Search Results for: flex

July 5, 2018

Why a Google office simply does not work for everybody ⁰

by Dr Caroline M. Burns • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

The open plan office versus closed debate rages on, and rather than running out of steam in the face of all of the evidence and reasoned argument put forward one one side or the other by many industry thought-leaders, it seems to have nine lives. Those grand and ground-breaking new offices occupied by the world’s tech giants seem to be particularly popular examples of why highly open and transparent workplaces do, or don’t work, especially those headline-grabbing offices created around the world by Google. This public debate has led to some very interesting and insightful discussions in various forums (to which I have contributed), inspiring me to synthesise the key themes into four reasons why a Google office is not necessarily the right type of office for your organisation. Many thanks in particular are due to David Rostie and Kay Sargent for their valuable online contributions to the debates which inspired this article.

July 5, 2018

Over a third of staff say employers fail to invest in next-generation workplace technology

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

The majority of employees are disappointed with their company’s lack of investment in technology, and despite the fact three quarters (76 percent) want to request flexible working – almost half still don’t have the option of working more flexibly, a new report from a technology company claims. According to the survey by technology company Ingram Micro Cloud UK, in collaboration with technology company Microsoft, despite the fact that Millennials and Centennials are often thought to be the driving force behind changing workplace practices – and are often derided in popular discourse for having unreasonable and unrealistic expectations – the calls for change are coming from all segments of the workforce. However, 85 percent of Millennials admit to procuring their own workplace technologies such as instant messaging, Skype, file hosting and sharing tools (all available from Ingram Micro Cloud) that aren’t supported or provided by their employer, which raises major security issues, acco.

June 28, 2018

Ten demonstrable truths about the workplace you may not know

by Kerstin Sailer • Comment, Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

The science of the workplace has gained a lot of interest over the last few years, highlighting recurring patterns of human behaviour as well as how organisational behaviour relates to office design. In theory, knowledge from this growing body of research could be used to inform design. In practice, this is rarely the case. A survey of 420 architects and designers highlighted a large gap between research and practice: while 80 percent of respondents agreed that more evidence was needed on the impact of design, 68 percent admitted they never reviewed literature and 71 percent said they never engaged in any sort of post-occupancy evaluation. Only 5 percent undertake a formal POE and just 1 percent do so in a rigorous fashion. Not a single practitioner reported a report on the occupied scheme, despite its importance in understanding the impact of a design.

June 28, 2018

New era ahead for corporate real estate strategy, claims CBRE report

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Property

The period to 2040 will bring profound and far-reaching changes to corporate real estate portfolios according to CBRE. The new report Portfolio 2040, claims to approach the issue from a portfolio perspective, examining how business, buildings and perhaps even cities themselves, might look in 20 years’ time. One of the key drivers for change is identified as pervasive availability, and creative use of very high-volume data and the growth of AI, enabling companies to adapt almost instantaneously to external change and offer increasingly personalised solutions. Rapid and fluid specialisation, either temporary or permanent, will characterise most businesses and real estate will need to reflect this by being increasingly flexible, multipurpose and rapidly adaptable.

June 21, 2018

The hype surrounding wellbeing concepts can blind us to their true value

by Georgia Elliott-Smith • Comment, Wellbeing

Digital detox. Does the phrase make you roll your eyes or grab your attention? Lately, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the idea of switching off from technology, particularly your smart phone (if people still call them that as they are so ubiquitous) has become a media fad. A litmus test for this might be how much air time BBC R2 give the subject. Over the past few weeks it has figured a lot, particularly Chris Evans referencing it in a Japanese themed week and a Friday morning interview with the neuroscientist Dr Jack Lewis who shared his tops tips for a digital detox. No doubt the Daily mail is jumping on the bandwagon as well.

June 21, 2018

Three quarters of employees now expect to work beyond age of 65

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The proportion of UK employees who say they will work beyond the age of 65 has remained at three-quarters (72 percent) for the second year running, significantly higher than in 2016 (67 percent) and 2015 (61 percent), according to research from Canada Life. Nearly half (47 percent) of those who say they expect to work beyond 65 will be older than 70 before they retire, up from 37 percent in 2017, while almost a fifth (17 percent) expect to be older than 75. Workers aged 35-44 are most likely to say they expect to retire after their 75th birthday (27 percent).

June 19, 2018

Many fathers are unaware of their parental leave rights

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Nearly half (46 percent) of working fathers are unaware they are entitled to take shared parental leave on the arrival of a child, according to new research. The survey, conducted by Aviva, also claims that one in 10 dads (11 percent) took no time off whatsoever when their most recent child arrived. Businesses are therefore being urged to do more to make sure their male staff know their rights, to enable them to spend precious time with their newborn or adopted children. Crucially, the survey of UK parents with dependent children found that 86 percent of fathers would have taken more time off at the arrival of their children, but felt restricted by financial factors and employer constraints.

June 17, 2018

Fathers Day offers a chance to ponder the disadvantages faced by many working dads

by Julia Waltham • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Father’s Day – a day when fathers up and down the UK are supposed to feel valued – whether it’s hand print cards from their 2-year old, a pair of socks from their teenager or BBQ accessories from their fully-grown son or daughter. Fathers looking to the government for an offering will be disappointed. Its response to the Women & Equalities Select Committee’s excellent recommendations on fathers and the workplace is the equivalent of a nicely wrapped box with very little in it. For self-employed fathers, the box appears to be empty.

June 14, 2018

Nearly half of employees still assigned to same place as the traditional office clings on

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

The worry over a loss in productivity when people are able to work anywhere is entirely unfounded, and what we once called “alternative”, we have come to call current and future workplace strategies, a new report claims. Yet the new study, ‘The Once Alternative Workplace Strategies’, which was conducted and released by Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA), Global Workplace Analytics and Haworth Inc, found that nearly half of employees are still permanently assigned to one space; with no change since 2008. The research pinpoints five leading trends within today’s workplaces and compares the findings to the initial research from more than a decade ago. More →

June 13, 2018

UK skills shift as organisations digitise and automate operations

by Sara Bean • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Almost half (49 percent) of companies are struggling to find skilled workers as digitisation and automation cause significant change in the skills businesses look for in professionals, according to new data from Robert Half UK. As a result, one fifth (21 percent) are now looking to recruit candidates with exceptional soft skills, with a view to developing the desired technical skills on the job. In the Robert Half research, UK business leaders consider an openness to new ideas (28 percent), an openness to change (26 percent) and good communication abilities (19 percent) as key attributes and will prioritise these areas when considering new talent. Digitisation and automation are rapidly evolving the business world. Companies are having to quickly adapt to the changing world of work, and are looking for employees who can keep pace,” says Matt Weston, UK Managing Director at Robert Half.

June 12, 2018

Keeping people at the heart of the modern workplace

by Ryan Anderson • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

The modern workplace is undergoing significant change, and it’s no surprise that many of these changes are driven by the adoption of new technologies. However, unlike previous eras of technological change, most of the technologies being adopted by organizations today have the potential to offer more autonomy, choice and flexibility to their employees. This can cause disconnects (literally) with the built environment, but it’s also possible for those who design and manage work spaces to adopt a new mindset to stay in lockstep with technological change and to ensure the creation of positive workplace experiences.

June 11, 2018

Coworking is breaking away from its cultural and geographical stereotypes

by Gary Chandler • Comment, Property, Technology, Workplace design

There is a persistent image of a coworking space as a sort of glorified serviced office for tech and creative startups who can’t afford the eye-watering rents in the areas they need to be. This is usually in the technology hothouses of the world’s major cities where they can work alongside the corporate giants and fellow innovators that thrive there. The reason such perceptions exist is because they are largely true. It’s no coincidence that coworking spaces have thrived up till now in the world’s most expensive property markets – in London, Hong Kong and New York, serving exactly the sorts of start-ups and freelancers who rely on proximity to their potential clients.