October 8, 2019
So, WeWork then. As the dust settles on whatever has happened, some lessons may be emerging. Many of them are presented in this comment in The Economist and this piece in The Intelligencer in which Scott Galloway of NYU Business School claims that the problems have been evident for a long time. He doesn’t hold back. More →
October 3, 2019
People are only spending around 40 percent of each day doing the things they are paid to do. This means that UK businesses are missing the opportunity to tap into underused potential, due to unproductive activities and misapplied technologies, according to the new 2020 State of Work report (registration) by Workfront. More →
September 27, 2019
The €30 million award-winning Triangulum project is drawing to a close as the participating cities in the pioneering project begin to share the first results from the five-year long future smart cities programme. Triangulum is one of 14 European Smart Cities and Communities Lighthouse Projects funded by the European Union’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon 2020. More →
September 26, 2019
Once upon a time the concept of ‘remote working’ beyond outsourced contractors was almost unheard of. Employers viewed remote work as an opportunity for workers to be less productive, out of contact and generally more inefficient. As an employer myself, I would have agreed with these misconceptions early on in my career. However, after many years of hiring staff that either work part- or even full-time remotely, I can confidently say the myths are unfounded; even I am now more prone to remote working. More →
September 26, 2019
Despite a seeming shift towards companies embracing more collaborative workplace environments across Europe, the benefits of ‘hot-desking’ and open plan working seem to still be contentious for many workers. With this in mind, Savills, in association with YouGov, has conducted a survey of 11,000 office workers across the continent to understand just What Workers Want. More →
September 26, 2019
A new report published jointly by Instant Group and Area addresses the issue of how ensure workplaces address the physical, technological and personal needs of the growing number of people who have a choice about where they work. The report explores what employers can do to ensure that the workplace is still a place where people want to be.
September 25, 2019
Global life expectancy is growing at its fastest rate since the 1960s. Today, a 20-year-old has a 50 per cent chance of living to 100. Even if you are 60, you have an evens chance of reaching 90. A long life can be a gift, but of course it also has implications for how we live our lives and in particular how we plan to work and fund those extra years. Clearly there is a role for employers in creating work environments and flexible working cultures that recognise and maximise the potential of the 100-year life. More →
September 24, 2019
A new report from the IZA Institute of Labor Economics claims that working mothers serve as role models for the working lives of their children, especially their daughters. The report suggests that while the inter-generational correlation of labour market outcomes has been a subject of interest among both academics and policymakers for a long time, much of the literature has focused on the correlation of earnings. The new report argues that not only is the potential to earn transmitted across generations but also the willingness to work more generally. More →
September 20, 2019
Despite acknowledging the importance of new skills, 45 percent of managers don’t feel confident in their ability to develop the skills employees need today, according to a poll by Gartner. In addition to a lack of confidence, Gartner research also claims that managers lack time to coach their direct reports, with managers spending on average 9 percent of their time on developing their direct reports. More →
September 19, 2019
Employee acceptance of new technology was a recurring theme of the CoreNet Global Summit in Amsterdam last week. The business value of monitoring software was largely accepted during the three days of the Summit; however, the individual’s perspective – that the benefits that might be traded for loss of employee privacy – was widely acknowledged as a pressing issue. More →
September 16, 2019
Many British High Streets face a bleak future as policymakers are failing to identify a clear economic focus to city centre regeneration strategies. According to the Centre for Cities’ latest research, in partnership with Nationwide Building Society, success is defined by those policies that create skills, jobs and quality office space for businesses rather than currently accepted interventions such as cultural initiatives, business rate reforms and online sales taxes. More →
October 8, 2019
Working hours and the truth about the demands we meet
by Kristoff DuBose • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design