June 14, 2019

The greenest building is no building, our false craving for silence and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

As climate scientists issue increasingly stark warnings about the global environmental catastrophe that is increasingly likely within a very short time frame, Will Jennings issues a timely reminder in the Architects Journal that the greenest type of building is no building at all. And that is doubly so when the building we are talking about is The Tulip, which would clearly be a very bad idea at any time. The author takes particular exception to the glossy environmental pledges made by high profile architects when contrasted with the ugly, vacuous grandstanding typified by The Tulip. (more…)

June 13, 2019

Digital transformation plans ignoring role of HR

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

HR must enhance its reputation amongst senior management teams and business leaders if it is to take a leading role in driving the success of digital transformation projects, claims a new report from MHR. The poll of 250 business leaders at organisations with more than 1000 employees claims that just 5 percent of respondents felt the HR department should be the people to lead or manage a digital transformation project. The full results of the survey are explored in MHR’s report ‘Businesses are not ready to transform (but they don’t know that)… which was launched at the Festival of Work in London this week. (more…)

June 12, 2019

Working lives dominated by stress and overwork

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Over-work, stress and poor work-life balance are undermining attempts to improve the quality of working lives in the UK, new research from the CIPD claims. Over 5,000 people were surveyed for the UK Working Lives Survey, an annual assessment of job quality across seven different categories including pay and benefits, contracts and employment terms, and voice and representation. (more…)

June 12, 2019

People can hit career dead end in their fifties

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

With a rising retirement age and the prediction that by 2020, a third of UK workers will be aged 50 or over, new research from job board Totaljobs and recruitment firm Robert Walters found that many workers in their 50s find their career options and development opportunities are extremely limited.

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June 10, 2019

Coworking disrupts office design ⁰

by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Coworking, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design

In his book How Buildings Learn, the author Stewart Brand outlines the process whereby buildings evolve over time to meet the changing needs of their occupants. He describes each building as consisting of six layers, each of which functions on a different timescale. These range from the site itself which has a life cycle measured in centuries, through to the building (decades), interior fit out (years), technology (months), to stuff (days). The effectiveness of a design will depend on how well it resolves the tensions that exist between these layers of the building, and this is one of the benefits of coworking that isn’t discussed enough.

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June 7, 2019

On target for a toxic workplace culture

by Nick Pye • Comment, Workplace

Setting clear and bold targets has become part of leadership 101. We take it for granted that the first action for anyone taking over the helm of a business or team is to state or re-state targets. The rise of “management by objectives” in the 1970s drove the initial focus on target-setting and, in line with shoulder pads and lapel width, the 1990s saw a shift in management culture to ‘bigger is always better’. In 1994 Jim Collins and Jerry Porras wrote their highly influential best seller Built to Last. In it, they memorably wrote of the power of BHAGs – big, hairy, audacious goals. Targets were no longer for hitting but represented something bigger, a longer-term vision of the future.

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June 7, 2019

Flexible working held back by poor data

by Neil Franklin • News

Many managers still rely on gut feelings and inadequate or flawed data to make important but potentially poor decisions about real estate and flexible working. That is the main conclusion of a new piece of research by flexible workplace specialist Abintra. Published in a new report, the study highlights how corporations are struggling to manage office space efficiently as the trend towards agile and flexible working gathers momentum.

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June 6, 2019

In defence of open plan office design

by Elizabeth Mixson • Features, Workplace design

Noisy, distracting, toxic and disastrous. These are just a few words that have been used to describe open plan office layouts. Though the open office layout model was originally conceived to promote collaboration, innovation and stronger workplace relationship, if recent press is to be believed, it’s had the opposite effect at many companies. (more…)

June 4, 2019

Sedus Stoll enjoys record breaking year

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

Sedus Stoll Group has announced another impressive set of financial results with an increase in revenue to €212.3 million (2017: €191.2 million), surpassing the €200 million milestone by a large margin for the first time in its history, and a profit of €9.8 million. As well as a 2.2 percent overall increase in the total market volume for its office furniture business, the firm enjoyed an increase in new orders of 5.3 percent, consolidating its position as one of the most successful and innovative firms in the European market. (more…)

June 4, 2019

Failure to understand employees creates culture of mistrust

by Marie Hillen • News, Workplace

Employees trust their CEOs less than they did seven years ago, although trust in line managers remains the same, new research claims. It also suggests that one of the reasons for mistrust is that CEOs seem unable to understand the role of their employees and the contributions they make to working culture. According to Trust in Leaders, by The Institute of Leadership & Management, workers trust their CEOs considerably less than they did in 2011, as compared to then, the results show trust in CEOs has fallen by 8 percent.

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June 4, 2019

Culture fit essential for personal productivity

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Employees who feel they are a good fit for their role and the culture of their company are 36 percent more productive, claims a new report from ThriveMap (registration). The paper claims to reveal what a difference feeling like a natural fit for a job and organisational culture makes to employees. The survey of 1,000 people used in the report claims that employees who felt they fit their role and the culture of their employer rated their productivity at 7.2 out of 10. This compares to just 5.3 out of 10 for those employees who felt they were a poor fit for both these factors.

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May 31, 2019

Previous work experience poor predictor of future performance

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

One of the most commonly used and longstanding recruitment practices should be reconsidered according to new research from academics at Florida State University. Screening job applicants based on their prior work experience is often a mistake for employers because there appears to be little or no correlation between previous experience and future performance, according to a paper from Chad Van Iddekinge, FSU’s Bank of America Professor of Management and an expert on human resources management. (more…)