March 20, 2020

How important is it to be happy at work?

How supportive are you of your employees’ wellbeing? New research from CV-Library claims that two-thirds of Brits (61.7 percent) say being happy at work is the most important part of a job, but 87.9 percent feel their employer could do more to improve morale in the workplace.

What’s more, the study, which surveyed 2,300 UK professionals, suggests that Brits think being happy is more important than salary (22.1 percent) and location (15.5 percent) when it comes to work. Interestingly, being happy in their job was also more important for women (66.4 percent) than men (58.7 percent), as well as for 55-64-year olds (66.9 percent) and 45-54-year olds (64.8 percent). More →

March 18, 2020

One million young workers set to leave London before turning 33

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

The number of young workers leaving London is on the rise, with net migration away from the capital growing, claims new research from Totaljobs and Professor of Economics at Lancaster University, Geraint Johnes. The new research, taken from analysis of ONS data as well as the views of 2,000 Londoners, suggests that since 2014, more than one million professionals have left London, with just 900,000 coming in. This is a net loss of 88 workers every day, with the biggest shortfall down to workers aged 25-34, the majority (54 percent) of them having given up hope of ever owning property in the capital. There has been a 49 percent increase in outbound migration of those in their 30s over the last five years. More →

March 17, 2020

Government launches “revolutionary” green transport consultation

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Technology

The government has launched a new intiative to test the introduction of green transport systems and also injected £90 million into funding three experimental ‘future transport zones’ across the UK aimed at establishing whether smart and green technology can be adopted. The new transport zones in the West of England, Portsmouth and Southampton and the East Midlands will be used to test innovations in the movement of people and goods. One project will trial the use of drones for carrying medical supplies from clinics in the Isle of Wight to hospitals in the mainland. This should cut down the time spent moving supplies by ferry or road while speeding up diagnosis. More →

March 13, 2020

The UK is not well enough prepared for working from home

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Figures released today suggest that the UK is one of the least prepared countries to introduce a mass home-working strategy. Leesman has surveyed more than 700,000 employees worldwide. Of the 139,778 UK workers in its index, 55 percent have little or no experience working from home, compared with 52 percent of respondents globally. More →

March 11, 2020

Office politics major source of work related stress

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

Perkbox commissioned a new study of 1,815 employed people to present a examination into the changing landscape of work-related stress in 2020. The study compared results to 2018 data in order to identify how sources of work-related stress and the solutions offered by employers are changing. The study claims that 79 percent of adults in employment commonly experience work-related stress. More →

March 10, 2020

Expectations at work are changing

by Jayne Smith • Environment, Flexible working, News, Working lives

New research from Aon, claims that 94 percent of employers believe their employees’ expectations of work experience are changing. In Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2020, employers say their employees expect flexible working hours, the ability to work from home, better awareness and handling of mental health, better approaches to diversity and inclusion and better parental policies. A surprise in this year’s report is the strength of opinion on environmental and sustainability policies, coming in at the seventh most important expectation in its first year in the survey. Fifty-four percent of employers believe that employees want clarity and positivity on this subject.

March 6, 2020

Smart cities will be defined by a number of key characteristics

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Technology

The future infrastructure of smart cities will rely on the analysis of data relayed by the sensors in buildings, infrastructure, transportation and power grids; enabling city authorities to make critical decisions in real-time, according to GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Smart cities – Thematic Research’ (paywall). More →

March 5, 2020

The theme park of modern office design

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design

Here’s an interesting exercise you may want to try. Off the top of your head and without thinking about it too much, write down the names of five iconic office furniture designs. The kind that your Aunt Sheila might recognise if she saw them but wouldn’t necessarily be able to name. When I did this recently while writing a piece about design trends, the products I came up with automatically were things like Frank Lloyd Wright’s desks for the Larkin building, Action Office, the 3107 chair (pictured), and Marcel Breuer’s Wassily Chair. More →

March 5, 2020

Increasing diversity is key to improving workplace productivity

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

The latest research from recruitment agency Robert Half UK, claims that the majority of businesses are pursuing workplace culture improvements during the first half of the year. Increasing diversity and inclusion is a top priority for over a quarter of business leaders, as companies seek to improve workplace culture in a competitive hiring market. More →

March 4, 2020

Agility may be the key to surviving uncertainty, but what does it mean?

by Victoria Normark • Comment

Amid continued economic and political uncertainty, following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU), the adoption of agile practices will be more important than ever for businesses to survive and adapt to market change. But when we talk about agility in a business context, what do we really mean?

March 4, 2020

Workers would swap jobs to escape an unpleasant workspace

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

Almost half of employees in the UK would be willing to leave their job because of an unappealing office, according to a new survey of almost 1,000 UK office workers. The research, carried out by Matthews & Goodman, claims that 44 percent of workers would ‘definitely’ look for a new job because of an unpleasant workspace. In addition, a further 45 percent said it ‘might’ encourage them to look around for a new job. More →

March 4, 2020

New smart building suite for a people centric workplace experience

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Siemens Smart Infrastructure has launched a smart building suite designed to create more efficient and flexible workplaces where people are at the core. The suite of IoT (Internet of Things) enabled devices, applications and services turn offices into a competitive advantage for companies. More →