Search Results for: london

April 17, 2019

Uncertain times demand a new approach to strategic people management

Is the management of people in organisations today really about growing the long-term value of an employers’ most important asset in an increasing uncertain and skills-short labour market? Or is it more to do with continuing to drive costs down and shareholder returns up; and meeting the bare minimum standards required by legislation? The Institute for Employment’s (IES) latest research, carried out in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), looks at the reality of people management and comes up with some generally positive findings and conclusions. (more…)

April 16, 2019

UK employees work £3.2 billion in unpaid overtime every week

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The UK is the unpaid overtime capital of Europe. This is according to new research by ADP (registration), which has found that employees are giving away an average of £5,038 of their time every year, amounting to £164.8 billion annually across the working population. The study of over 1,400 UK employees reveals that two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents regularly work longer than their contracted hours, with respondents averaging 6.3 hours unpaid per week. However, for more than a fifth (22 percent) of employees, this rises to at least 10 hours per week – twice as many as in other European countries, including Germany and France (10 percent and 12 percent respectively). (more…)

April 16, 2019

UK architectural firm claims global sustainability first

by George Eltringham • Environment, News

UK-based Bennetts Associates is the first architecture practice in the world to achieve approved Science Based Targets and commit to the UN’s Climate Neutral Now campaign. This commitment builds on the practice’s track record of sustainability within the built environment by taking a leadership position on climate change.

Climate Neutral Now is an initiative launched by the UN Climate Change in 2015 to encourage and support all levels of society to take climate action to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century, as enshrined in the Paris Agreement. The scheme requires companies to measure and offset carbon footprints across three elements of the business. (more…)

April 12, 2019

Rise of grey entrepreneurs: 1 in 10 Brits would like to start their own business in retirement

by George Eltringham • News, Workplace

Aviva’s Retirement Reality Report claims that for some people retirement is a time when they would like to travel (47 percent), take up a new hobby or continue with old ones (29 percent). However, many think retirement is also a good time to start their own business. That’s according to a survey of 2,010 UK employed adults, aged 22-65 years, conducted on behalf of Aviva by Censuswide. (more…)

April 11, 2019

The best tall buildings in the world are announced

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced the winners of the 17th Annual CTBUH Awards Program. These winning projects – comprising tall buildings, urban developments, and technical innovations – competed for winning distinctions at the 2019 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference from April 8–10 in Shenzhen. The CTBUH Awards Jury has named Salesforce Tower in San Francisco designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli as the “Best Tall Building Worldwide”, in addition to naming Category Winners across 20 award categories. (more…)

April 10, 2019

The growing urbanisation of work and workplaces ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Cities, Features, Workplace design

The question of what makes a city great is an old one but has never been asked more than it is right now. It is usually couched in terms of the urbanisation of large parts of the world but it is important for other reasons too, not least because the urban environment is an increasingly important part of the virtual workplace many of us now inhabit and offices themselves increasingly resemble the agglomeration of spaces we have typically associated with our towns and cities. Recently, McKinsey published a report into urbanisation, based largely on the usual premise of the proportion of the world’s people involved, but it is an issue that touches all of our lives and in unexpected ways.

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April 5, 2019

The ladder of life, the death of work, the cane toad of property and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features

We start with a question. Why hasn’t the gig economy killed traditional work?, asks Greg Rosalsky and goes on to explain what many people have now realised. The answer, as Greg points out, is that the gig economy doesn’t replace traditional work, never has, and the rise of casual work of this kind has primarily been a way for people to deal with a volatile labour market and shrinking real incomes. Offer them the choice of a decent monthly income, benefits and a contract and most of them will take you up on it.

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April 5, 2019

Brexit, Brits and blending: what MIPIM told us about the state of corporate real estate

by Anna King • Comment, Property

MIPIM celebrated its 30th anniversary during uncertain political and economic times, yet the mood was positive and even the backdrop of an impending Brexit decision failed to derail the UK contingent. However, the one thing missing from MIPIM in 2019 was British politicians. They were all back home, participating in decisive votes in the House of Commons as Parliament continued to kick the Brexit can down the road.

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April 5, 2019

Still healthy demand for construction work on fit outs and office refurbishment

by Marie Hillen • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

Although the new commercial development sector may be subdued, specialist contractors are seeing a continued demand for construction work on fit outs and office refurbishment. According to Glenigan the construction sector has been buoyed up by a series of major refurbishments of government offices while some large private sector groups are also investing to update and modernise their commercial space. (more…)

April 3, 2019

Coworking and a new golden era for the workplace and the people who inhabit it

by Gary Chandler • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design

The idea of coworking is starting to resonate with a growing number of businesses and for a growing number of reasons. People new to the concept, or those who are aware primarily of its roots, may discover or retain a notion that it is a way for start-ups and freelancers to share space as a way of keeping down costs or networking with similar organisations. There is still a great deal of truth in this, given that the initial growth of coworking was based almost exclusively on the need for small tech and creative organisations to occupy space near to their larger clients, in precisely those urban enclaves that demand eye-watering rents and conventional leases.

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April 2, 2019

The flat white economy is now the most important sector in the UK

by Mark Eltringham • News

According to a new study from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) think tank, the so-called ‘flat white sector’ is now the most important driver of the UK economy. Consisting of the digital and creative businesses that cluster around areas like Silicon Roundabout in north-east London, the term has been coined by Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman at the CEBR to reflect the way startups can apparently save on property costs by working out of coffee shops. McWilliams claims that the flat white economy contributed 14.4 per cent of gross value added (GVA) to the UK in 2018, making it more important than traditional sectors such as manufacturing, mining and utilities on that measure. (more…)

April 2, 2019

Mind launches toolkit to promote better wellbeing in the built environment

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A new toolkit is online at the Mental Health at Work website. This UK-wide initiative allows all types of employers and employees to access free tools, advice and information – all in one place. The construction toolkit includes resources from a range of expert organisations. The resources include tips on how to start the conversation on mental health, mental health first aid training and five steps to building a positive and supportive culture in construction. Mind invited colleagues from Building Mental Health to put together this toolkit of resources. (more…)