October 11, 2019

Birmingham and Peterborough latest cities to benefit from government hubs

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Property, Public Sector

Sites in Birmingham and Peterborough are to be regenerated as part of a government programme designed to boost regional growth and save taxpayers’ money. The Government Hubs programme has so far seen the development of 14 office hubs around the country, which the government claims provide civil servants with state-of-the-art working environments designed to boost efficiency and drive savings by bringing together different departments under one roof – moving civil servants to inner-city sites located close to public transport connections, local amenities and shops. More →

September 27, 2019

Older workers will drive long term success of firms

by Neil Franklin • Business, News, Wellbeing, Working lives

Organisations that actively leverage the abilities and experience of their older workers will be best positioned for the future of work, according to Mercer’s report Next Stage: Are You Age-Ready? (registration). The importance of being “age-ready” is underscored for both businesses and economies by the impact of the twin forces of a rapidly ageing labour force coupled with an uncertain global economic growth rate, the report argues. More →

September 26, 2019

The office of the future should be circular

by Phil Oram • Comment, Environment, Workplace design

Minimising the impact of business on the wider environment is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a business imperative. Pressure is coming from all stakeholders including employees, investors, customers and clients, government and the media. According to the Leadership in Corporate Sustainability – European Report 2018, three quarters of European business leaders believe that ignoring sustainability will affect their company’s ability to create long-term value. More →

September 13, 2019

Recognition is a more powerful motivator than pay, survey concludes

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Data from Engaging Works claims that recognition is a more powerful motivator than pay for employees. The data also suggests that a third of people feel they aren’t trusted to make decisions and have a poor relationship with their line manager. More →

September 4, 2019

Wellbeing depends on workplace basics more than trivial features

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A new report supports the idea that when it comes to the workplace and the effect it has on personal wellbeing and productivity, employees want the basics first. According to the Workplace Wellness Study published by Future Workplace, a New York-based research firm, and office technology provider View, the most highly prized features of an office are good air quality, access to natural light, and an ability to personalise immediate workspace. More →

August 21, 2019

The office is increasingly able to recognise you, but will you recognise it?

by John Comacchio • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

Our lives at work are about to change—again. Just as the addition of PC’s and Wi-Fi re-drew the office blueprint, emerging technologies like robots, virtual agents, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) promise to radically revise the form and the function of work and the workplace. In the near future, your office will know who you are (if it doesn’t yet) and will be ready to greet you with your preferred lighting and the array of digital tools you need to do your job.

August 21, 2019

Wellbeing challenge known to firms, but they need to up their game

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Wellbeing

A new white paper from Aon argues that while the vast majority of employers are aware of a range of wellbeing issues, they often don’t act in appropriate ways to address poor health behaviours and chronic medical conditions. The white paper Prevention Is Better Than Cure (registration) claims that 95 percent of employers see a correlation between employee health and performance and believe they have a role in trying to educate and improve poor lifestyle behaviours.

August 20, 2019

Businesses should focus on the greater good of people and society

by Mark Eltringham • News, Working culture

Modern corporations should work in the best interests of society and people rather than focusing primarily on making money for shareholders as they may have in the past, according to an influential group of chief executives. The body Business Roundtable, which represents the heads of some of America’s largest companies, including Apple, Amazon and Exxon Mobil, has issued a statement of its updated corporate governance principles. More →

August 8, 2019

Chris Moriarty seizing the opportunity in the Workplace Innovator podcast

by Mike Petrusky • Facilities management, Podcasts

The latest Workplace Innovator podcast features Chris Moriarty, Director of Insight and Engagement at the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management. He is responsible for the research, policy, marketing, sales and engagement functions at IWFM where he focuses on creating thought leadership and tools to support workplace and facilities management professions as well as putting in place the strategies to better engage with the wider community. More →

August 6, 2019

Gig economy worker rights demand a global approach

by Hina Belitz • Comment, Legal news, Working culture

British people increasingly work in temporary positions and on short term engagements: part of a fundamental global shift in the way we work. The domestic gig economy has seen the number of workers more than double in number since 2016, according to a recent report from the TUC and the University of Hertfordshire (conducted with Ipsos MORI). Based on interviews with 2,235 individuals, the report’s key finding is that gig economy platforms, such as Uber, Deliveroo and Upwork, are now staffed by 4.7 million workers – or one in 10 working-age adults, up from one in 20 three years ago. It also found that 15 per cent of survey respondents had undertaken gig economy work at some point – equivalent to almost 7.5 million people if extrapolated across the entire economy. More →

July 29, 2019

Employers admit company culture causes stress at work

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Employers admit they need to do more to increase workplace resilience despite increased awareness of the impact of mental health issues in the workplace, claims a report from MetLife UK. Research for the report Mental Health and Stress: Building Employee Resilience in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, claims nearly six out of ten employers admit they have to increase the focus on helping their staff to build resilience and 66 percent say organisational resilience has to be driven by the company’s leadership. But nearly a third of employers admit their company’s culture creates stress at work and employees questioned for the study say employers are not honest during recruitment about the demands on staff and the impact in stress. More →

July 23, 2019

Remote workers engage in harmful behaviour to signal commitment to employers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new study, published in the journal Organizational Science and authored by researchers from the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) suggests that employees who are physically present in the office are seen as more committed, more productive, and harder working than colleagues who work away from the office. According to the study of two major blue chip organisations, perceptions of hard work and commitment translate to greater career opportunities including promotions that are not as readily available for remote workers. More →