June 20, 2023

The digital edition of issue 6 of Works Magazine just dropped

by Mick Jordan • News, Premium Content, Works Magazine

I recently received a copy of the book Office Shock by ‘prominent futurists’ Bob Johansen, Joseph Press and Christine Bullen. Described as a guide to creating better futures for working and living, the book imagines the future of work and the workplace. While reading a passage aimed at leaders, I was suddenly aware that a number of the words were simultaneously being spoken aloud in the background. There was a break in the cricket I had been watching that morning (cricket has a few of these breaks!) and the England captain, Ben Stokes, was being interviewed about his own leadership style. (more…)

June 19, 2023

Instilling company culture across geographic divides

by Sara Whitman and Isabel Conrad • Comment, Workplace

Company culture is one of the most fundamentally important facets of the modern workplace. In the last year, it has been identified as an important factor for 46 percent of job seekers, while 88 percent found it at least relatively important, and 15 percent of job seekers have declined a job because of the company’s culture. Due to the wide breadth of employees in large global companies, everything from time zones and language barriers to country culture and local business norms can create sticking points. For professionals at corporate headquarters responsible. (more…)

June 19, 2023

Throwing open the window to a new world of work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

While at work in a Viennese Obstetric Clinic in the mid 1840s, a Hungarian physician named Ignaz Semmelweis noticed that mothers were far less likely to succumb to a potentially fatal infection called puerperal fever when the medical staff treating them washed their hands. When he started collecting data to confirm his insight, he found that hand washing reduced mortality rates from around 10 percent to as little as 1 percent. Although, his findings predated the germ theory of disease, which left him without an explanation, in 1847 he published a book in which he proposed that the link was so evident that in future staff should always wash their hands in chlorinated lime before treating patients, to protect them from infection.

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June 16, 2023

You might be working with a narcissist and not know it

by Birgit Schyns • Features, Wellbeing

Have you ever had the feeling that some of your colleagues are working only for themselves, and are not true team players? If your answer is yes, then it is possible that you are working with a narcissist. Narcissists have a heightened sense of what they are entitled to and have a constant need for attention and admiration. They are arrogant and see themselves as superior to others. (more…)

June 16, 2023

The retrofit of commercial property should be prioritised over new buildings

by Neil Franklin • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

A retrofit first principle is advocated in a new report, Transform & Renew – Making non-domestic buildings fit for a low carbon future from building consultancy Mace. That and other recommendations set out in the report aim to promote the re-use and repurposing of existing non-domestic buildings which make up about an eighth of total UK building stock but account for a quarter of its carbon emissions. More than 3.5m such buildings require retrofit in the next ten years, Mace suggests in the report. (more…)

June 15, 2023

Men and women hide what they know from colleagues in different ways

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Men and women exhibit different behaviours in the ways they hide what they know at work, according to new research from academics at the UCL Global Business School for Health (UCL GBSH). The findings, published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, suggest men feel more entitled than women to conceal their knowledge: they hide it more often than women, specifically through rationalised hiding, while women use evasive hiding and playing dumb. Men also conceal knowledge more frequently in a female-dominated environment and are more likely to use the same methods as women, since they believe that women will sanction them less than men for this behaviour. (more…)

June 15, 2023

Two thirds of employees have experienced significant workplace conflict

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A survey of 2,000 full-time employees has revealed that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of workers have been in a workplace where there has been conflicts between colleagues, with 15 percent subsequently looking to change roles. The research, conducted by communications consultancy Magenta Associates, also found that opposing personality types (47 percent), lack of communication (43 percent), and management styles (38 percent) are the most likely causes of workplace conflict. (more…)

June 8, 2023

What are the main issues that stop people embracing change?

by Jennifer Bryan • Comment, JB, Workplace

Many times we talk about resistance – the resistance to change – how we manage it, the reluctance of having to deal with it, the disruption it causes either positively or negatively. But rarely do we talk about why people are resisting – what is driving the resistance. (more…)

June 8, 2023

Corporate real estate strategies are now people centric focused on new ways of working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Property

Corporate real estate decision-making and people-centric strategies are becoming more integrated, according to CBRE’s 2023 European Occupier Survey. The report claims that 68 percent of organisations have partnered across multiple business functions including HR, IT and Communications when implementing workplace change strategies, indicating the importance of real estate decisions at a corporate level. (more…)

June 1, 2023

The circular economy is a great opportunity, but it doesn’t add up yet

by Joanna Knight • Comment, Environment, JK, Workplace design

The circular economy, carbon measurement, product material content, rental, ‘take back’, reuse and recycling – all actions for a more environmentally responsible workplace sector. But what are the priorities? Manufacturers and suppliers are arguably challenged by lack of clarity, requirements for significant investment, combined with cost pressures in a heavily subscribed market. (more…)

June 1, 2023

Resonate complete new Manchester showroom for Flokk

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Resonate are delighted to have completed the stunning new Manchester showroom for leading office furniture manufacturer Flokk. Resonate were approached by Flokk to design their new Manchester Showroom, right in the heart of the city. Previously in a smaller showroom around the corner, Flokk wanted a larger space to showcase their brands as well as their newest acquisition Connection who recently joined the Flokk House of Brands. (more…)

June 1, 2023

Refurbishment of 25 Hanover Square commences

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Major work has begun on the refurbishment of 25 Hanover Square, completing the regeneration of a prominent corner site in London’s Mayfair with a 7-storey premium office building. This collaborative project between multiple stakeholders, including architects, interior designers and workplace experts Basha-Franklin, and asset and development manager Morgan Capital, has been holistically designed to fit the aesthetic of one of London’s most recognisable and historic garden squares. (more…)