May 13, 2021

People working from home might now be subject to a visit from the Pensions Regulator

by Anne-Marie Winton and Danyal Enver • Features, Flexible working

The Pensions Regulator might now have the power under current UK pensions legislation, to enter the private homes of employees when it is investigating their employer, if those employees are working from home. The current law has been in force since 2005 and it allows the Regulator to enter some premises at any reasonable time. This power is restricted to use only in relation to some limited statutory investigations. However, though currently limited, these regulatory powers will soon be widened and extended by the Pensions Schemes Act 2021 which is due to come into force in Autumn 2021.

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May 6, 2021

Why mobile site surveys have changed so dramatically

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Technology

Central to any business is the need to communicate effectively. Whether you’re relocating to new or refurbished premises, or switching providers, it is vital to ensure your communications networks are up to the job in terms of performance and reliability. Not only is this required to support conventional telecoms and OTT services, it is key to smart building and smart infrastructure applications. Connectivity should not be limited to Wi-Fi either. Businesses are increasingly pushing mobile-only strategies and landlines are fast becoming obsolete in the workplace. PwC, for example, removed all landlines from their offices back in 2018 and many other organisations have since followed suit, with smartphones providing a single point of contact for all voice and internet connectivity, as well as being used as resilient IT infrastructure. (more…)

April 27, 2021

UK businesses prepare to shed suppliers that do not live up to their social values

by Jayne Smith • Business, News

UK business leaders are increasingly turning their backs on suppliers who fail to align with their social values, according to new research by Sodexo. The survey highlights the effect the pandemic has had on procurement decisions, with the majority of respondents agreeing that the events of the last year had made it more important to consider environmental and diversity policies when selecting suppliers. (more…)

April 20, 2021

Buildings with a digital twin have a lot to tell us

by Peter Loeffler • Features, Technology, Workplace design

The expression “if these walls could talk” is taking on an entirely new meaning with the emerging opportunity to create digital twins for buildings. Across the entire lifecycle of structures such as office buildings, hospitals, airports and hotels, creating a digital twin can significantly reduce costs, improve efficiencies, speed construction delivery, as well as enhance performance and the user experience. (more…)

March 25, 2021

Employees call for help to reduce cost and environmental impact of working from home

by Jayne Smith • Environment, Flexible working, News, Working lives

New research by environmental charity Hubbub suggests that workers want to almost double the time they work from home compared to life before COVID-19 arrived – from 35 percent to 63 percent of their working week. However, the increase in household energy use associated with working from home is a cause for concern. (more…)

March 24, 2021

Major firms lose appetite for office downsizing as they plan what happens next

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

A new report from KPMG suggests that half of major corporations do not expect to see a return to any sort of ‘normality’ until 2022 when half of the general population has been vaccinated. The report also claims that there has been a steep decline in the appetite of the global executives who took part in the survey for office downsizing as the firms reconsider the need for in-person business to resume when countries emerge from the pandemic. (more…)

March 22, 2021

The era of work personalisation is upon us

by Gary Chandler • Comment, Workplace design

You may have heard it said that any idea repeated often enough develops some form of legitimacy. We’ve had plenty of reason to reflect on whether this notion is true or nor over the past year, especially as all-encompassing pronouncements about the future of work have proliferated and intensified. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that around 80 percent of people only read headlines. This can be a particular issue when you see a headline like The Death of the Office Desk is Upon Us above an article that suggests the death of the personal desk is upon us, when the reality is rather more about the personalisation of work. (more…)

March 19, 2021

More than a quarter of the workforce describes itself as depressed since the pandemic

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

A Gartner, Inc. survey of more than 5,000 employees conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020 claims that more than one-quarter of the workforce (29 percent) described itself as depressed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The same survey claims that nearly half (49 percent) of employees who reported their organisation offers a mental well-being program participated in it in 2020. (more…)

March 18, 2021

From the archive: Escaping the gravity of the fixed times and places of work

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Technology, Wellbeing, Working culture

In November 2019, just before that thing happened, there was this… The worst workplace related news story of 2019 is also one of the most widely reported. I’m not linking to it because I don’t want to give it any credibility, but it has been discharged into the ether by Fellowes along with a ‘behavioural futurist’ called William Higham. I will say only two things about it. Firstly, we flatly refused to publish a story about the damn thing and it’s a shame that the mainstream media couldn’t spot it for the utter drivel it is. The fact that they have picked up on it says something about the way such issues are covered in the press. That’s why you’re more likely to see a stress-related story about rats driving cars on the BBC than you are something meaningful. (more…)

March 12, 2021

Indoor air quality is more important than ever, and Tarkett is leading the way

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The pandemic has certainly opened our eyes to the importance of constantly washing our hands, sterilising everything in sight and realising just how far germs can travel through the air, causing us to wince at the thought of a time where we huddled on public transport without masks. However, as we contemplate heading back to the office in the near future, businesses need to translate these learnings into workplace design and move indoor air quality to the top of the agenda. (more…)

March 11, 2021

Body language still matters when you are working online

by Agata Nowakowska • Comment, Working culture

Whether we’re always aware of it or not, body language plays a vital role in face-to-face discourse. In fact, over half of our effective communication comes via body language; that range of non-verbal cues that covers everything from facial expressions and gestures to posture and tone of voice. Meeting in person constantly draws on these signals, and we interpret them by instinct and via conscious analysis to guide the way we interact, frequently to help steer communication towards our goals. But nearly a year of lockdowns, remote working and general separation has challenged these norms, with video-based communication acting as a widespread, imperfect substitute. (more…)

March 8, 2021

The new dimensions of workplace wellbeing

by Beatriz Arantes • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A healthy, engaged and productive work environment starts with conversations about people’s needs. So whether you have always been on a co-located team or are a veteran of remote work, there are new circumstances and the old rulebook doesn’t quite help. The change has been sudden, in a sustained moment of uncertainty, and has disrupted employee routines and support structures. (more…)