Search Results for: leadership

EU’s targeted 2030 greenhouse gas cuts receive lukewarm welcome from industry

by • Environment, News

greenhouse gas renewable energyThe states of the European Union (EU) have reached an agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. The EU says it aims to meet the new target in the most cost-effective ways possible. The EU has also set itself the target of generating 27 percent of energy from renewable sources over the same period. The new target is set to remain independent of any more ambitious cuts set by individual member states suggesting that the EU sees the new targets as being a minimum ambition. The new targets will also take account of the EU’s internal energy markets and the degree of integration of members states. The EU, in its announcement, claims that the market for renewable energy is dependent on a well integrated internal energy market, co-ordinated at regional level. The new announcement has been broadly welcomed by industry sources albeit with some significant caveats.

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Generational shift means Gen Y women best suited to take a seat on the board

by • News, Workplace

female-c-suiteOrganisations that persist in appointing all-male boards were named and shamed last week by UK Business Secretary Vince Cable and Lord Davies, who published the ground-breaking Women on Boards report. Now a new piece of research by Hudson has found that Generation Y females – those in their twenties and early thirties – are the natural leaders of the future. Generation Y women top the charts when it comes to being ‘socially confident’, ‘helpful’, ‘organised’ and ‘meticulous’, compared to their Gen Y male counterparts. Far removed from ‘traditional’ leadership skills (persuasion, confidence, extraversion), they bring a completely different, and more relevant, set of skills to the business environment of today – and tomorrow. Interestingly, when compared to Boomer males, (some of whom we’d assume must be well represented on current boards) the difference in skill areas are most acute: Generation Y females ranked 16% higher on people skills, 22% higher on social confidence, 22% higher on altruism, 16% higher on optimism and 21% higher on ambition. (more…)

Two thirds of the world’s workers would move to another country to find a better job

by • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Publication1Almost two thirds of job seekers worldwide say they would be willing to move abroad for work, a ‘startlingly high proportion’ that says a lot about the evolving marketplace for talent, according to a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network, a global alliance of more than 50 recruitment websites. The report claims that the proportion of people willing to seek a better job abroad is particularly (and unsurprisingly) high in developing and politically unstable countries. But there is also a very high willingness to work abroad for workers in countries that don’t face such challenges. For example, more than 75 percent of survey respondents in Switzerland, more than 80 percent of respondents in Australia, and more than 90 percent of respondents in the Netherlands say they would consider moving to another country for work, according to the report, Decoding Global Talent: 200,000 Survey Responses on Global Mobility and Employment Preferences, and their preferred destinations are London, New York and Paris.

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Generation Y make the most trusting managers, finds ILM report

by • News, Public Sector, Workplace

Generation Y are the most trusting managers finds ILM reportMaintaining high levels of trust at work helps to foster an engaged and productive atmosphere, finds a new report by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), which reveals the youngest generation to be the most trusting and those working within the public sector the least trusting. The truth about trust, honesty and integrity at work found that the millennial generation of managers (born 1981 onwards), are the most likely to trust those within their organisation (54%), followed by baby boomers (born between 1946–1964), almost half of whom (45%) say they trust everyone or almost everyone. Generation X, those born between 1965–1980, had the lowest level of respondents saying they trust everyone or almost everyone (44%) at work. The research also reveals that the five fundamental skills and qualities that leaders need in order to be trusted are openness, effective communication, the ability to make decisions, integrity and competence in their role. (more…)

Dubai unveils plans for sustainable ‘Perfect City’ real estate hub

by • Cities, Environment, News, Property

Dubai Perfect CityUndeterred by the seriously stuttering start to existence of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, the government of Dubai (but of course) has announced plans for what it claims will be the first specialised sustainable city in the world. The plans for the characteristically modestly named ‘Perfect City’ were unveiled this week at the Cityscape 2014 trade show in Dubai and form one of the centrepiece projects of a seven year programme of development masterminded by Dubai Land Development (DLD). Work begins on the project begins next year and is expected to complete in 2021. As with Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City the idea is to create a sustainable hub for a particular industry, in this case real estate. The plans include a canal, 20,000 trees and the provision that 75 percent of the City will be made up of green space.

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Business leaders seem powerless to stem tide of always on working, claims report

by • News, Technology, Workplace

Always on workingAmongst the reported findings in the latest edition of the annual Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends survey is a growing belief amongst business leaders that information overload and the always on working culture are significantly undermining personal wellbeing, engagement and productivity. This challenge has been identified before in the same report, but the latest edition perhaps signals that despite the high level of awareness of the issue at both a personal and general level, little is being achieved in terms of stemming the inexorable erosion of personal time. The report is based on a survey of more than 2,500 business leaders. It found that over a third think that constant access to work is undermining employee productivity and engagement and fewer than one in ten feel they are dealing with the problem adequately. (more…)

The collaboration between BIFM and CIPD unites the workplace tribes

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace

workplace tribesThe world of work and the workplace is always changing. We know it. You know it. In fact, there are a whole host of people that know it, but depending on what side of the professional fence you sit on, you might approach it in different ways, looking through a different lens or with a specific focus. Or are you already bridging the professional gap? Workplace change and the numerous ramifications of it are well documented. In a world that is changing, at frightening pace, it is strange to think that many of the ways in which we work are so entrenched in 20th century thinking. We need to break away from this and outline what the future is going to look like and how we should adapt. Or do we already have the answers? This ground is well trodden. However, it could be time to reassess our thinking and the way we approach this challenge, ensuring it becomes the norm for organisations around the world.

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There is a moral imperative to meet global standards in workplace performance

by • Comment, Company news, Facilities management

International evolution in global standards of workplace managementMany corporate organisations now operate on a global scale, with operations spread across a number of countries and continents. But while they are geographically diverse, they nevertheless have a requirement to meet measurable standards of performance, delivered on a consistent basis regardless of location. If something works well in one country, companies want to be able to replicate it in all others. Wherever standards relating to compliance, health and safety, sustainability, leadership or management are most rigorous, it makes good business sense to employ those same standards wherever they have a presence. But from the collapse of a building full of factory workers in Bangladesh to the death of hundreds of construction workers in Qatar, the need to promote and adhere to international standards is more than a matter of mere commerciality.

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The UK’s most common form of flexible working? Half of managers work an extra day a week

by • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Flexible working?The UK’s most common yet one of the least talked about forms of flexible working has been laid bare in a new study from the Institute of Leadership and Management. It found that nearly half of managers work an extra day each week outside of their contracted hours, while an eighth put in an extra two days. More than 90 percent of managers now work outside normal office hours. The survey of 1,056 ILM members found that over three quarters (76 percent) ‘routinely’ work at home or stay late at work, over a third work at weekends and nearly half  (48 percent) regularly work through their lunch-break. The root causes of this are unsurprisingly familiar. The ILM cites technological presenteeism, with many managers ‘obsessively’ checking their phones for email, as well as pressure from employers to put in the extra hours.

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Green building design ‘goes mainstream’ in major US cities

Green building design ‘goes mainstream’ in major US cities

by • Architecture, Environment, News, Property, Workplace design

Green building design

Minneapolis – the home of US green building design

It’s not just Europe that is experiencing an explosion of interest in green building design. According to a new report from CBRE and Maastricht University, the past ten years have seen a transformation in the way the US corporate real estate market approaches the environmental performance of buildings. According to the National Green Building Adoption Index for 2014, produced by CBRE there has been a remarkable increase in the  application of green building standards in the thirty most important regional commercial property markets in the US. Based on data from the US Green Building Council,  the number of office buildings which are LEED* or Energy Star** certified has surged since 2005. The proportion of LEED certified buildings in America now stands at 5 percent, up from under 0.5 percent over the course of the survey period. The total proportion  of office space which now has some form of green accreditation is just under a fifth.

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RIBA calls on next Government to put built environment centre stage

by • Architecture, News, Property, Public Sector

RIBA calls on next Government to put architecture and built environment centre stageA new report from The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) sets out a number of recommendations for the next UK Government and calls for greater economic leadership from English cities to rebalance the UK economy and take some of the pressure off London and the South East. RIBA’s report, Building Better Britain: A vision for the next Government, advises that by focusing on architecture and the built environment, the next Government will be better placed to address a sluggish economy, a shortage of new homes, an aging population and the effects of climate change. Building on the findings of the Farrell Review, the report is intended to provide policy makers with a greater understanding of the impact of how places are designed, planned and built and how they affect our day to day lives.

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The new issue of Work&Place is now available to view online

by • Architecture, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

Work&PlaceThe new issue of Work&Place is now available to view online. Published by Occupiers Journal in partnership with Insight it offers a wide range of thought leadership, research, commentary and case studies from the world’s foremost commentators, academics and practitioners in the world of workplace design and management. Contributors this quarter include Professor Franklin Becker of Cornell University, BBC CEO of Commercial Projects Chris Kane, Andrew Laing of AECOM, Simon Allford of architects AHMM Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, designer and workplace strategist Ziona Strelitz and Ian Ellison of Sheffield Hallam University. Work&Place offers progressive and informed commentary on some of the most pressing and cutting edge issues facing workplace designers and managers around the world today including co-working, office design, architecture, facilities management, workplace analytics, technology, flexible working, productivity and urbanisation.

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