Search Results for: economic

I’m a Luddite. You should be one too

I’m a Luddite. You should be one too

by • Comment, Technology

The leader of the Luddite movementI’m a Luddite. This is not a hesitant confession, but a proud proclamation. I’m also a social scientist who studies how new technologies affect politics, economics and society. For me, Luddism is not a naïve feeling, but a considered position. And once you know what Luddism actually stands for, I’m willing to bet you will be one too — or at least much more sympathetic to the Luddite cause than you think. (more…)

Changing workplace means a changing role for finance heads

Changing workplace means a changing role for finance heads

by • Comment, Jobs, Technology, Workplace

pwc workplaceThe CFO and Finance Director role is undergoing rapid change. Not only are they required to manage the traditional priorities of the job, but they must now also juggle a wide array of operational, transactional and commercial responsibilities. With added pressure from clients because of Covid-19 and a rapidly evolving workplace, the role is increasingly hard to navigate. To gain a deeper insight into this and the evolution and future planning of a department that is central to the success of modern businesses, Totum recently surveyed CFOs and Finance Directors from among UK headquartered legal firms with annual revenue of £20m or more. (more…)

Return to office doesn’t mean occupiers have lost sight of flexibility, claims report

Return to office doesn’t mean occupiers have lost sight of flexibility, claims report

by • Flexible working, News, Property

return to office is underway

Offices will repopulate over the remainder of this year, led by small companies – those with fewer than 100 employees, according to the EMEA Occupier Survey of 130 companies from real estate advisor CBRE. The survey found that small companies are further advanced in their return to office. Over 80 percent of small companies report all locations are now open. This compares with only a third of the largest companies, although a majority of them have opened more than half of their sites. (more…)

Digital twin and other tech to benefit from landmark $3.5trillion infrastructure package

Digital twin and other tech to benefit from landmark $3.5trillion infrastructure package

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

Siemens digital twinGrowth in key tech sectors is set to rocket after a landmark $1 trillion infrastructure package bill passed in the US Senate, part of a comprehensive $3.5 trillion plan within President Biden’s post-COVID Build Back Better initiative and paralleling the UN’s Race To Zero campaign. There had been an upward trend in share prices for companies in several tech sectors already, but Pitchbook research identified nanotechnology and digital twin technology as most likely to gain from the new bill – the largest public investment in America’s infrastructure for decades. (more…)

Almost half of UK firms have decreased their research and development since covid-19

Almost half of UK firms have decreased their research and development since covid-19

by • Business, News, Technology

researchAlmost half (45 percent) of UK firms have decreased their research and development initiatives during the covid-19 pandemic, with even 18 percent of firms halting theirs altogether, according to new research from Durham University Business School. (more…)

Earned wage access partnership between Sage and Flexearn helps people take control of their salary

Earned wage access partnership between Sage and Flexearn helps people take control of their salary

by • Company news, Workplace

earned wage accessEarnings on demand company, FlexEarn has agreed a partnership with payroll technology leader, Sage, to provide a new Earned Wage Access service to UK businesses using Sage Payroll software, supporting responsible financial wellbeing for employees. Available now via Sage Business Cloud Marketplace, the app allows employees to withdraw a portion of their salary in advance of their regular salary payment date, helping them budget more easily and with less stress. (more…)

Over-55s feel full force of workplace ageism

Over-55s feel full force of workplace ageism

by • News, Working culture

over-55sMore than two thirds (68 percent) of over-55s feel that the job market is closed to them, despite one in four wanting to work into their 80s, according to a study commissioned by 55/Redefined and ProAge. (more…)

Corporate real estate markets continue to improve worldwide, report claims

Corporate real estate markets continue to improve worldwide, report claims

by • News, Property

global corporate real estateThere has been a further improvement in sentiment across the global corporate real estate market, according to the latest RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor. Respondents highlight a continued steady recovery, with the Americas and Europe leading the way. Importantly the improvement is being recorded on both the occupier and the investor sides of the market, reflecting improved macro-economic factors. Sentiment amongst both occupiers and investors continues to recover, consistent with the expectation of a sustained economic recovery from the pandemic.  The global sentiment reading for occupiers rose from -26% to -10%, whilst for investors it climbed from -10% to +1%. However, whilst forecasts for the global economy have strengthened, uncertainty remains over any future impacts of COVID following the upsurge in cases linked to Delta variant.

(more…)

Indoor air quality guide published by BESA

Indoor air quality guide published by BESA

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

indoor air qualityThe removal of most Covid restrictions in the UK has increased calls for clearer practical guidance and the setting of specific indoor air quality (IAQ) contaminant targets to support the health and wellbeing of building occupants. The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has, therefore, produced a concise guide to good practice: ‘Indoor Air Quality for Health & Well-Being’, which is designed to help building owners, managers and engineers interpret IAQ data and turn it into useful strategies for improving the indoor environment. (more…)

Firms don’t use artificial intelligence much, so the current hype is tripe

Firms don’t use artificial intelligence much, so the current hype is tripe

by • Features, Technology

a long road ahead for artificial intelligenceMany governments are increasingly approaching artificial intelligence with an almost religious zeal. By 2018 at least 22 countries around the world, and also the EU, had launched grand national strategies for making AI part of their business development, while many more had announced ethical frameworks for how it should be allowed to develop. The EU documents more than 290 AI policy initiatives in individual EU member states between 2016 and 2020. (more…)

European Commission adopts ambitious Green Deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions

European Commission adopts ambitious Green Deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions

by • Environment, News

The European Commission adopted a package of proposals to make the EU’s climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. The Commission claims that achieving these emission reductions in the next decade is crucial to Europe becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and making the European Green Deal a reality.  (more…)

Is it time for a carbon tax?

Is it time for a carbon tax?

by • Comment, Environment, JK, Workplace design

productivity and environment carbon taxMost people now recognise that we are facing a climate emergency – the record breaking temperatures in the US are, perhaps, another reminder. Many would agree that economic and legislative change is the only way forward to achieve a sustainable change in behaviour. Who should pay for greater environmental responsibility? Is it time for a carbon tax to limit carbon hungry products and fund investment? (more…)

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