Search Results for: generation z

November 1, 2017

Division of workplace hierarchy on impact of office design and flexible working

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

There is a divide in the importance placed on the office environment among different levels of the UK workforce, with new research suggesting C-Suite executives do not fully appreciate the factors that keep employees happiest at work and the impact that the office environment has on their employees’ productivity and wellbeing. According to the new research by Peldon Rose and are happier and work most productive in the office, 88 percent of middle management and 84 percent of junior employees say they always or sometimes enjoy coming to work every day compared to 76 percent of C-Suite executives. In addition, junior and middle management employees are more inclined to work in the office, with 62 percent and 63 percent, respectively, saying they prefer to work in the office over at home (29 percent, 30 percent) compared to C-Suite who prefer to work at home (40 percent) rather than the office (24 percent). As a result, just a quarter of junior employees believe their office has a culture that allows them to work flexibly compared to nearly half of C-Suite.

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October 30, 2017

Employees are investing their own time and money to remain competitive in the changing workplace

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Capgemini and LinkedIn have published a new global report exploring the ‘digital talent gap’, which analyses the demand and supply of talent with specific digital skills and the availability of digital roles across multiple industries and countries. The report, The Digital Talent Gap—Are Companies Doing Enough? claims to reveal the concerns felt by employees when assessing their own digital skills and the lack of training resources currently available to them within their workplace. Highlights include the fact that nearly 50 percent of employees, rising to close to 60 percent for what the report calls digitally talented employees are investing their own money and additional time beyond office hours to develop digital skills on their own. Capgemini surveyed 753 employees and 501 executives at the director level or above, at large companies with reported revenue of more than $500 million for FY 2016 and more than 1,000 employees. The survey took place from June to July 2017, and covered nine countries – France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States and seven industry sectors.

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October 27, 2017

HR Directors turning their attention to workplace design and experience

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace, Workplace design

The role of HR Directors is going to change in the future as they will increasingly become “curators” of the office, charged with generating the right atmosphere to inspire millennial workers, according to a study of 100 HR Directors by Unispace. The study claims found that there will be greater HR ownership of the physical workplace in the future as human resources becomes more focused on the employee “experience”. A key to future success will be ensuring workers are “engaged with the workplace” and enable them to collaborate in better ways and become more productive. A recurring theme identified during the interviews was a change to the overall decision-making process around physical space. Previously the remit of property and facilities management, it now includes HR representation as standard practice in large organisations. Bringing HR to the table enables the working environment to embody organisational values and contribute towards achieving strategic “people-led” business objectives, such as better staff retention and productivity.

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October 26, 2017

Three quarters of firms dissatisfied with quality of UK infrastructure

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector, Technology

Businesses are concerned about the pace of commitment to improving the UK’s infrastructure, and a record number of firms are dissatisfied with the state of infrastructure in their region. With the UK currently ranking 27^th in the world for the quality of its infrastructure, nearly all (96 percent) of businesses in the 2017 CBI/AECOM Infrastructure Survey see infrastructure as important (of which 55 percent view it as critical) to the Government’s agenda. From the Clean Growth Strategy and the £500 billion infrastructure pipeline to its decision to build a new runway at Heathrow and press ahead with the A303 tunnel, the Government has made clear its commitment to British infrastructure. However, only one in five firms is satisfied with the pace of delivery (20 percent) and almost three quarters (74 percent) doubt infrastructure will improve over this Parliament. This lack of confidence is attributed primarily to policy inconsistency (+94 percent of firms) & political risk (+86 percent). The digital sector is the exception, however, where 59 percent of firms are confident of improvements.

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October 23, 2017

Freelancers to make up a majority of US workforce within a decade

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Freelance website Upwork and the Freelancers Union have published the results of a report called Freelancing in America: 2017, which the sponsors claim is the most comprehensive measure of the US independent workforce, (but given their vested interests probably needs you to add a pinch of salt and always worth reading Trustpilot reviews). The fourth annual study estimates that 57.3 million Americans are freelancing (36 percent of the US workforce) and contribute approximately $1.4 trillion annually to the economy, an increase of almost 30 percent since last year.

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October 19, 2017

How our smartphones stop us from living in the moment

by Joelle Renstrom • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing

As a teacher who has long witnessed and worried about the impacts of technology in the classroom, I constantly struggle to devise effective classroom policies for smartphones. I used to make students sing or dance if their phones interrupted class, and although this led to some memorable moments, it also turned inappropriate tech use into a joke. Given the myriad deleterious effects of phones – addiction, decline of face-to-face socialisation, deskilling, and endless distraction, for starters – I want students to think carefully about their phone habits, rather than to mindlessly follow (or not follow) a rule.

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October 9, 2017

Businesses could be losing out because their offices are poorly designed and uninspiring

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace design

UK businesses could be losing millions of pounds because their offices are ‘poorly designed and uninspiring’, according to a new study. The research of 2,000 office workers claims around three quarters believe their office environment has made them less productive and less effective at work. While a third have been left with no alternative but to take time off from work because their surroundings have directly affected their physical or mental wellbeing. Stale air and lack of airflow is the biggest concern for workers, followed by noisy co-workers and overly hot conditions.

Commissioned by office design firm Oktra, the survey also claims that 34 per cent dread going to work purely because of their office environment. The research also claims 34 per cent of workers would be less likely to take sick days if they worked in a ‘favourable’ office environment. And a third would be willing to stay at a company for longer if they worked in an appealing setting.

Seventy-nine per cent think their employer should do more to improve their surroundings at work. And over half have complained to a senior member of staff about their surroundings because they have affected their physical or mental wellbeing. While 49 per cent have let their concerns be known because their productivity has been impacted.

However the office environment appears to have a greater impact on millennials’ productiveness at work than those from the baby boomer generation. Eight in ten 18-34 year olds revealed their surroundings have made them less productive compared to 65 per cent of those aged 55 plus. While 43 per cent of millennials would be more open to staying with a company for longer if the office environment was appealing, compared to around a quarter of baby boomers.

Seventy-five per cent of 18-34 year olds believe their working environment has negatively impacted their physical and mental wellbeing, while 63 per cent of workers aged 55 plus feel the same way. And almost a fifth of those 34 and under have left a job as a direct result of their office environment – in contrast 10 per cent of those 55 plus have moved on because of their workspace.

Biggest concerns about the office
1. Lack of air ventilation or flow – air feels stale, little circulation
2. Noise made by co-workers – chatter etc
3. Temperature – not being too hot
4. Lack of daylight
5. Temperature – not being too cold
6. Not having a clean office
7. Not having privacy
8. Lack of a nice view
9. Not having a comfortable workstation/desk
10. Lack of space/room – being too cramped
11. Comfort control – not being able to easily adjust the temperature in your office
12. Too much air ventilation or flow – makes you feel chilly/uncomfortable
13. Not having a comfortable desk chair
14. Lack of outside spaces – somewhere to go for your dinner break for instance
15. Dull surroundings in the office
16. Not enough connection with nature e.g. can’t see greenery outside, lack of plants in the office, no green spaces nearby
17. Breeze that makes you feel chilly/uncomfortable
18. Lack of facilities inside the office (no kitchen, meeting rooms, cycle storage, shower facilities, places to store food etc.)
19. Office being too dark
20. Flexibility of your workstation – desks/chairs/screens that can’t be easily adjusted for comfort

October 6, 2017

Flexible ways of working are definitely on the rise and it suits all ages

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

The majority (94 percent) of workers are open to flexible ways of working such as part-time, freelance, contract, temporary or independent contract work a new report from ManpowerGroup has revealed. Coining the trend as NextGen work, the research suggests this approach to a job is a choice (81 percent) not a last resort (19 percent). Findings from #GigResponsibly: The Rise of NextGen Work – a global survey of 9,500 people in 12 countries – identifies a shift towards this new way of getting work done, and that it works for people and employers. People were asked how they want to work, what motivates them and their views on NextGen Work. More control over their schedule (42 percent), boosting their bank account (41 percent) and developing new skills (38 percent) are top reasons why this flexible kind of work is on the rise. The report also found that this flexible approach is not just attractive to Millennials, as meaningful work and employer appreciation are valued more by Boomers than any other generation. More than 80 percent of US workers say NextGen Work is a choice, not a last resort, and builds resilience for less predictable futures.

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September 28, 2017

How smart workplaces increase performance and attractiveness ⁰

by Kati Barklund • Case studies, Facilities management, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

The workplace can and should be used as a strategic tool to support work and cooperation, to shape the experience of the brand and to produce competitive advantage for the organization. Even when not used as a strategic tool the workplace still affects all these parts and there is always a risk that the workplace has instead a negative impact if we are not aware of the relationship and really use workplace as a strategic tool to affect attractiveness, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. The workplace makes a great difference and it is becoming an important differentiator between successful and less successful organizations. I also strongly believe that the workplace management area is a key for us in the FM industry to bring FM to a higher level, to shift from cost focus to more value focus, and this is something we need to do together within the FM industry and we really should take the driver’s seat. But, let’s start from the beginning.

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September 27, 2017

Millennial stereotypes debunked as research confirms they display a full range of personality types

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace, Workplace design

With a plethora of reports around that generalise the behaviour of an entire generation of people, yet another exploration of the Millennial has to be approached with caution. But for this latest study, “The Millennial mindset: Work styles and aspirations of the most misunderstood worker”, Deloitte Greenhouse analyses the Business Chemistry types of millennials and (thank goodness) dismisses some of the most common stereotypes. Among the key findings, 60 percent of millennials identify with two of the four primary Business Chemistry types: Guardians, detail-oriented pragmatists, and Drivers, who focus on outcomes and goals. It also found that 59 percent of millennials identify with a workstyle that is more introverted and less comfortable with ambiguity in the workplace—very different from traditional thinking about millennials. In contrast, the study reveals that baby boomers are represented by millennials’ opposing Business Chemistry types – Pioneer and Integrator, the two most nonlinear, ambiguity tolerant and networked work styles. Twenty-nine percent of baby boomers identify as Pioneer – with an equal number identifying as Integrator – while 22 percent identify as Driver and only 20 percent as Guardian.

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September 26, 2017

Lack of cultural inclusiveness means staff reluctant to share personal issues at work

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

UK workers are still uncomfortable about having honest conversations at work, with nearly two thirds (61 percent) feel they keep an aspect of their lives hidden in the workplace. The research from Inclusive Employers found family difficulties (46 percent) was the most likely hidden issue at work, followed by mental health (31 percent). One in five also admitted they would hide their sexual orientation while at work. It also found a generational divide, with 67 percent of employees aged between 18 -24 years old keeping something secret compared to 55 percent of those over aged 55 years or over. The data, released to mark National Inclusion Week 2017, found this lack of openness can have negative impacts on workers and employers, with over a quarter of workers (26 percent) admitting they would feel less connected to their workplace if they hid an aspect of themselves and 18 percent saying their performance would suffer.

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September 25, 2017

People who work in coworking spaces believe they are more productive

by Mark Eltringham • Coworking, Flexible working, News

People who work in so-called coworking spaces claim they are more motivated and have more positive interactions with others, according to a new report. The report by Staples Solutions, called Collaboration Generation: The Rise of Millennials in the Workplace, details the trend in collaborative working, in addition to what attracts the millennial generation to business. Since 2010, co-working spaces worldwide have increased by 5,519 percent as the average office space per employee has decreased by 2.9 percent, the research reveals, with London seeing a reduction in traditional office space by 8.8 percent.