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Men face greater career penalty for working from home, study finds

Men face greater career penalty for working from home, study finds

by • Flexible working, News

Men working from home for most of the week may face a greater career penalty than women when being considered for jobs and promotions, according to new research into attitudes towards remote workers in the UK and Germany.Men working from home for most of the week may face a greater career penalty than women when being considered for jobs and promotions, according to new research into attitudes towards remote workers in the UK and Germany. The study found that people described as working from home were rated less favourably than otherwise comparable office-based workers, with the penalty increasing significantly for those working remotely three or four days a week rather than one or two. Fathers and workers without children generally experienced larger declines in their ratings than mothers. However, the researchers cautioned that this should not be interpreted as an advantage for mothers. In the UK, mothers already received relatively low ratings when candidates were described as working entirely in the office. The research, led by King’s Business School at King’s College London, analysed almost 13,000 assessments made by around 5,300 employed people in the UK and Germany. (more…)

Optimizing business travel for peak performance

Optimizing business travel for peak performance

by • Company news

With a smart approach, you can turn business travel moments from wasted time into valuable chances for focused work and getting aheadBusiness travel can often feel like a juggling act, trying to balance getting work done with all the moving parts of a trip. All that time spent traveling, waiting around in terminals, and hustling between appointments can really feel like it’s eating into your efficiency. But here’s the good news: with a smart approach, you can actually turn these moments from wasted time into valuable chances for focused work and getting ahead. By making every stage of your journey count, from the initial planning to wrapping things up when you get back, you can make sure your time away from the office actually boosts your productivity instead of dragging it down. It’s not about working harder; it’s about working smarter, so every hour on the road helps you hit your professional goals. (more…)

The new issue of Works magazine continues to explore the latest thinking on people, places and technology

The new issue of Works magazine continues to explore the latest thinking on people, places and technology

by • News, Premium Content, Works Magazine

the new issue of Works magazine takes a wide-ranging look at the forces reshaping workplace design, from the growing convergence of home and office to adaptive reuse, sustainability, artificial intelligence and the continuing evolution of the furniture industry

The new issue of Works magazine is now available in its free, digital edition. As always, this new issue takes a wide-ranging look at the ideas, people, products and projects reshaping workplace design, from the growing convergence of home and office to adaptive reuse, sustainability, artificial intelligence and the continuing evolution of the furniture industry. Issue 21 arrives at a particularly interesting moment for both the workplace and the magazine itself. Rapid technological change, the proliferation of AI-generated content and the continuing repercussions of the pandemic are creating opportunities for publications and workplaces that emphasise the human, physical and connected. (more…)

The first issue of Sustainability Works is available for you now

The first issue of Sustainability Works is available for you now

by • Environment, News, Premium Content, Sustainability Works, Workplace design

The first issue of Sustainability Works, the new publication dedicated to sustainable design for the built environment, has been launched by the team behind Works magazine in partnership with the Sustainable Design Collective (SDC). Edited by Joanna Knight, Sustainability Works has been created to inform, challenge and inspire the workplace and design community at a time when sustainability is moving beyond individual products and initiatives to reshape the way buildings and interiors are designed, specified, delivered and managed. (more…)

Hybrid working and the hidden cost of being “always on” at work

Hybrid working and the hidden cost of being “always on” at work

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Hybrid working has delivered welcome flexibility, but it has also changed our relationship with work. The traditional boundary created by leaving the office at the end of the day is often less defined when work is accessible from our kitchen table, spare room or mobile phone. Yet this challenge is not limited to those working remotely. Even employees who spend most of their time in the office now carry work with them through smartphones and constant digital connectivity. (more…)

What people from successful workplace events think it takes to launch something new

What people from successful workplace events think it takes to launch something new

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

The challenge for workplace events isn’t just about the numbers involved. It's about engaging the audience by having something to sayHerb Kim has been running the Thinking Digital conference at the Glasshouse in Gateshead since 2008. Ask Terry McStea, who knows about most events in the North East, which ones are genuinely unmissable and Thinking Digital is one of the two he immediately names. “If for whatever reason Thinking Digital was cancelled, it would leave a huge hole.” But ask Kim about year one and his account is rather different. “The first year was probably on the knife edge between disaster and success,” he chuckles. “Year one… it was badly undersold.” His account of what the first year of their event was really aiming for gave episode two of Work in Motion its title. “Even if your event is free and you have catering and you have, I don’t know, some big name coming, they’ll often still struggle to not even get the place full, but to get the place not embarrassingly empty.” (more…)

AI could increase the relevance of the physical workplace, Gensler report suggests

AI could increase the relevance of the physical workplace, Gensler report suggests

by • AI, News, Workplace design

Workers who regularly use artificial intelligence are spending less time working alone and more time learning and socialising with colleagues, suggesting that the spread of AI could increase rather than diminish the importance of the physical workplaceWorkers who regularly use artificial intelligence are spending less time working alone and more time learning and socialising with colleagues, suggesting that the spread of AI could increase rather than diminish the importance of the physical workplace. Gensler’s Global Workplace Survey 2026 found that 30 per cent of workers regularly use AI tools in both their professional and personal lives, a group the architecture and design firm describes as “AI power users”. A further 36 per cent are classed as late adopters who rarely or never use AI. (more…)

Work Beyond Walls is an event that promises to shift the way we talk about offices

Work Beyond Walls is an event that promises to shift the way we talk about offices

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

A new event in the North East of England promises to explore offices and the way we talk about them in a new wayOur sector produces an enormous amount of content about change, and almost all of it is published after the outcome is known. Case studies of offices appear once the move-in has gone well. Award entries are written once the risks have been mitigated. What gets shared among us is, overwhelmingly, a library of polished endings. Work in Motion is an attempt at the complete opposite. It’s a six-part documentary podcast series following the inside story of Work Beyond Walls – a brand new event at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle on 9 and 10 September – written and presented by me, Ian Ellison, as plans unfold, rather than once the event has happened. (more…)

AI firms and flexible office operators drive global demand for prime office space

AI firms and flexible office operators drive global demand for prime office space

by • News, Property

Global demand for prime office space is showing further signs of growth, with almost six in ten of the largest leasing deals in the first half of 2026 involving organisations expanding their footprintsGlobal demand for prime office space is showing further signs of growth, with almost six in ten of the largest leasing deals in the first half of 2026 involving organisations expanding their footprints, according to new research from Savills. The property consultancy says expansionary deals accounted for 58 percent of activity among the largest prime office transactions it analysed. Just 5 percent involved organisations reducing their space, while the proportion of occupiers relocating or renewing with broadly the same footprint fell from 44 percent in the second half of 2025 to 37 percent in the first six months of this year. (more…)

Barbican Centre launches search for furniture designer as part of £231m renewal

Barbican Centre launches search for furniture designer as part of £231m renewal

by • News, Workplace design

The Barbican Centre has launched an international search for a designer or design team to develop a new furniture strategy for its public spacesThe Barbican Centre has launched an international search for a designer or design team to develop a new furniture strategy for its public spaces as part of its £231 million renewal programme. The commission will involve creating a bespoke range of up to 500 pieces for the Grade II-listed arts centre, alongside identifying opportunities to reuse existing furniture and introduce suitable off-the-shelf products. The appointment is expected to run from 2026 to 2029.

The competition is open to designers and teams based anywhere in the world, with proposals due by 28 August. A shortlist is expected to proceed to a full tender process in September, with an appointment planned for November. The new furniture will be used throughout the Barbican’s public spaces and could include armchairs, sofas, coffee tables, bar stools, communal benches with parasols and stackable chairs for larger events. Accessibility, flexibility and sustainability will be central to the brief.

The work will cover areas including the Lakeside, Sculpture Court and Learning Spaces, as well as redesigned foyers being developed by Allies and Morrison and Asif Khan Studio.

The Barbican said recent audience feedback, inclusive design work and co-design with visitors had highlighted a need for furniture that was more welcoming, cohesive, accessible and adaptable to the range of activities taking place across the centre.

Furniture has played a significant role in the Barbican’s identity since it opened in 1982. Designer Robin Day produced bespoke seating, sofas, chairs and tables specifically for the building, although much of the original furniture has since been replaced.

Philippa Simpson, chief operating officer at the Barbican Centre, said furniture had always helped shape how people experienced the building. “We’re looking for a designer or design team to create objects of quality and comfort, that respond to the Barbican’s extraordinary architecture and artistic purpose,” she said. “We want these new designs to accommodate the remarkable range of activities that take place in our spaces, ensuring every single visitor knows they are welcome.”

Alex Watt, architect at Asif Khan Studio, said the commission offered an opportunity to extend the design thinking being applied to the centre’s foyers, while retaining the character of the original architecture.

The furniture project forms part of the wider Barbican Renewal programme, which is intended to conserve and upgrade the building ahead of its 50th anniversary while improving its accessibility, sustainability and suitability for future use. The centre receives more than 30,000 visitors on an average day.

Image: The Barbican Archive

A beacon of hope in an uncertain world. Works magazine 20 digital edition is here for you

A beacon of hope in an uncertain world. Works magazine 20 digital edition is here for you

by • News, Premium Content, Technology, Workplace design, Works Magazine

The digital edition of issue 20 of Works magazine is now available for you to read here.  The new issue explores a workplace sector that is becoming increasingly confident about its future, even as it navigates rapid technological, social and economic change. The latest edition brings together major workplace projects, design debates and industry commentary that point to a common theme: the enduring value of connection, community and shared experience in an age of uncertainty. (more…)

The Crown Estate unveils two major West End office developments

The Crown Estate unveils two major West End office developments

by • News, Property

The Crown Estate has announced two major mixed-use developments in London's West End as part of what it describes as the largest programme of office developments in its history.The Crown Estate has announced two major mixed-use developments in London’s West End as part of what it describes as the largest programme of office developments in its history. The projects at 10 Piccadilly and 21–29 Glasshouse Street will deliver a combined 169,300 sq ft of office, retail and hospitality space, continuing the organisation’s programme of refurbishing and redeveloping heritage buildings across its central London estate. The schemes form part of The Crown Estate’s wider strategy for its 10 million sq ft London portfolio, which combines office development with retail, leisure and public realm improvements aimed at maintaining the West End’s appeal as a business and visitor destination. (more…)

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