Search Results for: future of work

June 6, 2014

Deloitte increases flexible working rights to attract future female leaders

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace

As employers prepare for new flexible working legislation, which comes into place at the end of this month; Deloitte UK has announced it is to allow its 12,000 employees more say in where, when and how they work. The firm has introduced a range of new and adapted, formal and informal agile working arrangements to incite a change in the day-to-day culture at the UK firm. Deloitte already offers all employees the right to request a formal flexible working arrangement; it will now also enable them to request a block of four weeks unpaid leave each year, without reason or justification. These arrangements support its wider measures that encourage a more agile workplace, including the introduction of collaborative and adaptable working spaces, an environment that supports open conversations about agile working and improvements to technology that make it feasible. More →

March 10, 2014

The workplace of the future is one founded on uncertainty

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

We now know for a fact that the good people at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills take heed of what they read on Workplace Insight. After Simon Heath recently eviscerated the idea of the year 2020 as a useful marker for the ‘future’, a new report from the UKCES draws its line in the sand a bit further on in 2030. It means they can’t have a ‘2020 Vision’ and for that we should be very thankful. Yet the report still falls into the same traps that are always liable to ensnare any prognosis about the workplace of the future, notably that some of the things of which they talk have happened or are happening already. Then there’s the whole messy business of deciding what will emerge from the chaos; a bit like predicting the flavour of the soup you are making when a hundred other cooks are secretly adding their own ingredients.

February 12, 2014

Small steps to innovation debated at Workplace Futures 2014

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

New or refurbished workplaces are often described as ‘innovative.’ But while the architect and designers behind a building’s design are often credited with innovation, when it comes to the FMs tasked with managing the property, things are less clear cut. Although the FM sector is increasingly under pressure to demonstrate innovation, whether as services provider or as an in-house department; determining what exactly this constitutes, much less being able to demonstrate it in practice, is a lot more difficult. The 2014 i-FM Workplace Futures Conference, held this week at the Siemens Crystal building in London’s Docklands, bravely aimed to address this conundrum. It was, as the organisers admitted, a tall order to ‘nail this innovation theme,’ but it seems that taking small incremental steps may be the key to success. More →

February 3, 2014

3D printed pizzas – the future of fast food for (very) remote workers

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working

The printed word may be on its way out, but how about the printed lunch? Last year, an Indian engineer called Anjan Contractor was commissioned by NASA to develop a working 3D pizza printer and has now announced his first prototype. The machine prints each pizza in layers with dried ingredients from cartridges that Anjan Contractor claims can last up to 30 years and cook in just over a minute. If NASA pushes ahead with the idea, it will mean that astronauts will be able to enjoy at least some semblance of fast food in space, while the rest of us can speculate at the implications for the UK’s growing army of homeworkers and road warriors currently subsisting on biscuits, coffee and Ginsters’ pasties. Video (if you must) below.

November 5, 2013

Winners of competition to uncover ‘Workplace of the Future’ announced

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Furniture, News, Workplace design

PopUP concept by Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design

The results of a competition designed to showcase the Workplace of the Future, sponsored by Staples have been announced. The contest, run in conjunction with US based Metropolis magazine, attracted entries from some 200 architects and interior designers. The winner was Joe Filippelli, who created Vertical Flux, which is described as ‘a comfort-based approach to the 2020 workplace with fluctuating atmospheres’. The runner-up was CoLab from Rotterdam based Eckhart Interior Design with a ‘digital re-envisioning of the classic corporate office… which incorporates technology in a way that allows employees to work at any location throughout the office, collaborating with co-workers in any imaginable configuration.’

August 27, 2013

Forget Gen Y – the future workplace is multigenerational

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Knowledge, Legal news

There is quite possibly more guff talked about the impact of Gen Y on businesses and the workplace than any other management topic. However, it’s not only wrong to characterise the people of Generation Y as some homogeneous blob with stereotyped attitudes that set them apart from the rest of humanity, but also to miss the point that the workplace is and will remain multigenerational. In fact, according to new data from the Department of Work and Pensions, there have never been more over 50s in work in the UK than there are right now. There are 2 million more over-50s in jobs than there were 15 years ago and they will form a third of the workforce by 2020. And they will want their own say on things just as much as the much talked about millennials.

July 8, 2013

Flexible working can come with a career catch for chances of future promotion

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Half of all people now work out of the office at least once a week, and more than one in four (27 per cent) every day according to data from software supplier Sage, but a new report by social business the Timewise Foundation warns that this flexibility might come at a price. It found part time and flexible workers face key barriers in terms of career agility, with nearly three in four part time workers saying they haven’t been promoted once since working part time (73 per cent), and over a fifth (22 per cent) saying they wouldn’t even expect to be. Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) believe that promotion with their current employer might be possible, but only by increasing their hours – something that’s not an option for more than a third of respondents (36 per cent) who rate part time hours as ‘crucial’ in their lives, nor a straightforward choice for the 52 per cent who state they are ‘important’ to them. More →

May 1, 2025

Giant digital artwork will Illuminate THE MART’s Facade during NeoCon

by Freddie Steele • Company news

A new large-scale digital projection will light up the facade of THE MART in downtown Chicago this summer, offering a reflection on the forces shaping the city’s past, present and future. Currents of Chicago, created by architecture and design firm Perkins&Will, will be displayed from 5 June to 6 July as part of the ongoing ART on THE MART programme. Lighting up the building’s 2.5-acre riverfront facade, the work coincides with the 2025 edition of NeoCon (9–11 June), a major event in the commercial design industry. It is the third year in a row that ART on THE MART has timed one of its major presentations to coincide with the NeoCon design fair. More →

April 30, 2025

Co-working spaces bring a whole range of benefits for employees and communities

by Mariachiara Barzotto • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Workplace design

When you think of co-working spaces – where workers from different industries come together to share a convenient workplace – you might picture a group of young freelancers hunched over laptops. But today’s co-working spaces have evolved into something more powerful – particularly in a world still reshuffling office work practices in the wake of the COVID pandemic. As workplaces adapt to new ways of operating, from hybrid to “digital nomadism”, co-working spaces can do more than simply offer flexibility. They can support workers’ wellbeing and work–life balance by enhancing a sense of community, building trust and new friendships, and encouraging continuous learning. More →

April 29, 2025

Regional BCO Awards show how London’s best offices are redefining the way we work

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

In a city where tradition meets the cutting edge, London’s office spaces are undergoing a quiet revolution. At the British Council for Offices (BCO) Regional Awards, held today at the London Hilton on Park Lane, seven projects were celebrated—not just for their architectural merit, but for what they reveal about the evolving needs of workers, employers, and communities alike. This year’s winners, chosen from across the capital, signal what the BCO claim is a new era of workplace thinking—where sustainability, community engagement, and human experience carry as much weight as style and status. The awards recognise excellence in the design, fit-out, operation and environmental responsibility of London’s best offices. The 2025 cohort offers more than inspiration; it sets a bold new benchmark for the offices of tomorrow. More →

April 2, 2025

Office fit out costs rise as firms adapt to new ways of working

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

According to a new report from JLL, the office sector is again taking ‘centre stage’ in commercial real estate as companies worldwide adapt hybrid work policies to encourage greater in-office attendance. However, this renewed focus on office spaces comes at a cost, with businesses facing rising expenses to design and fit out their work environments. According to JLL’s newly released Global Office Fit-Out Costs Guide 2025, 59 percent of organisations globally plan to increase investment in office space design and fit-outs over the next five years. The report, which analyses data from 68 cities across 40 countries, highlights significant cost variations, key cost drivers, and the growing demand for sustainable office spaces. More →

March 31, 2025

Flexible workspace, cognitive dissonance and lessons learnt from The Shining

by John Williams • Comment, Flexible working, Property

At the start of the Shining, the seminal horror film of the 1970s, the fantastically unsettling orchestral score provides the clue that this happy family of the opening scene is going to end very, very badly. But the key element of the film is the casting of Jack Nicholson in a kind, smiling role as a writer and loving parent – from the minute the camera settles on that jarring smile, it is obvious that something is off. And this is cognitive dissonance – Jack is being portrayed as a loving husband to Shelley Duvall with your nerves jangling and telling you that he is everything but that…… More →