Search Results for: creativity

We need to address the UK’s creative skills shortage 

We need to address the UK’s creative skills shortage 

by • Comment, Workplace

With the right investments in skills, tools, and training, the UK can continue to lead the world in creativity and cultural influenceThe UK’s creative industries, from film and television to the dynamic video game sector, are cultural flagships and economic cornerstones. Valued at £125 billion annually, the creative industries are named one of the UK government’s eight growth-driving sectors in its Industrial Strategy. Yet, a significant obstacle looms over their continued success: a persistent and growing skills shortage. This gap threatens to stifle innovation and global competitiveness, particularly in the booming video game industry. More →

Step into the Future: The Future of Work Experience Lounge at EXE 2025

Step into the Future: The Future of Work Experience Lounge at EXE 2025

by • Company news

Welcome to the Future of Work Experience Lounge, a space that isn’t just about work, but about how work feelsThe way we work is changing faster than ever, and with it comes new challenges for HR professionals. Hybrid work, employee well, being, and fostering meaningful connections are top priorities, but how do we create spaces that deliver on all of this? The answer lies in reimagining the workplace as a vibrant ecosystem where collaboration, creativity, and well, being take centre stage. At EXE 2025, we’re bringing this vision to life in the most exciting way imaginable. Welcome to the Future of Work Experience Lounge, a space that isn’t just about work, but about how work feels. It is where connection meets innovation and focus meets flow. Created for HR leaders, employee experience experts, and people, first organisations, this lounge isn’t just another feature of the event, it’s the reason you’ll want to be there. More →

Forget all the talk of Blue Monday; work is still (largely) good for us

Forget all the talk of Blue Monday; work is still (largely) good for us

by • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace

blue mondaySo here it is. Blue Monday. Today. Officially the most depressing day of the year. We say ‘officially’, but like the idea of ‘Body Odour’ its common usage hides the fact that it was originally created as part of a PR campaign, in this case one for Sky’s travel channel in 2005. The whole idea of Blue Monday is couched in a pseudo-mathematical equation which includes factors like the weather, levels of debt, time since Christmas, low levels of motivation and, apparently, an unspecified variable known simply as ‘D’. More →

Five predictions for how the public sector will tackle challenges and lead digital transformation in 2025

Five predictions for how the public sector will tackle challenges and lead digital transformation in 2025

by • News, Technology

widespread skills shortages and legacy IT systems within the public sector remain an obstacle to digital transformationThe UK government is committed to modernising and becoming tech-first, but widespread skills shortages and legacy IT systems within the public sector remain an obstacle to digital transformation. While we are seeing steps to digitise, and the £2bn set aside to improve IT across the NHS is a good case in point, capital investment is only one part of the puzzle. As we look to the new year, we can expect the public sector to continue to face challenges in keeping pace with technology innovation, particularly in adopting AI and cloud solutions, combating talent gaps, and modernising workflows. More →

Measuring and rewarding what people do at work? It’s a rat trap, baby, and you’ve been caught

Measuring and rewarding what people do at work? It’s a rat trap, baby, and you’ve been caught

by • Features, Wellbeing

 

Life imitates art. Scientists have discovered that lab mice may be conducting their own experiments on us. A paper published in the journal Current Biology speculates that mice seem to be testing their testers. They do this by deviating from simple behaviours such as responding to rewards to work out what might happen. “These mice have a richer internal life than we probably give them credit for,” explained Kishore Kuchibhotla, senior study author and an assistant professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. “They are not just stimulus response machines. They may have things like strategies.” More →

These are very early days in our relationship with Generative AI

These are very early days in our relationship with Generative AI

by • AI, Comment

The future of Generative AI in the workplace isn’t about replacing humans – it’s about enhancing what we do best.The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 marked a milestone moment for artificial intelligence, bringing what was once a niche technology firmly into the mainstream. Suddenly, AI and especially Generative AI, wasn’t just the prerogative of data scientists and tech developers. It was a feature in everyday conversations, a presence in business strategies, and a catalyst for innovation across industries. In the months since, platforms like Gemini and Perplexity have emerged, pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve while expanding its role in the workplace. More →

Life science interiors: here’s how to create a petri dish for scientific breakthroughs

Life science interiors: here’s how to create a petri dish for scientific breakthroughs

by • Comment, Workplace design

The design of life science interiors is crucial for fostering scientific breakthroughs by balancing precision, functionality, and collaboration. Life science research has grown exponentially in recent years, driving an increasing demand for specialised laboratory spaces. These facilities – including wet labs, dry labs, and their supporting infrastructure – all serve a unique purpose. Like a Petri dish providing the perfect environment for scientific experiments, life science interiors need to balance precision with functionality. When designed well, they create the ideal conditions for innovation, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas. More →

Why does colour psychology make so much difference to us?

Why does colour psychology make so much difference to us?

by • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

In 2013, two Australian academics set out to discover the answer to a deceptively simple question. Why is there such a thing as colour psychology, but not shape, line or texture psychology? The answers they come up with are complex, arcane and wide-ranging but they manage to sum them up to some extent in the conclusion to the paper they published. “No other visual attribute shares such diverse representations”, they wrote. “Study into shape, line, and texture hardly competes. For this reason, there are no proportion-shape-line-texture prediction agencies, and chromotherapy is not challenged by proportion-shape-line-texture therapies. Colour remains special and, given its rich and complex heritage, is likely to remain so.” More →

UK’s best workplaces honoured at BCO Awards. And the winner isn’t an office

UK’s best workplaces honoured at BCO Awards. And the winner isn’t an office

by • Company news, News, Property, Workplace design

The BCO has announced what it says is a list of the UK's best workplaces this year, with eight projects receiving accolades at its National AwardsThe British Council for Offices (BCO) has announced what it says are the UK’s most exceptional workplaces this year, with eight projects receiving accolades at its National Awards. The TTP Campus, a life sciences facility in Cambridgeshire, was the standout winner, claiming both the Best of the Best and Corporate Workplace awards. The awards, held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London, celebrate excellence in office design, operation, sustainability, and community engagement. The event, attended by over 1,200 industry leaders and featuring guest speaker Clare Balding, highlighted the best workplaces that inspire creativity and positively impact local communities. More →

The Active Office – enhancing workplace wellbeing with innovative office furniture

The Active Office – enhancing workplace wellbeing with innovative office furniture

by • Company news, Furniture, Wellbeing

As experts in ergonomic workspaces that improve productivity, efficiency and employee wellbeing, AJ Products offer a wealth of innovative Active Office solutionsThe working environment profoundly affects how we feel at work. But can the right office furniture and layout also boost creativity, efficiency and collaboration? AJ Products, a leading furniture solutions provider and workplace wellbeing specialist, decided to find out. They collaborated with University Academy 92, a higher education institution co-founded by the Class of ’92 and Lancaster University, to test their Active Office concept. More →

How do you encourage people to spend more time in the office? Here are seven things to consider

How do you encourage people to spend more time in the office? Here are seven things to consider

by • Features, Flexible working, Property, Workplace design

 

In a world in which people have more choice about how and where to work, how do you encourage people to spend more time in the office without issuing controversial mandates?

In a world in which people have more choice about how and where to work, how do you encourage people to spend more time in the office without issuing controversial mandates? Some of the UK’s most high-profile workplace, design, property and facilities management experts met recently at the London showroom of MillerKnoll to discuss the answers to this, one of the most vexed questions of recent years. How do you create workplaces that meet the needs of people who have more choices than ever of how, when and where to work? And its corollary: if you want people to spend more time in the office with each other, how do you entice them to do so without making it an obligation? More →

People can be so obedient in the workplace, they become Stepford Employees

People can be so obedient in the workplace, they become Stepford Employees

by • Comment, Workplace

The ‘Stepford Employee’ is a growing phenomenon in the workplace, where staff become overly agreeable, seldom ask questions, and rarely push boundariesThe ‘Stepford Employee’ is a growing phenomenon in the workplace, where staff become overly agreeable, seldom ask questions, and rarely push boundaries, hindering both their personal growth and their organisation’s success.  The term ‘Stepford Employee’ originates from the popular feminist horror novel, “The Stepford Wives”, which highlighted the dangers of subservience and docility for women. This growing trend in the world of work sees employees getting stuck in the status quo – not challenging leaders or pursuing professional growth. More →

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