Search Results for: environment

If you want your business to grow, become a digital leader

If you want your business to grow, become a digital leader

The takeaway from research is clear: investing in becoming a digital leader fuels business success.How often does your organisation really challenge its approach to digital? A recent report from Virgin Media O2 Business in partnership with Cebr revealed a gap in progress between tech adopters and non-adopters. The average tech-adopting ‘digital leader’ saw a 12 percent turnover growth and 9 percent headcount growth between 2021 and 2023. This was double that of slower-adopting ‘digital followers’, with 6 percent turnover and 3 percent headcount. (more…)

Traditional incentives don’t encourage people back to the office. Here’s what might

Traditional incentives don’t encourage people back to the office. Here’s what might

A new report from Colliers claims to highlight the major challenge businesses experience in attracting people back to the office when attendance remains stubbornly lowA new report from Colliers claims to highlight the major challenges businesses experience in attracting people back to the office when attendance remains stubbornly low. With average peak occupancy below 40 percent across Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and North America, and workplaces lacking ‘vibrancy’ 83 percent of the time, many organisations are struggling to foster collaboration and engagement. (more…)

British workers now entirely unproductive, claims report

British workers now entirely unproductive, claims report

The overwhelming majority of UK workers don’t do anything productive at all, according to a new report published today. The study of available research into the illnesses, injuries, distractions, wastes of time, procrastinations, productivity drains and paralyses that afflict British workers found that the annual cost to the British economy is around £1.8 trillion, equivalent to 98.9 percent of GDP.

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The change we need: hearing women and embracing curiosity in the workplace

The change we need: hearing women and embracing curiosity in the workplace

The conversation around women in the workplace is one of both logic and emotion, writes Jennifer Bryan.The conversation around women in the workplace is one of both logic and emotion. Objectivity is often the aim, but personal experiences—whether overt or subtle—shape the way we engage with this issue. The truth is, for much of history, the world was built by men, for men. While progress has been made, deeply ingrained structures and biases remain, making gender equality in professional spaces more challenging than it appears on the surface. Even those who actively strive for fairness and inclusion are not immune to falling into unintentional biases. We all have blind spots. Whether due to upbringing, societal conditioning, or subconscious norms, even the most well-intentioned individuals—men and women alike—sometimes perpetuate behaviours that contribute to exclusion rather than inclusion. Recognizing this is the first step toward meaningful change. (more…)

Furniture industry body unveils its plans for growth and government engagement

Furniture industry body unveils its plans for growth and government engagement

The British Furniture Confederation (BFC), the public affairs umbrella body of furniture and beds, furnishings and flooring sector trade associations, has unveiled its new Plan for GrowthThe British Furniture Confederation (BFC), the public affairs umbrella body of furniture and beds, furnishings and flooring sector trade associations, has unveiled its new Plan for Growth. The document supports BFC’s advocacy across four key pillars: skills and education; trade and exports; standards and regulations; and the environment and circular economy. It has been developed over the past few months, evolving from a combination of position papers written by the associations’ executives and a comprehensive survey of their collective members. (more…)

New research claims there is a lack of support for many neurodiverse employees

New research claims there is a lack of support for many neurodiverse employees

nearly one in three neurodiverse employees are dissatisfied with the support they receive from their employerA significant proportion of employees feel unsupported in the workplace when it comes to neurodiversity, according to new research from City & Guilds. The organisation’s latest annual Neurodiversity Index 2025 reveals that nearly one in three neurodiverse employees are dissatisfied with the support they receive from their employer, while over a third of neurodivergent respondents reported that they had no onboarding support when starting their jobs. (more…)

Genuinely unmissable workplace events are thin on the ground. The Workspace Design Show is one of the best

Genuinely unmissable workplace events are thin on the ground. The Workspace Design Show is one of the best

We’ve been here before, of course. We’ve been here many times before – for a variety of workplace events. What’s more, we like coming here. We like the Business Design Centre. We like Islington. And we very much like the Workspace Design Show.For some unknown reason the Business Design Centre was once derided, disliked and generally dismissed by many in the workplace sector. We never really understood this. Why would an industry with a hub just down the road in Clerkenwell not like the idea of visiting an exhibition centre that is so local? Why would they not be happy to come to Islington, with its enviable array of restaurants bars cafés etc? It’s not as though anyone’s being forced to head out to a slightly random, innocuous residential area of London. For those not based in and around Clerkenwell and the City, communications in and out of Islington are extremely good, unlike some of those more problematic destinations to the west of London. (more…)

Global real estate markets grow (very cautiously) optimistic

Global real estate markets grow (very cautiously) optimistic

The global real estate sector thinks it is close to ending a three-year journey to recovery, with a widely held view that 2025 may breakthrough to a ‘reset point’ or commence a new cycle. Even so, real estate leaders globally are braced for another challenging year of uncertaintyThe global real estate sector thinks it is close to ending a three-year journey to recovery, with a widely held view that 2025 may breakthrough to a ‘reset point’ or commence a new cycle. Even so, real estate leaders globally are braced for another challenging year of uncertainty, with lingering inflation, largely driven by factors including geopolitical instability, and persistently higher interest rates in some regions, potentially delaying a hoped-for recovery in capital markets and occupancy metrics. This is according to the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Global Outlook 2025 from PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), which provides an important gauge of global sentiment for investment and development prospects, amalgamating and updating three regional reports which canvassed thousands of real estate leaders across Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific. (more…)

Sell out Material Choices event provides a forum for eco learning

Sell out Material Choices event provides a forum for eco learning

A recent seminar focussed on examining some of the established and widely used materials in the furniture and furnishing sector and considerations for greater sustainability.The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, hosted the next in a series of sustainability events, ‘Material Choices for more Sustainable Products’, on the 4th of March 2025 at Furniture Makers Hall. The seminar focussed on examining some of the established and widely used materials in the furniture and furnishing sector and considerations for greater sustainability. (more…)

Outdated offices are sabotaging ‘return to office’ policies

Outdated offices are sabotaging ‘return to office’ policies

The debate over whether to return to the office or sustain a remote team has become one of the most significant workplace discussions in recent yearsThe debate over whether to return to office work or sustain a remote team has become one of the most significant workplace discussions in recent years. Companies are struggling to balance remote and in-office work, yet strict return-to-office (RTO) mandates are failing to deliver the intended results. While many assume the COVID-19 pandemic was the advent of hybrid work models, in reality, many businesses had already begun adopting flexible work arrangements before the pandemic accelerated the shift to remote working. (more…)

Employment law five years after COVID: what’s changed?

Employment law five years after COVID: what’s changed?

As we approach five years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it’s a good opportunity to look back on the impact it had on the UK workplace and employment lawAs we approach five years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it’s a good opportunity to look back on the impact it had on the UK workplace and employment law. The pandemic was a seismic event for the workplace, but did it fundamentally change employment law in the UK? While COVID brought emergency measures such as furlough, the legal framework underpinning employment has remained largely intact. What has shifted, however, is the prominence of certain legal rights and protections for the employee —especially around health and safety, flexible working. (more…)

Welsh furniture manufacturer Orangebox have launched Be My Guest, a refuge of calm for the modern workplace.

Welsh furniture manufacturer Orangebox have launched Be My Guest, a refuge of calm for the modern workplace.

Be my guest offers space for quiet contemplation or a quiet chat without the need to find a free meeting room or quiet corner.Finding some peace in a busy environment can be the difference between productivity and procrastination. Be my guest offers space for quiet contemplation or a quiet chat without the need to find a free meeting room or quiet corner. And with more people returning to the workplace after WFH, the need for a quiet retreat is increasing. Their most competitively priced phone booth yet, Be my guest highlights the quality and attention to detail for which Orangebox is renowned. By balancing carefully considered design with ease of assembly and cost, form and function have been distilled to its essence, resulting in elegant simplicity and optimal performance. (more…)