, health improvements, and more meaningful work. Overall, cash transfers provided recipients with the flexibility to make employment decisions aligned with their personal goals and circumstances. More →

July 18, 2024

HSBC Headquarters in Canary Wharf to undergo major transformation

by Jess Gratton • News, Property

In a significant redevelopment move, 8 Canada Square, currently the headquarters of HSBC, is set to be transformed into a modern multi-use skyscraper once the bank vacates its Canary Wharf location in 2027. The global banking giant will relocate to the Square Mile as part of a company refresh, prompting an overhaul of its existing headquarters. This morning, the Canary Wharf Group (CWG) announced plans to reimagine the iconic building into a state-of-the-art space encompassing workspaces, leisure, entertainment, and educational facilities. The building is wholly owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund (QIA), with CWG serving as the development partner. More →

July 18, 2024

The city and the office have much to teach each other

by Marian Evans • Cities, Features, Workplace design

Whatever you might hear, these times are far from unprecedented. History has lessons for us both in terms of how we view the events of 2020 and how we might respond to them, including how we progress as a species and make our lives and the world a better place. In 1832, there was an epidemic of cholera in the UK’s towns and cities. In those with a population of 100,000 or more life expectancy was just 26 years. The reasons for this were picked up on by a government official called Edwin Chadwick as a member of the Poor Law Commission. More →

July 10, 2024

Addressing bad behavior with good policy

by Laura Dribin • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

The COVID-19 outbreak (and subsequent lockdowns) did a number on us in our workplaces and in our homes—and we are still paying the price in so many ways. Did employees and managers get so used to remote work that they totally forgot that humans are social creatures and social interaction is vital to our wellbeing. Sometimes it feels that way. I have spent most of my career working on and managing large global projects. Issues that arose always seemed to be focused on headquarters- and/or remote-location considerations but nothing so serious that it would hinder the project team(s) from working together. More →

July 10, 2024

Four day work week campaigners launch new project in wake of successful pilot

by Marvin Gort • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Campaigners advocating for a four day work week are gearing up for a fresh pilot project aimed at promoting flexible working practices. The initiative is set to launch in November, with participating companies currently being invited to sign up. The findings from this project will be presented to the government in the summer of 2025. The push for a four-day working week, notably with no reduction in pay, has gained significant traction in recent years, particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic which reshaped workplace expectations. In 2022, a previous UK pilot saw 61 companies participate, and 54 of them continued the practice a year and a half later. Similar initiatives have also been conducted in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Iceland. More →

July 8, 2024

Book review – Working Assumptions by Julia Hobsbawm

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design

This is almost certainly the most important book about work and workplaces to appear in the first half of this year. Working Assumptions by Julia Hobsbawm will be one of the two most important published this year, as we shall soon discover. It is also one packed with wisdom, knowledge and a central premise that is undoubtedly true. Namely that the events of the past four years have given us the opportunity to rethink how we work and so how we spend our days and our lives more generally. More →

July 1, 2024

The rise of supercommuters linked to adoption of flexible and hybrid working

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

New research from Trainline claims that the number of UK “supercommuters” using rail to travel longer distances to work has doubled since Covid. Almost half (47 percent) of current supercommuters surveyed made the lifestyle change either during or post-pandemic, and over four in five (84 percent) of these new supercommuters say hybrid working has enabled this switch in their commuting habits. More →

June 28, 2024

British Council for Offices Chief Executive Richard Kauntze to step down in summer 2025

by Jayne Smith • News

After soon-to-be 25 years of serving as Chief Executive for the British Council for Offices, Richard Kauntze will be stepping down in summer 2025. His successor will be appointed by the BCO Presidential Team in due course. More →

June 24, 2024

Sound and vision – Nigel Oseland makes himself heard for the IN magazine profile

by Mark Eltringham • Features, IN Magazine, Premium Content

Interviewing people involves trying to tease out a bit of personal colour. Sometimes I already know what that is or might be. That is certainly the case with Nigel Oseland who I have known for many years, know to be from Wolverhampton and who studied psychology and computer science at Keele University in my home town. He went on to focus on environmental psychology while working at the Building Research Establishment in Watford in the late 1980s and 1990s. More →

June 21, 2024

Visit NeoCon, but Chicago has become a tale of two venues

by John Sacks • Features, Workplace design

Chicago is a city which never fails to amaze whether you are visiting for NeoCon or for any other reason. It’s the epitome of extroversion, with its magnificent architecture, larger than life people, almost constant, ear-splitting commotion and frantic comings and goings. Annual visits to the city invariably present a profusion of elegant new skyscrapers of different shapes, styles and colours, which seem to be trying to outdo each other. It’s as if Chicago is constantly trying to outperform all other cities, as well as its own past. More →

June 10, 2024

What happens to work when the machine stops?

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

In 1909, E M Forster – not exactly known for a body of work replete with dystopian fiction – published a novella called The Machine Stops. You can read it here but the story describes a future in which people live below ground, in isolation but with all their needs met by an omnipresent Machine (you can see where this is going). More →

May 28, 2024

‘The Big Stay’ – it’s time to invest in employees, not to cut costs

by Roger Philby • Comment, Workplace

The Great Resignation is over. That’s according to the latest Labour Market Outlook report from the CIPD, as reported by Workplace Insight. But we could have told you this was simply a post-Covid correction in any case. Data from the report shows 55 percent of employers are looking to maintain their current headcount, while analysis of turnover from the ONS Labour Force Survey points to lower staff attrition in 2024. Declining staff turnover is being dubbed The Big Stay. More →