Search Results for: environment

The challenge for fit-out firms is to deliver best value despite supply chain challenges

The challenge for fit-out firms is to deliver best value despite supply chain challenges

Whilst industry supply and demand dynamics may have found a level of equilibrium since the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, economic disruptions, and an unstable domestic policy environment continue to have an impact on the office fit-out marketThe past year has been a challenging one for London’s commercial fit-out market. Whilst industry supply and demand dynamics may have found a level of equilibrium since the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, economic disruptions, and an unstable domestic policy environment continue to have an impact. In tandem with this, the commercial fit-out market is adapting to changing needs; from accommodating hybrid working models to growing demands for sustainability and reuse, the workplaces of today are ever changing. More →

Inadequate provision for menopause and menstrual health driving women away from jobs

Inadequate provision for menopause and menstrual health driving women away from jobs

The workforce could lose millions of female employees unless more is done by employers to support women with menopausal and menstrual health symptomsThe workforce could lose millions of female employees unless more is done by employers to support women with menopausal and menstrual health symptoms, according to a new poll from workplace health provider Simplyhealth.? The research suggests almost a quarter (23 percent) of women have considered quitting due to the impact of menopause or menstrual symptoms at work, and over one in ten (14 percent) are actively planning to quit. More →

Many business leaders inadvertently create a culture of fear at work

Many business leaders inadvertently create a culture of fear at work

A new poll of workplace leaders suggests there is an environment of unconscious fear in modern-day leadership, leading to toxic culture, stunted growth, performance and productivity, and decision inertia. The global study of 2,500 emerging leaders in corporate businesses by consultant Margot Faraci, claims that around one quarter (23 percent) of UK leaders are unconsciously creating an environment of fear with direct reports. Globally, this figure rises to one in three (30 percent), indicating a growing worldwide phenomenon of fearful leadership. Fearful leadership carries significant implications for team morale, performance, and overall well-being within organisations. It’s often attributed to past experiences, creating an ongoing cycle of leadership driven by fear. More →

Nothing propinks like propinquity, but tech is still vital for trust when hybrid working

Nothing propinks like propinquity, but tech is still vital for trust when hybrid working

Nothing beats in-person meetings, but tech is vital for hybrid working trust and equality. That is the main conclusion of a new report from Jabra’s LSE Behavioural Lab. According to the study, people are 56 percent more engaged in face to face meetings. In instances where hybrid meetings are required, meeting room participants saw an 84 percent increase in engagement from remote participants when using a professional meeting-room headset and video camera. The study is based on observations of 88 people of 15 different nationalities in a range of work settings. More →

Reimagining the workplace: three keys to wellbeing, connection, and change

Reimagining the workplace: three keys to wellbeing, connection, and change

Herman Miller has introduce a new framework that helps organisations uncover the purpose of their workplaceMiller Knoll has introduced a new framework that helps organisations uncover the purpose of their workplace. The approach addresses the human needs of employees to improve their wellbeing, fosters a sense of community and connection, and helps organisations navigate, prepare, and design for change. The firm sets out its thinking here. More →

It’s hard to keep dead tech down

It’s hard to keep dead tech down

People are curiously slow to give up on dead tech, sometimes for sound practical reasons and sometimes not so muchIn 2022, Cormac McCarthy published two novels at the age of 89. An impressive feat, doubly so because he wrote them on the same old dead tech typewriter he’d bought from a pawn shop in 1963. Prior to his death, he no longer had the original, a light blue Olivetti Lettera 32, because that was sold at a charity auction for a quarter of million dollars in 2009. A friend replaced it with an identical model for just $11. But one that lacked the cultural imprint, clearly. More →

Half of people would reject a job with no flexible working

Half of people would reject a job with no flexible working

According to a new poll, a lack of flexible working would drive almost half of UK workers to reject a job offerThe latest report outlining how the lack of some or other workplace feature would lead to mass resignations and job rejections arrives from recruitment firm Robert Half. And yes, we do wish PR companies and their clients would knock it off now. If we added up all these polls, nobody would stay in or accept any job. According to the poll, a lack of flexible working would drive almost half of UK workers to reject a job offer. More →

Five reasons why (Framery) office pods help to solve the great workplace debate

Five reasons why (Framery) office pods help to solve the great workplace debate

Here are five reasons why the world’s top companies, including the likes of Tesla, Microsoft, LinkedIn and Puma, are using office pods – and why they will be coming to an office near you.  It’s a fact – pods are taking over the office. In 2010, Framery introduced the first pod to the market and now there are over 200 suppliers globally. Framery, the market leader in this space, was a major pioneer of their development and subsequently has supplied 70 percent of Forbes 100 companies with office pods. More →

Many people would take a pay cut for more flexible working and shorter hours

Many people would take a pay cut for more flexible working and shorter hours

Two thirds of British workers would be prepared to take a pay cut for an overall better job according to a poll from the hiring platform Indeed. A survey of over 5,000 workers for its Better Work 2023 report found a desire for greater flexibility and less time at work is driving this trend, with a four-day work week (28 percent), a better work life balance (25 percent) and more flexible working opportunities (17 percent) the most likely factors to encourage Brits to take a pay cut.  The mean pay cut workers surveyed are willing to take is 9.2 percent. Given the average salary for UK workers is £33,000, that means the average worker is willing to take a pay cut of £3,036 per annum for a better job. More →

Books, smiles and house plants make the best impression on Zoom calls. But maybe not that particular book

Books, smiles and house plants make the best impression on Zoom calls. But maybe not that particular book

the best way to create a good first impression on Zoom calls or in any virtual meeting, is a visual background of house plants and books, especially when they are realA new study by psychologists at Durham University claims that the best way to create a good first impression on Zoom calls or in any virtual meeting, is a visual background of house plants and books, especially when they are real. In the recent paper published in the Journal PLOS ONE, Associate Professor Paddy Ross and colleagues from  Department of Psychology, investigated what really matters when it comes to making the best and worst first impressions in a virtual meeting environment. More →

There is always time and place for a primal scream

There is always time and place for a primal scream

How many times have you felt – frustration, anger, irritation, smugness, pure happiness – and kept it to yourself? How many times have you felt – sadness, disappointment, jealously – and pretended you we’re fine? And how many times have you said out loud, or thought “I could scream”. Screaming to release emotion has its place in pop culture for a reason. It is one of the most relevant, intense and universal, communication signals for survival in humans, and since the 1960’s, Arthur Janov, a psychologist has been advocating the power of the ‘primal scream’ – a healthy way to let off steam. More →

Workplace wellness and eye health deemed essential for millennials and Gen-Z workers

Workplace wellness and eye health deemed essential for millennials and Gen-Z workers

Generation Z and millennials make up a huge part of the workforce and are only continuing to grow, and with this increase, more is being asked from the workplaces that employ them. Workplace wellness is becoming increasingly essential, especially as employee well-being decreases and affects trust in employers’ efforts. With significant economic woes and work setup changes affecting professional life, 64 percent of the UK workforce would say their overall well-being is low. As such, Gen-Z and millennial workers are demanding a greater focus on workplace wellness initiatives. More →