Search Results for: london

July 6, 2018

A storm brewing around the workplace and facilities management

by Cathy Hayward • Comment, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

In Shakespeare’s plays, the sky often goes dark and a storm starts to brew as a prelude to tragedy or violence creating a sense of foreboding. And so it was at today’s BIFM AGM in the lead-up to the special resolution to change the name of the institute from the British Institute of Facilities Management to the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management. After a fire alarm test appositely kicked off the event, sun poured through the windows and ceiling panes of the Friends Meeting House in Manchester as BIFM chairman Steve Roots gave an update on the institute’s performance in 2017 and plans for 2018. As he introduced the format for the three ordinary resolutions, the sun dipped behind a cloud and the room was plunged into gloom causing murmurs of nervous laughter among the 80-strong audience. (more…)

July 5, 2018

White paper: How the workplace is pioneering the use of data in organisations

by Anthony Brown • Briefing, Features, Premium Content, Technology, Workplace design

In 2017, a content creator called Oobah Butler decided that he wanted to do something with the experience he’d gained writing fake positive restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor. What if, he wondered, he set up an entirely fictitious restaurant based in the shed in his garden and then started to manipulate TripAdvisor ratings? What happened surpassed his wildest expectations. In just six months, The Shed at Dulwich became the top-rated restaurant in London, even though nobody had ever actually eaten there, based solely on fake reviews, fake pictures and the word of mouth created by a complete inability for anybody to book a table.

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July 4, 2018

Why you should definitely stand in meetings (and not care what others think about it)

by Benjamin Gardner Lee Smith and Louise Mansfield • Features, Wellbeing

People who stand in meetings may enjoy a number of health benefits, but it can also make them feel self-conscious, anxious about how others perceive them, and disengaged from the meeting. These findings, taken from our recent study, suggest that efforts to encourage office workers to sit less and move more must acknowledge the realities of the workplace that conspire to keep people chained to their seats. Sitting has been linked to adverse health outcomes, including increased risk of obesity, heart disease, some cancers, and poorer mental health. While some evidence suggests that the harms of sitting can be offset by at least one daily hour of moderate physical activity, this seems an unrealistic target. (more…)

June 29, 2018

Edinburgh is best UK location for growing technology businesses but office space is becoming scarce

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Technology

Scotland’s capital city is the best place for tech companies looking to scale up, access funding, and do business in, according to a new Government backed report examining the UK’s tech landscape. Edinburgh tech companies responded with the highest approval rating in the UK when asked to assess how good their city was for ‘doing business’ – a combination of sub factors including access to finance and talent – as part of The Tech Nation 2018 Report – an annual series that captures the strength, depth and breadth of digital tech activity in the UK which employs over one million people. Although 62 percent of Edinburgh’s tech community are satisfied with local access to affordable office space, commercial property firm JLL, who sponsor the report, said one of the main challenges which now faces a burgeoning tech industry in Edinburgh is the room to accommodate continued growth of the sector.

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June 28, 2018

Ten demonstrable truths about the workplace you may not know

by Kerstin Sailer • Comment, Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

The science of the workplace has gained a lot of interest over the last few years, highlighting recurring patterns of human behaviour as well as how organisational behaviour relates to office design. In theory, knowledge from this growing body of research could be used to inform design. In practice, this is rarely the case. A survey of 420 architects and designers highlighted a large gap between research and practice: while 80 percent of respondents agreed that more evidence was needed on the impact of design, 68 percent admitted they never reviewed literature and 71 percent said they never engaged in any sort of post-occupancy evaluation. Only 5 percent undertake a formal POE and just 1 percent do so in a rigorous fashion. Not a single practitioner reported a report on the occupied scheme, despite its importance in understanding the impact of a design.

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June 28, 2018

Small flexible workspace operators are biggest winners as trend for coworking continues to grow

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

While the likes of WeWork have dominated the headlines over the past year, the number of smaller, more niche coworking operators, has grown significantly and now makes up 83 percent of the total flexible workspace market. The latest research from The Instant Group, which claims to be the world’s largest flexible workspace provider, suggests that the number of centres in the market run by smaller independent operators has grown to 83 percent of the London market. The increase of 20+ desk enquiries is evidence of growing demand as larger firms have started exploring flexible options rather than taking more conventional leases.

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June 26, 2018

Global employers focus on mobile talent to help support new ways of working

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

The digital era, ageing populations, skills shortages, and unpredictable political and economic contexts are persuading multinationals to focus more on mobile talent, new ways of working and assessing the cost of expatriate packages for international employees that are critical to the future of work. This is according to Mercer’s 24th annual Cost of Living Survey which reveals that factors such as instability of housing markets and fluctuating inflation, currencies and prices for goods and services, are impacting the cost of doing business in various cities around the world. UK cities have significantly risen in the ranking this year. (more…)

June 21, 2018

The future of the workplace emerges from the mists at Neocon

by John Sacks • Features, Furniture, Workplace design

Chicago is one of the world’s great cities. Its dramatic lake and river setting, its magnificent architecture and its raw energy inspire the locals and businesses to achieve great things. People work and play very hard. Competition is fierce both in business as in the way the people relate to each other, and befits a city heavily influenced by waves of immigration down the ages. Apart from somewhat overly aggressive and noisy driving, if there is friction, you don’t sense it and it isn’t obvious. Most locals seem genuinely open and friendly, including to strangers, and happy to get on with their lives without troubling others. Perhaps they’re all being buoyed up by the great street music which is everywhere.

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June 18, 2018

Capability is a common cause for dismissal, but many organisations lack the right policy

by Vicki Field • Features, Workplace

‘Capability’ is one of the five fair reasons for dismissal. However, it can be split into two distinct parts; inability to perform the job as a result of incompetence, and inability to perform the job through sickness absence. Some companies blur the two and have one policy to cover both, but I’ve always found that to be confusing. A disciplinary policy should cover poor performance or misconduct. A capability policy describes the process that needs to be followed when someone is either on repetitive short-term leave, or long-term sick leave, to assist with their return to work, or eventual fair dismissal.

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June 14, 2018

Brexit will harm UK infrastructure improvements, say industry professionals

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Six in ten (59 percent) people involved in planning and delivering projects across the UK think that leaving the EU will make it harder to deliver improvements to the nation’s infrastructure, according to exclusive new research from the team behind the Public Sector Show and National Infrastructure Forum. The findings are based on a survey of over 200 professionals from across the public and private sectors, conducted by the National Infrastructure Forum – part of the Public Sector Show – in association with Burges Salmon, exploring the views of the country’s major building priorities for the coming years.

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June 11, 2018

Coworking is breaking away from its cultural and geographical stereotypes

by Gary Chandler • Comment, Property, Technology, Workplace design

There is a persistent image of a coworking space as a sort of glorified serviced office for tech and creative startups who can’t afford the eye-watering rents in the areas they need to be. This is usually in the technology hothouses of the world’s major cities where they can work alongside the corporate giants and fellow innovators that thrive there. The reason such perceptions exist is because they are largely true. It’s no coincidence that coworking spaces have thrived up till now in the world’s most expensive property markets – in London, Hong Kong and New York, serving exactly the sorts of start-ups and freelancers who rely on proximity to their potential clients.

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June 11, 2018

Areas of UK still suffering from poor connectivity and broadband speeds

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Businesses looking to invest outside of London may be deterred by the UK’s still unreliable digital infrastructure or below-average internet speeds in many areas. New data from GoCompare reveals the UK locations with the best digital infrastructure for businesses keen to relocate. The study suggests that soaring costs in the capital and post-Brexit uncertainty are combining to create a dynamic environment for businesses in the UK’s regions. A CBI report estimated that a total of £208bn in revenue could be unlocked if the regions are properly invested in. Already, 68 percent of investment in digital tech went to businesses in regional hubs outside of London.