Search Results for: government

April 25, 2015

The latest issue of Insight Weekly is available to view online ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; the ten most sustainable buildings in North America; Mark Eltringham examines the ways different countries approach ergonomics. Steve Taylor looks at the evidence for doing less sitting and more standing at work, while a new report from the Work Foundation sets out the challenges facing the next UK government to improve the health of the country’s workforce. In news; Facebook almost doubles the size of its London HQ, the adoption of flexible working by UK organisations increases by over a third and new data shows that the UK office market is growing as employers strive to create environments designed to enhance staff wellbeing. Sign up to the newsletter via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar and follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

April 24, 2015

Rising commercial property costs driving small businesses out of London ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property, Technology

The vast majority of small businesses in London and other parts of the South East are considering relocating over the next five years because they are frustrated with the lack of appropriate facilities and soaring commercial property costs in the region. A new study from the University of Sussex’s business incubation network Sussex Innovation claims that nearly two thirds (63 percent) of small businesses, rising to 78 percent of technology startups, believe their future may depend on leaving the capital. The study claims this threatens the viability of the Government’s flagship Tech City hub just months after it announced a new scheme to attract firms to the area. The research is based on a study of over 500 business owners and leaders in London and the South East and was presented at the launch of Sussex Innovation’s new hub in Croydon.

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April 24, 2015

Facebook nearly doubles the size of its London headquarters ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

Facebook has nearly doubled the size of its UK headquarters on Euston Road in Central London, according to property owner British Land. The firm has signed a deal with the landlord that will see it add 66,000 sq ft to its existing 87,000 sq ft office. Facebook will occupy the fifth floor of the Regent’s Place building, as well as floors nine to sixteen and some shared space on the ground floor. The company has recently relocated from a 36,000 sq ft office in Covent Garden. Facebook is one of several global tech giants migrating to the area around Euston and Kings Cross which is in the midst of a multibillion redevelopment. The most high profile new resident is Google which is building a giant new headquarters building in King’s Cross. Other organisations in the area, which has been dubbed the Knowledge Quarter, include UCL, the Guardian and the government’s Digital Catapult Centre.

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April 23, 2015

How local approaches to ergonomics redefine worldwide standards

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

We live in the Global Village, Marshall McLuhan’s construct of an electronically contracted world in which attitudes, cultures and our political, business and legislative framework begin to pull together. And yet still each nation is characterised by the little differences that set it apart from its neighbours and even nations on the other side of the globe. So while there are many common threads that bind workplace design in different countries many of the core issues that shape the way we design and manage offices, such as demographics, status, organisational culture, technology, legislation and corporate identity can vary from country to country. The way these are viewed and the emphasis each country places on each of them shape how they manifest themselves in the local market.

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April 23, 2015

Proposal to fund development of Grade A office space in Northern Ireland ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Plans to develop a scheme that ensures Northern Ireland has enough Grade A office space to meet its needs has been launched by business development agency Invest NI. It follows the publication of a report that found while demand for Grade A offices has remained relatively steady over the past three years, with no new development taking place, both the overall supply and Grade A supply has fallen steadily. Of the total supply, only around 320,000 sq ft is classified as Grade A, 250,000 sq ft of which is located in Belfast City Centre. Nearly a quarter (21%) is contained within units that are smaller than 10,000 sq ft, a further 36 percent within units sized between 10-20,000 sq ft and there are only three office buildings across Northern Ireland that could offer space exceeding 20,000 sq ft.

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April 22, 2015

Flexible working and smart tools prove a big hit with UAE employees ⁰

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

It’s not just in the UK where employees say they are attracted by the idea of flexible working. A new study from YouGov commissioned by the Dubai based Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) claims that employees in the United Arab Emirates now rate employers most highly for the smart tools and flexible working opportunities they offer. The study of over 1,000 employees and HR professionals in the UAE was commissioned to uncover emerging trends in human capital management. It found that 64 percent of employees rate flexible working hours, provided by employers based on personal circumstances, as good or very good, which is particularly prevalent amongst Emirati respondents (83 percent). The majority of employees (74 percent) also believe a remote and flexible work schedule increases their productivity.

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April 22, 2015

UK’s health and social systems failing to improve workforce wellbeing ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Public Sector, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report published this week by The Work Foundation, Healthy, Working Economies sets out the challenges facing the next UK government to improve the health and wellbeing of the country’s workforce. The report calls on the government to review how it is using local organisations, such as Health and Wellbeing Boards and Local Enterprise Partnerships to encourage improvements in workforce wellbeing and health. The Work Foundation recommends that a standardised set of measures be included in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessments performed by Health and Wellbeing Boards, including measures of employment outcomes for individuals with health issues. The report also suggests that employer leadership is needed to drive the step-change needed to improve the health of the workforce.

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April 21, 2015

BIM predicted to become ‘de facto’ standard, despite adoption slowdown ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

Increased workloads that limit the time available to implement new working practices is one of the reasons why the reported awareness and usage of BIM (Building Information Modelling) has fallen for the first time in five years. The fifth NBS National BIM Report, which looks at how UK building design professionals are adapting to the use of BIM, found that awareness and usage has fallen from 54 percent last year to 48 percent. However, out of 900 respondents to the survey, most believe BIM will become the ‘de facto’ standard for the design process within three years, as 92 percent expect to be using it within that timespan – and 95 percent within five years. With just months to go until the mandated use of Level 2 BIM on public sector projects in 2016, this year’s report looks at the built environment’s readiness.

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April 19, 2015

Promotion: Can discarded plastic bottles foster employee wellbeing? ⁰

by Insight Promotion • Insight promotion, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Employee wellbeing, productivity and privacy are hot topics in the workplace right now and AgileAcoustics think they have a unique solution to drive this forward. The company, based on campus at the University of Bradford has developed a range of acoustic panels that use plastic bottles destined for the scrap heap to make offices around the world more pleasant places to work. About 18 months ago they developed a ‘shaped’ wall print made from recycled plastic bottles, and raised £13,000 on Kickstarter. Shortly after Stuart Jones, the Founder met with a Commercial Interior Designer who loved the prints and advised him to look at the acoustic performance. Jones quickly set to researching the prints acoustic performance, and shortly after decided to develop a spin-off product with class-leading acoustics performance.

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April 17, 2015

Want to rile the electorate? Buy some office furniture. ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Furniture, News, Public Sector, Workplace design

It’s fair to say that most people can go about their day to day lives without worrying too much about the price of office furniture. That is until they need to work themselves into a state of excitement about the amount of taxpayers’ money being spent on desks and chairs. We’ve already highlighted how the hackles of the electorate are raised easily by the sight of refurbished offices although we are at a loss to explain why, especially when you consider it in comparison to the spectacular foul-ups associated with IT procurement and the fact they probably don’t sit around on tea crates at home. This visceral reaction is an international phenomenon. While the good people of Sheffield can whip themselves up about a £73 task chair, across the pond a political storm has formed around the £4 million expenditure of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on office furniture.

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April 2, 2015

Flexible working and recognition linked to happiness at work

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

The eternal quest for happiness is the subject of two new reports which conclude that if you want to feel more satisfied with your working life, it’s important to feel as if you are in control of it. New research from Professor Andy Charlwood at Loughborough University claims that government and employer policies that give people greater flexibility to choose the hours they work helps to foster their wellbeing and that overworked people are less satisfied with their lives and experience lower levels of psychological wellbeing overall. A second, less scientific study commissioned by US software provider InLoox claims that one of the most important determinants of happiness at work is an ability to work unsupervised or not to report to anybody at all so, if you must have a job, make sure you’re in charge.

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March 31, 2015

SMEs provide the key to encouraging more women onto boards

by Aki Stamatis • Comment, Workplace, Workplace design

Research from the Government, released last week, found that women now accounted for 23.5 percent of FTSE100 board members, up from 12.5 per cent in 2011. The target is 25 per cent by the end of this year, meaning that another 17 women need to be appointed. However the research showed that small companies are less diverse at the top, with woman accounting for 18 percent of directors of FTSE250 boards. As Chairman of a company which employs 220 people, I believe that unleashing the potential of women in the business is an excellent way to grow and develop organisations. The female perspective is very powerful in every issue within a business. It adds enormous value to clients, can often save money by offering a different way of doing things and creates a better working environment.