August 29, 2019

Coworking continues to reshape property markets worldwide

by Neil Franklin • Coworking, News, Property

Against a global backdrop of diminishing business confidence and a weaker outlook for economic growth, a robust labour market in the world’s largest economies continues to underpin demand for office space with high employment levels prevalent across a number of major markets. Demand continues to be driven by the knowledge economy, with the coworking boom continuing to broaden its reach across major markets, forcing traditional landlords to adapt their offering in order to best accommodate existing and potential occupiers. (more…)

August 28, 2019

Two thirds of people with fixed hours want flexible working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Two thirds (65 percent) of office workers that don’t currently have options for flexible working claim that they would be more motivated and productive in their jobs if given the option to choose their working hours, according to a new poll from coworking company, The Brew by rent24. The poll also claims that only 18 percent of workers at small and medium-sized businesses already have flexible working arrangements, falling to just 14 percent for 18-34-year olds.

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August 23, 2019

A grey tsunami, three goldfish, the red pill of coworking and some other colourful stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Property, Wellbeing, Working lives

A right leaning think tank’s suggestion that the UK should set a new retirement age of 75 and introduce a range of measures to extend people’s working lives to boost the economy and improve people’s wellbeing sparked an inevitable paroxysm of rage. Immediately followed by an equally inevitable and furious level of what passes for debate these days. A stramash the Scottish would call it. (more…)

August 22, 2019

Finalists of SBID Awards announced

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace design

The finalists of the SBID International Design Awards 2019 have now been revealed. Amongst the contenders this year are practices such as G.A group, Concorde BGW Group, Scott Brownrigg and Clive Wilkinson Architects. Projects include the Redbull Offices and Warner Music Group (pictured). Entries were received from 48 countries including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Qatar, Poland, Barbados, Monaco, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Australia and more. (more…)

August 22, 2019

Stress of extra Summer workloads can be overwhelming

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Over a third of workers feel extreme pressure or even experience panic attacks when taking on their colleagues’ workloads over the Summer, a new study from Cornerstone OnDemand claims. The study of over 2,000 UK adults, claims that 81 percent of Brits will take on a colleague’s workload in their absence. Furthermore, while taking on a colleague’s workload, 48 percent of workers are more likely to work through their lunch break or work more than their working hours, contributing to the feeling of stress.

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August 21, 2019

Wellbeing challenge known to firms, but they need to up their game

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Wellbeing

A new white paper from Aon argues that while the vast majority of employers are aware of a range of wellbeing issues, they often don’t act in appropriate ways to address poor health behaviours and chronic medical conditions. The white paper Prevention Is Better Than Cure (registration) claims that 95 percent of employers see a correlation between employee health and performance and believe they have a role in trying to educate and improve poor lifestyle behaviours.

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August 20, 2019

Businesses should focus on the greater good of people and society

by Mark Eltringham • News, Working culture

Modern corporations should work in the best interests of society and people rather than focusing primarily on making money for shareholders as they may have in the past, according to an influential group of chief executives. The body Business Roundtable, which represents the heads of some of America’s largest companies, including Apple, Amazon and Exxon Mobil, has issued a statement of its updated corporate governance principles. (more…)

August 19, 2019

Firms need to place more value on older workers

by Claire Turner • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives, Workplace

As we live longer lives, it’s inevitable that more of us want to work for longer. It makes good business sense too: with fewer younger people starting work to replace those set to retire in future years, coupled with uncertainty over Brexit and labour shortages, employers can’t afford to lose older workers.

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August 16, 2019

Is London Smart City Initiative as smart as it could be?

by George Adams • Cities, Comment, Technology

It’s been a year since the launch of the Mayor of London’s smart city roadmap, designed to transform the capital into the smartest city in the world. But twelve months later, is the city any smarter? The Mayor of London’s smart city roadmap is proposing to transform the capital into the smartest city in the world, and as part of the initiative, Sadiq Khan appointed his first Chief Digital Officer to help steer the plan to focus on knowledge and technical advancements that will make life easier for London’s citizens. (more…)

August 13, 2019

Working carers of children and parents are at breaking point

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

‘Sandwich carers’, those people who look after children and their relatives alongside work, are struggling to cope with the burden of juggling caring responsibilities alongside their job. Around 1.3 million people in the UK now fall into this category and new research from BHSF claims that many are at breaking point. 44 percent said they often find managing their responsibilities hard – with 16 percent admitting that it’s always too much to cope with. (more…)

August 9, 2019

Productivity decline linked to poor employee financial wellness

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace

Almost all (98 percent) employers believe that their employees’ financial wellness has a direct impact on productivity and their business performance – especially concerning employee productivity (67 percent) and engagement (62 percent). This is according to the Future of Pay research study (registration) by technology firm ADP, which surveyed 4,000 employees and 2,900 businesses to explore workers’ perceptions and attitudes towards traditional and emerging pay methods to address some of the biggest human capital management concerns. (more…)

August 9, 2019

Helsinki tops global rankings for work-life balance

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Wellbeing

Helsinki is the world’s best city for work-life balance according to a new study from technology business Kisi which compares data on a range of factors such as “livability”, work intensity, institutional support, equality and legislation to rank cities. Helsinki, Munich, and Oslo are the three best ranked cities while the cities deemed as having the worst work-life balance were Tokyo, Singapore, and Washington DC. Using data relating to work intensity, social wellbeing, and livability to analyse the interplay between work and life, the index claims to assess how successful residents are at achieving a healthy work-life balance in 40 cities around the world. (more…)