November 27, 2023
From the archive: The role of workplace design in employee engagement 0
Originally published six years ago, this feature is currently the most read story ever on the website with around 50,000 readers. A global study by my own firm Steelcase has found that one-third of workers across 17 of the world’s most important economies are actually disengaged. The findings make worrying reading for employers around the world, as engagement is so demonstrably linked to business critical outcomes such as employee retention, productivity and even profits. It certainly raises the question of what more can be done, including in terms of workplace design, to boost engagement levels amongst these employees. More →
November 14, 2023
No one shouted stop, although we all should have seen it coming
by Chris Kane • Comment, Everything Omni, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design
And No One Shouted Stop! seems to me to be an apt phrase to capture these post- pandemic times as we grapple with work and workplace dilemmas. It comes from the little-known but widely acclaimed book of the same name by John Healy. It is set over 50 years ago and it chronicles the decline of an Irish town. The book’s underlying narrative is a train crash happening in slow motion, people see it coming but nobody feels able to stop it. I sincerely hope that this will not prove to be the case for the world of commercial real estate as it grapples with hordes of tenants asking not just ‘where is my office?’ But ‘why do I need an office?’ More →