Search Results for: future of work

February 19, 2019

Cold noses and warm design; a review of the Stockholm Furniture Fair

by John Sacks • Comment, Workplace design

The scene was set when, on the final approach to Stockholm, the Captain announced that the city was ‘enjoying’ heavy snow and a temperature of minus 15 degrees C. Can the fair organisers be persuaded to move future events to balmy June? Probably not. But of course, everything works perfectly despite the weather, and interiors everywhere are beautifully warm.

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February 14, 2019

Digital transformation requires more than just new technology

by Arnab Banerjee • Comment, Technology

Digital transformation has been a priority for businesses for many years, primarily to benefit from the opportunities presented by a mix of digital technologies and their impact across all aspects of society. Customer-facing functions such as sales, marketing and procurement, in their quest for new revenue sources and information-powered ecosystems of value, have led the way on digital transformation, while HR has historically taken a back seat. But in order for the entire organisation undergoing transformation to work together holistically, HR needs to take the lead and embed a digital DNA within the organisation.

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February 6, 2019

A robot can do amazing things, but could it hold down a desk job?

by Amy LaViers • AI, Features, Technology

A colleague of mine, a roboticist, recently proclaimed that if one could teleoperate the robot he developed in his lab, it could hold down a desk job. It’s a common sentiment among roboticists that existing mechanical hardware is sufficient to replace humans in many of the tasks by which we earn a living. Rather than the hardware, the last, golden step to having human-like machine counterparts is in the development of appropriate algorithms. But this is wrong. There is in fact little evidence that robots have the mechanical features necessary to hold down a desk job, regardless of the algorithms.

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February 6, 2019

Green Building Council sets out to define net zero carbon building

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, News

The UK Green Building Council has published a consultation paper inviting feedback on a proposed definition for net zero carbon buildings. The consultation sets out the initial proposals from the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Task Group which is developing a framework definition in line with the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement.

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February 5, 2019

UK cities joining the global movement to net zero building

by Natasha Stokes • Cities, Environment, Features

The UK is joining a global drive towards a ‘net zero carbon’ future, with its biggest cities setting ambitious decarbonisation targets in an effort to reduce their impact on the environment. Manchester plans to be a carbon-neutral city by 2038, while Bristol aims for full decarbonisation by 2030. In London, all new buildings will be net zero carbon by 2030, as the UK strives to meet targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement.

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February 4, 2019

Largest ever speculative office development in Bristol gets green light

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Property

AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets (AXA IM – Real Assets), along with development manager Bell Hammer, is to commence construction of the initial phase of its 300,000 sq ft mixed-use Assembly Bristol regeneration project, having appointed Galliford Try as the main contractor. The construction contract and initial work has commenced for Building A which comprises 200,000 sq ft across 11 storeys with practical completion due in 2020. The building is claimed to a offer new archetype for Bristol office space; comprising multiple uses, and a range of flexible office spaces designed for both local and global businesses in the services, creative, consultancy, financial, media and technology sectors.

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February 1, 2019

UK employees confident they will benefit from a ‘buyers’ market for talent

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

This year is set to be a ‘buyers’ market’ for the UK’s top professionals, as the nation’s war for talent intensifies. This is according to new research from Robert Half UK, which found that nearly a third (32 percent) of those surveyed believe their skillset will be more desirable over the coming months – even against the current economic and political climate – as the supply/demand imbalance of the UK’s top talent heightens. The current skills in demand include data analysis and digital skills, as well as softer skills such as adaptability, resilience and critical thinking to help complement the evolution of the workplace. (more…)

January 31, 2019

Get ready for the next wave of technological innovation, or get left behind

by Bruce Barclay • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Technology

The natural world is a story of constant change and evolution. Animals, plants, insects and micro-organisms exist in an ecosystem, adapting to relentless changes in their environment, influenced by habitat, climate and their cohabitors. They respond to change faster than the human world, because they are not tied by the same restraints and conventions. They are interdependent and reliant on each other, competitors and cohabitors for mutual advantage. As humans move into what has been called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, there is much we can learn from nature, particularly within the workplace environment. The transformation of an organisation’s real estate, facilities management, IT and HR functions into a workplace ecosystem, as proposed by the Stoddart Review, has been discussed for some time.

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January 31, 2019

Forty percent of UK businesses have experienced cyber security breach in past year

by Sara Bean • AI, Facilities management, News, Technology

Forty percent of UK businesses have experienced cyber security breach in past year Well over a third (40 percent) of UK businesses have experienced a cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months, according to new government figures as it announces the UK is set to become a world leader in the race to eradicate some of the most damaging cyber security threats. The Business Secretary Greg Clark has promised that increased security and protections will be built into digital devices and online services with the help of up to £70 million in government investment through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and backed by further investment from industry.

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January 29, 2019

Northern English cities bear brunt of government spending cuts

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News

The UK’s cities, and especially those in the North of England have borne nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of all real-terms local government funding cuts in the last decade despite being home to just 54 percent of the population, according to Centre for Cities’ annual Cities Outlook 2019 report – the Centre’s annual health check on UK city economies. This is equivalent to a reduction of £386 per city dweller since 2009/10, compared to £172 per person living elsewhere. Cities Outlook 2019 reveals a clear geographical divide in where cuts to cities have fallen, with the top five worst affected cities all located in the North of England.

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January 28, 2019

The bumpy road to automation, dancing elephants, free beer and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Flexible working, Property, Technology, Wellbeing

The World Economic Forum’s Annual Summit in Davos offers the world’s elite the chance to rub shoulders and address important themes of capitalism and society. Its output has largely consisted of making assured noises about Big Subjects, and especially globalisation and the effects of technology on the economy, now typically framed around the current / imminent Fourth Industrial Revolution™.

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January 25, 2019

People who experience early redundancy have poor health in later life

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

People who involuntarily lose their job early in their career have poorer health in later life, according to new findings from the University of Kent in the UK and the University of Bamberg in Germany. Researchers, including Dr Olena Nizalova from the Centre for Health Service Studies (CHSS) within the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR) at Kent, set out to establish what the long-term implications of enforced unemployment are on individuals over the course of their life, particularly in later life.