August 7, 2020
Nearly a fifth (17 percent) of CEOs are largely unsuited to the companies they lead, according to new research from academics at Imperial College Business School, Harvard Business School, Columbia University and the London School of Economics. The paper, CEO Behavior and Firm Performance, is based on an analysis of the leadership behaviour of 1,100 CEOs based on their daily schedules. More →
August 7, 2020
A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research claims that the average lockdown working day worldwide is now around 48 minutes longer than before the pandemic. In addition, the number of meetings also increased by 13 percent and people send an average of 1.4 emails more per day. In addition, people were working at different times of day to free up time for other activities and responsibilities. More →
July 30, 2020
New research from the University of Kent and the University of Birmingham suggests that the recent surge in the number of people working from home during the COVID-19 lockdown has presented significant challenges for those who are parents, particularly mothers. Despite this, the shift has also changed the way that many people intend to work in the future. More →
July 28, 2020
As companies transition back to the office and set out on the road to economic recovery, business leaders are focussed on developing resilient and sustainable strategies. Faced with a new business environment, companies are looking for opportunities to contain office costs, both in the short-term and in the future. Some who have been immune from cost pressures in the past are looking to contain if not reduce costs for the first time. And, after a forced trial of remote working, many are viewing their property portfolio in a new light and questioning whether they are paying for more space than they need. More →
July 27, 2020
New analysis of online vacancy data suggests that parts of London are now the most economically at risk from the coronavirus pandemic. The analysis of the UK job market compares the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits in each local area with the number of vacancies. It claims that the four areas with the highest number of unemployed per vacancy are London Boroughs – Lambeth, Haringey, Brent, and Barking and Dagenham – with more than forty claimants chasing each available job. More than a third of all areas with thirty or more claimants-per-vacancy are London Boroughs. More →
July 23, 2020
The British Council for Offices (BCO) has launched its first podcast, a 12-episode series, hosted by chief executive Richard Kauntze, which explores how COVID-19 is impacting the office, both in the long and short term. The interviews are edited versions of a recently run video series by the BCO. More →
July 21, 2020
The enduring but changing struggle to improve the working conditions and performance of people through workplace design and management has more than a whiff of the Enlightenment of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries about it. The Enlightenment marked a new era in which the old superstitions and dogmas were to be overthrown by pure reason.
July 17, 2020
It’s been talked about for a number of years now but we can expect to be hearing a lot more about the four day week or six hour day soon. The modern conversation has its roots partly in a Swedish experiment designed to limit the hours people work in an attempt to improve their work-life balance and possibly even increase their productivity. Now a growing number of firms are looking to introduce a nominal four day working week or restrict the use of technology – meaning email – outside of certain hours. More →
July 16, 2020
New research from the CIPD claims that employers now expect the proportion of people working from home on a regular basis will increase to 37 percent compared to 18 percent before the pandemic. Employers also expect the proportion of staff who work from home all the time to rise to 22 percent post pandemic compared to 9 percent before lockdown measures started to be imposed. More →
July 16, 2020
The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented job losses and economic uncertainty. As governments and businesses look to stimulate growth, a new study from the World Economic Forum claims that ‘nature-positive’ solutions can create 395 million jobs by 2030. The Future of Nature and Business Report says this is a $10.1 trillion business opportunity. More →
July 15, 2020
No author uses the built environment like J G Ballard. In his 1975 novel High-Rise, the eponymous structure is both a way of isolating the group of people who live and compete inside it and a metaphor for their personal isolation and inner struggles. Over the course of three months, the building’s services begin to fail. The 2,000 people within, detached from external realities in the 40-storey building, confronted with their true selves and those of their neighbours, descend into selfishness and – ultimately – savagery. More →
August 7, 2020
A dog`s life in the future of work
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working