Search Results for: future of work

February 13, 2014

No pay rise for a while? Get used to it, says the CIPD

The Chartered Institiute of Personnel and Development has today released a report analysing the most sustained and severe fall in real wages since at least the Second World War, and warns that the decline will not be reversed until there is a substantial improvement in the UK’s productivity. The report is accompanied by new survey data showing many employees expect pay rises in 2014 to be below inflation – a repeat of their experience in 2013. ‘Have we seen the end of the pay rise?‘, which is the third in a series of four Megatrends surveys exploring the future of work and the economic challenges which lie ahead, examines the effects of average weekly earnings that are now between 7.8 percent and 10.2 percent lower in real terms than they were five years ago, in January 2009, leading to a sustained squeeze on household finances.

November 19, 2013

2020 vision is a useless metaphor for far-sightedness in a number of ways

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Technology, Workplace design

The year 2020 is a mere seven years away. Yet the designers of the future workplace and those who invite them to talk about it are still referring to it as if it marks the next frontier of human endeavour and as if we weren’t already up to our collective armpits in the 21st century. The idea of 20/20 vision is considered, in ophthalmological circles at least, to represent “normal” visual acuity and is dependent on the sharpness of the retinal focus within the eye and the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of the brain. In practical terms, this means it’s about seeing and interpreting what is directly in front of us at a distance of around 6 metres. So as a metaphor for farsightedness regarding the future of work or workplaces it’s always been a poor one. And as we get closer to the eponymous year, it becomes worse day by day.

November 5, 2013

Interview: Greg Lindsay on engineering serendipity and harnessing chaos

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Workplace, Workplace design

Render of Plaza at Zappos offices in LA

Greg Lindsay is a journalist and urbanist. He is a contributing writer for Fast Company and co-author of the international bestseller Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next as well as a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, a senior fellow of the World Policy Institute, and a research affiliate of the New England Complex Systems Institute. He is also one of the main speakers at this year’s Worktech conference in London on 19 and 20 November. In this frank and enlightening interview he offers his thoughts on how firms can engineer serendipity into their workplaces and cultures and how the way we design offices is already taking clues from the way we plan urban environments.

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June 17, 2013

The three Rs of the RIBA Awards winners – risk, reticence, recession

by Simon Heath • News

Risk, reticence and recession are the 3 Rs that leap out from the education dominated RIBA awards winners. The premise being that only a really bold architect would design something daring at a time of economic constraint. However, given what vanity has been displayed in recent years one would have supposed that boldness would not have been in short supply. It is the reality that falls some way short. A largely egg- and shoe-box inspired collection with windows best described as minimalist, the common theme is seemingly one of modesty. Even the big public projects seem derivative and cautious. Images of the visitor centre for the Giants Causeway (above) in Ireland suggest an attractive scheme but bring to mind Stonehenge, another early attempt at brutalist monolithic human construction with a spiritual dimension. Unless I’m missing something.

March 6, 2025

Sell out Material Choices event provides a forum for eco learning

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Environment

The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, hosted the next in a series of sustainability events, ‘Material Choices for more Sustainable Products’, on the 4th of March 2025 at Furniture Makers Hall. The seminar focussed on examining some of the established and widely used materials in the furniture and furnishing sector and considerations for greater sustainability. More →

March 3, 2025

UK Government set to ditch ‘right to switch off’ and make concessions on other employment rights

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The government is set to abandon plans to introduce a legal right for employees to “switch off” outside working hours, in a move aimed at easing the burden of Labour’s employment reforms on businesses. The policy was a key element of Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to establish a “new deal for working people.” Although it was not included in the Employment Rights Bill currently passing through Parliament, ministers had previously committed to implementing a right to switch off in the future. More →

February 20, 2025

We may think we are pretty aware of the effects of AI. But posterity may draw different conclusions

by Jo Sutherland • AI, Comment, Wellbeing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the world around us at breakneck speed, unlocking opportunities we could not have even imagined a few years ago. But with its potential comes an immense set of challenges. How we handle this transformation will define the future of our workplaces, economies, and societies. Recent events, including Trump’s revocation of Biden’s executive order addressing AI risks, Labour’s ambitious plans to integrate AI across the UK, and Facebook’s unsettling U-turn on content moderation, highlight the urgent need for businesses to take an ethical, informed, and responsible approach to AI adoption. More →

February 8, 2025

HLW announces three new managing partners as part of new leadership team

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Design and architecture practice HLW has announced a new Global Leadership Team as the firm enters its 140th year. Established in 1885, HLW has been led by partnership since 1900, when founder Cyrus Eidlitz joined with Andrew McKenzie to pioneer the design of a new building typology. From that foundation, the firm has grown into a dynamic global architecture practice headquartered in New York with a flagship international office in London, and steward of the built environment. The new Global Leadership team will advance HLW’s legacy of innovation through collaboration in a historic expansion of its governance, codifying the commitment to integrated leadership at an international scale. More →

January 31, 2025

We need to address the UK’s creative skills shortage

by Chris Meredith • Comment, Workplace

The UK’s creative industries, from film and television to the dynamic video game sector, are cultural flagships and economic cornerstones. Valued at £125 billion annually, the creative industries are named one of the UK government’s eight growth-driving sectors in its Industrial Strategy. Yet, a significant obstacle looms over their continued success: a persistent and growing skills shortage. This gap threatens to stifle innovation and global competitiveness, particularly in the booming video game industry. More →

January 30, 2025

CIFF Guangzhou creates a new ecosystem of sustainable office and commercial space

by Freddie Steele • Company news

After the remarkable success of the March 2024 edition, CIFF Guangzhou is preparing to unveil an even more innovative chapter in March 2025, welcoming global furniture industry leaders to the Canton Fair Complex, with the Office and Commercial Space sector poised to redefine workplace environments for the future. The timing of the 55th CIFF Guangzhou 2025 aligns perfectly with the global office furniture market’s exceptional growth, projected to reach $66.1 billion in 2024 and expand to $99.3 billion by 2029, driven by rapid economic growth, urbanization, and increasing renovation projects worldwide. More →

January 29, 2025

Furniture Makers to hold next sustainability event focussed on material choices

by Freddie Steele • Environment, Furniture, News

The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, is hosting its next sustainability event focussed on examining some of the established and widely used materials in the furniture and furnishings sector. The seminar, which is sponsored by the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP), Ocee & Four Design, Panaz and Satra Technology, will be held on Tuesday 4 March at Furniture Makers’ Hall, London. Organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company’s Climate Change and Sustainability Committee, the event will include presentations on foam, fabrics, textiles, leather and wood. In addition, new materials will be discussed and the necessary investigations in relation to recycled content, future recyclability and other implications. More →

December 20, 2024

Artificial intelligence is coming for the jobs of bosses first

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Workplace

A new survey of 252 senior executives within dedicated IT and artificial intelligence functions enterprises by Verdantix, claims that more than half (53 percent) of businesses expect 10 percent of job roles to be replaced by AI agents over the next five years. And even more (62 percent) expect the benefits from AI projects in the next three years to come from cost savings through elimination of management roles, more so than through savings from the elimination of frontline worker roles. More →