July 13, 2022

Confetti launches new collection of team building experiences as demand for DE&I in business increases

With McKinsey & Company reporting that businesses with more diverse teams —whether that’s racially, socio economically or educationally— are 35 percent more profitable than organisations that are not, tech start-up Confetti, a website for booking virtual corporate development and team building events, has launched a new Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DE&I) collection of 27 distinctive team building experiences, aiming to release five new experiences every month. (more…)

July 8, 2022

Ergotron announces acquisition by Sterling Group

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Works Magazine

Ergonomics products maker Ergotron, Inc. has announced that The Sterling Group has completed its acquisition of the company. “This is an exciting milestone for Ergotron, and we look forward to partnering with The Sterling Group to drive new opportunities and grow our global business,” said Chad Severson, CEO of Ergotron. “With the added support of our new partner and a shared commitment to employee and market-led growth, Ergotron remains focused on designing innovative solutions that help enhance employee health, comfort, and productivity.”

July 4, 2022

Milliken publishes annual sustainability report

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Works Magazine

Milliken & Company has published its fourth annual Sustainability Report, as part of the company’s progress toward its 2025 Sustainability Goals. In 2019 Milliken laid out 12 sustainability goals, focused on its people, its products and the planet, as a roadmap to achieving a healthier tomorrow. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, these 12 goals signal the company’s commitment to sustainability in all forms. (more…)

July 4, 2022

Post-occupancy what? Evaluating active workplace design, with Jo Yarker

by Freddie Steele • Facilities management, Premium Content, Workplace design

Different workplace experts are interested in different elements of workplace, so it follows that workplace change projects featuring interdisciplinary teams can yield innovative methods and diverse insights. In episode 11 of Workplace Geeks, Chris and Ian are joined by health and wellbeing expert Dr Jo Yarker, Reader in Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, and Managing Partner of Affinity Health at Work. (more…)

July 4, 2022

What are the benefits of having a coffee machine in the office?

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Offering hot drinks to employees is about much more than satisfying your legal obligations. With firms across industry facing the challenge of hiring and retaining staff, you have to use every trick in the book to attract talent and keep it. Having a great quality coffee machine in the office can help with that. Roast & Ground are coffee experts who service British industry, they have seen first hand how coffee machines can positively impact an office. They have also seen several tangible benefits of having a coffee machine in the workplace. (more…)

July 1, 2022

UK rated world number one as Europe sets the standard on real estate transparency

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

Europe is leading the way on real estate transparency as a raft of new sustainability legislation raises industry standards, according to the latest Global Real Estate Transparency Index [registration] published by JLL, in partnership with LaSalle. Six of the 12 countries classed as ‘Highly Transparent’ in the report are in Europe with France, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium among the most improved, joining Ireland and Sweden. (more…)

June 29, 2022

Hard up workers look to second jobs, side hustles and help from current employers

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Nine in ten UK employees have, or would be interested in a second job, as the COVID-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis sees hard up workers keen to increase incomes and turn hobbies into enterprises according to a poll in Benenden Health’s ‘Workforce of the Future’ report. It claims that almost one in three employees in the UK currently have a second occupation (29 percent), with half of these taking up their additional role during the pandemic. Meanwhile, another survey, from Culture Amp claims that six out of ten employees in the UK believe that their employers should help with the rising cost of living. (more…)

June 29, 2022

Workplace green flags to look out for

by Samantha Losey • Comment, Wellbeing

Culturally, and most definitely post-lock down, I think we have all moved to a different level of understanding and involvement when it comes to the value and meaning of workplace wellbeing. We’ve all worked in those organisations that pay lip service to a great culture, amazing benefits, a fun working environment (was that a bean bag I saw?) and then fall so wide of the mark once the HR shine has worn off you that you are left spinning, then stressed, then burnt out. (more…)

June 28, 2022

Is change your friend or your enemy?

by Jennifer Bryan • Comment, JB, Workplace

Is change your friend or your enemy? If you are a young person leaving home for the first time and are excited about the prospects of striking out on your own – change is most likely your friend. But if you are the parent, watching your child leave the nest, and your close protection, then change could very possibly be your enemy. The same is true when it comes to introducing new ways of working in an organisation. Some people will like the ‘old ways’ because they are familiar and comfortable – they are like second nature and hence don’t take any real thinking. Whereas for others, the ‘new way’ may be quite faster, easier or simply exciting because it is different. (more…)

June 24, 2022

Hybrid working now part of life at majority of organisations, but will it last?

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new poll from the CIPD suggests that more than three-quarters of organisations have now embraced hybrid working through a mix of formal and informal arrangements. However, employers are split over whether the move to new ways of working will last or if organisations will go back to pre-pandemic ways of working. In response, the CIPD is urging employers to seize the moment to develop and embed new ways of working that will ultimately benefit organisations and their people. (more…)

June 24, 2022

Physical activity could boost UK economy by up to £17 billion

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The fitness and leisure sector holds the key to encouraging physical activity which could save the UK economy up to £17bn a year, according to a new report from ukactive. The report’s authors have called on the Government and its partners to work with the fitness and leisure sector to get the nation’s workforce physically active, as new research from Deloitte shows it could benefit the UK economy by up to £17bn a year. The landmark report was commissioned by IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) on behalf of the Global Health and Fitness Alliance. (more…)

June 23, 2022

We need to stop misusing the term ergonomic

by Guy Osmond • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design, Works Magazine

You don’t have to search for long to find the word ergonomic; it pops up everywhere, in connection with every sort of product and device for the workplace (and elsewhere). You can – so the marketeers will tell you – buy an ‘ergonomic’ chair, desk, keyboard or mouse. What’s wrong with that? An awful lot actually. The word ergonomic has a particular meaning. Ergonomics (note the crucial addition of an ‘s’ at the end), from the Greek ‘Ergos’ for work or labour and ‘Nomos’, meaning natural law, is the discipline of designing and arranging an environment to optimise the comfort and performance of the individual. (more…)