Search Results for: economy

Hybrid working? Let’s put on a show

Hybrid working? Let’s put on a show

by • Comment, Flexible working

hybrid working performanceI’m currently rereading Art Kleiner’s masterful book The Age of Heretics which describes the history of ground-breaking thought in management in the 20th Century and the lessons we forget. It remains a relevant book for the new era of ‘hybrid working’ because the book draws a distinction between two fundamental schools of thought in management theory. One of these sees management as a numbers game in which people are inherently problematic and so must be directed what to do based on data and routines of desirable activity and behaviour. And the other sees people as well meaning, capable and adaptable with managers there to facilitate and channel their abilities and help them develop. (more…)

Firms need to do more to engage, attract and retain staff

Firms need to do more to engage, attract and retain staff

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Over 40 percent of employers are finding it more difficult to retain and recruit staff, according to Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2022 (registration). The report claims that many employers have adjusted their benefits strategies to address an intense labour market, in which employee work motivations have shifted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-one percent of employers said they have found it more difficult to retain staff in the last year, while 44 percent have found it more difficult to recruit new staff. Many employers anecdotally expressed in the survey that they need to pay higher salaries or sign-on bonuses to entice new recruits. (more…)

Cities need to open themselves up to Nature, report claims

Cities need to open themselves up to Nature, report claims

by • Cities, Environment, News

natural world in citiesCities contribute 80 percent to global GDP – but they also account for 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Integrating nature-positive solutions can help protect cities from growing risks associated with extreme weather while driving sustainable economic growth, according to a new study from the World Economic Forum. In collaboration with the Alexander von Humboldt Institute and Government of Colombia, WEF’s BiodiverCities by 2030 Initiative published a report addressing the urgency of cities’ untenable relationship with nature. The Initiative’s goal is to reverse this existential global threat and move forward with a plan that will result in cities and nature co-existing in harmony by the end of the decade. (more…)

Colour, comfort, and circularity are the top interiors trends for 2022

Colour, comfort, and circularity are the top interiors trends for 2022

by • Company news

2022 interiors trendsBisley’s new Creative Director Jeanine Goddard identifies forthcoming interiors trends elating to the three Cs of colour, comfort, and circularity. (more…)

Risk of job losses has been falling for years, but at a price

Risk of job losses has been falling for years, but at a price

by • News, Workplace

job lossesDecades of declining change in the UK labour market has reduced the risk of damaging job losses, but also limited opportunities for pay-enhancing job moves, according to new research published by the Resolution Foundation for The Economy 2030 Inquiry. (more…)

The way we talk about hybrid working can reflect a failure of imagination

The way we talk about hybrid working can reflect a failure of imagination

by • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

hybrid working is not the only option we haveThe events of the last 18 months have given us a once in a generation opportunity to reinvent work. Our generation can create a discontinuity between the assumptions of the past and the opportunities of the future. To capitalise on these opportunities though we have to dispense with the assumptions we hold about work and the places where work takes place, including many of the assumptions we hold about hybrid working. We have to re-examine the purpose of the office and what form it might conceivably take in the future before we can decide if it has any place in our plans. (more…)

Warning over worker welfare on 2022’s first day ‘not back in office’

Warning over worker welfare on 2022’s first day ‘not back in office’

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

officeThe 4th January was the first working day of 2022 for many employees, but due to ongoing working from home restrictions the majority will not be attending their usual workplaces. According to the latest research from the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM), more than half of office workers had expected to be back in the office today, and three quarters would have been back by the end of this week. (more…)

New era of work leaves workers feeling empowered

New era of work leaves workers feeling empowered

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

new era of workA majority of Americans feel newly empowered in the new era of work, according to a new survey from Randstad USA. Nearly three-in-four (73 percent) respondents feel as though they can make changes to their work-life balance, and 79 percent reported gaining new clarity regarding their professional goals, higher than the global average of 72 percent. (more…)

Startups fuelling growth in demand for flexible offices

Startups fuelling growth in demand for flexible offices

by • Cities, News, Property

flexible officesAccording to  data from The Instant Group 584,097 companies have been registered in the UK since the start of 2021 – this equates to 1,781 per day. The most companies registered in 2021 so far have been in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. The growth in start-ups has fuelled an increase in demand for flexible offices across the UK’s cities, with large proportional increases outside London. Requirements for coworking and serviced offices has grown significantly in cities such as Bristol (41 percent), Manchester (28 percent), and Reading (27 percent) over the past year. (more…)

Councils can meet net zero targets with help of building renovation

Councils can meet net zero targets with help of building renovation

by • Environment, News, Property

Public Sector Estate and net zeroThe UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), together with the World Green Building Council, several European Green Building Councils, Climate Alliance and the Buildings Performance Institute Europe, has published a framework to support cities and local authorities to measure the impacts and wider benefits of building retrofit as a way of meeting their net zero targets. (more…)

We must wake up to the realities of workplace sustainability

We must wake up to the realities of workplace sustainability

by • Comment, Environment, Workplace design

workplace sustainabilitySustainability has been steadily moving up the business agenda over the past few years, with COP26 placing more emphasis on the need for organisations to demonstrate that their operations are sustainable and lessening their overall impact on the planet. Many businesses may feel daunted by the challenges ahead, and there are certainly big steps that need to be taken in order to reduce corporate carbon footprints and move to more sustainable models. (more…)

Longer lives significantly contributing to European economies, new reports claims

Longer lives significantly contributing to European economies, new reports claims

by • News, Wellbeing

A series of reports published by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) highlights the economic opportunities of longer lives across Europe. According to the reports, older people’s contributions across the European region are significant, and growing. The reports call for countries to better support older people’s economic contributions, particularly through greater investment in preventative health measures that support healthy ageing – the authors call for governments to invest at least 6 percent of their health budgets on these interventions, such as vaccines, screenings, early detection and management of disease. (more…)

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