Search Results for: environments

Time to take stock about the future of the workplace

Time to take stock about the future of the workplace

When it comes to conversations about work and workplaces, the past year has offered a fully immersive experience. Everybody now has an opinion. Inevitably some of them are better informed and more rooted in experience than others. So, after a full year of talk and as we return to some form of routine working life, the time has come to take stock. Few organisations and people will remain untouched by the sudden shift in attitudes towards working life, so we asked four workplace experts for their views on the current state of play. (more…)

Spaceflow and Flowbox partnership helps landlords monitor and control properties to support sustainability

Spaceflow and Flowbox partnership helps landlords monitor and control properties to support sustainability

Spaceflow Flowbox Flow ScreenSpaceflow, a tenant experience operating system and Flowbox, an in-building advanced technology management company, announce their partnership. Through their common product offering, Flowbox and Spaceflow help landlords and building operators with their ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) goals. With FLOW, real estate companies can monitor energy consumption, occupancy, air quality, temperature, CO2 levels, humidity and in later phases, control and automate their building hardware in one platform. Real-time data helps owners and managers optimize operations, streamline the use of energy sources, reduce operating costs and be guided through investment decisions. (more…)

Ditching ageism and ableism at work could pay dividends

Ditching ageism and ableism at work could pay dividends

ageismA new report launched by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) highlights how pervasive ageism and ableism in the workplace are still locking far too many people out of work as they age, costing not only individuals but employers and the economy. (more…)

Organisations are finally getting their heads around what the office is really good at

Organisations are finally getting their heads around what the office is really good at

Modern office design by BDGAs 2020 came to a close, there was a palpable sense of hope that 2021 would bring with it a fresh slate with the horrors of COVID behind us. Alas, that has not happened and it seems we have more of the same, certainly for the next few months and with that the speculation about the ‘future of the office’ will no doubt continue. (more…)

Societal change is driving businesses to focus on purpose

Societal change is driving businesses to focus on purpose

focusIncreasing pressure from investors, customers and employees are causing CEOs to focus their businesses on purpose, resilience and long-term sustainability, according to a new report from the Reward & Employee Benefits Association (REBA) and Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB). The report, ‘People risk – why the need for change is urgent‘ claims a shift in business focus away from short term gains in favour of emphasising long term value creation as one way of managing people risk. (more…)

New guidance to increase natural settings into urban spaces

New guidance to increase natural settings into urban spaces

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published its ‘Principles for delivering urban Nature-based Solutions’ (NBS), to help developers and owners increase the incorporation of NBS within the construction and operation of built assets. The report claims that the development and function of the built environment has significant impacts upon both climate and biodiversity, locally and globally, and the pressure for our industry to be part of the solution is accelerating. The recommendations of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) have led to a growing requirement to measure and mitigate the physical risks to built assets from climate change, such as flooding and overheating. (more…)

What are the limits of an employer’s duty of care to employees?

What are the limits of an employer’s duty of care to employees?

Earlier this month the ONS (Office for National Statistics) released a rather dismal map of the UK charting our population’s soaring levels of loneliness. Perhaps surprisingly, it is young people and those living in urban areas reporting the highest levels of aloneness. It really does go to show that the ‘social’ in social media doesn’t mean very much, and that you can indeed be surrounded by others and still feel lonely. So what does this new study mean for employers, if anything? (more…)

WiredScore launches SmartScore – global certification for smart buildings

WiredScore launches SmartScore – global certification for smart buildings

WiredScore, is announcing the launch of a new certification for smart buildings aimed at providing clarity, definition and measurement for the growing smart building industry. SmartScore certification was developed in response to increasing demand for guidance around what ‘smart’ really means in relation to commercial buildings, and how it can and should be implemented. (more…)

FUTURE Designs awarded the IMMUNE Building Standard

FUTURE Designs awarded the IMMUNE Building Standard

FUTURE Designs, a UK based designer and manufacturer of luminaires and lighting solutions, obtains the first IMMUNE Building Standard certification in the world for an Industrial Building, awarded by Healthy by Design Building Institute (HDBI). The factory and headquarters achieved the label ‘IMMUNE – Strong’ following the company’s successful implementation of the health and safety set of measures for its employees. (more…)

Pressure and weak leadership form the recipe for workplace bullying

Pressure and weak leadership form the recipe for workplace bullying

workplace bullying image of larger person shouting at small person Employees experience more bullying on days with higher work pressure and passive avoidant leadership, finds new research from BI Norwegian Business School and the University of Bergen and published in The European Management Journal. Professor Olav Kjellevold Olsen and colleagues studied how work pressure is related to daily experiences of workplace bullying related acts, as well as the relationship with transformational or laissez-faire leadership. Transformational leadership involves paying more attention to employees’ needs for achievement and providing social support. Laissez-faire leadership involves a more passive and destructive approach leaving followers on their own in situations in need of leadership. (more…)

Working from home surveillance drives rise of digital presenteeism

Working from home surveillance drives rise of digital presenteeism

Lockdown has meant the majority of UK office-based employees have taken up working from home arrangements over the last year, and it seems that many employers lack trust in their employees when they can’t physically see them. Last year saw a rise in the implementation of surveillance software, to ensure that workers are acting in best corporate interests. However, this is having a negative impact on some employees – who are feeling forced to work longer hours due to a new perceived need to remain visible to their manager or team leader, revealed in a survey by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. With remote working set to stay post-COVID, these findings indicate a worrying growing trend around broken working from home employee trust. (more…)

Remote working one year on: three-quarters of employees feel worse

Remote working one year on: three-quarters of employees feel worse

remote workingRemote workers are still struggling with distracting working environments, stress and an ‘always-on’ culture after a year of working from home. Egress’ Remote working: one year on report claims that three-quarters of remote workers reported feeling worse as a result of long-term working from home, with almost over one-third (39 percent) feeling more stressed. (more…)