Search Results for: mental health

Stop whinging about robots taking your job and develop the skills you need for a new era of work

Stop whinging about robots taking your job and develop the skills you need for a new era of work

by • AI, News, Workplace

A report from researchers at Pearson, Nesta and the University of Oxford called The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030 claims that while the new era of robots, automation and artificial intelligence in the workplace will be disruptive, it will not spell the end of work and people need to develop new skills to meet its challenges. The study claims to take an entirely new approach to forecasting employment and skill demands in the US and UK. In contrast to many recent headlines, the study finds that many jobs today will still be in demand by 2030 and beyond. However, while jobs may remain, the skills needed for success are changing. The researchers combined diverse human expertise with active machine learning to produce a more nuanced view of future employment trends. Using this innovative approach, the study forecasts that only one in five workers are in occupations that face a high likelihood of decline.

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How smart workplaces increase performance and attractiveness 0

by • Case studies, Facilities management, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

The workplace can and should be used as a strategic tool to support work and cooperation, to shape the experience of the brand and to produce competitive advantage for the organization. Even when not used as a strategic tool the workplace still affects all these parts and there is always a risk that the workplace has instead a negative impact if we are not aware of the relationship and really use workplace as a strategic tool to affect attractiveness, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. The workplace makes a great difference and it is becoming an important differentiator between successful and less successful organizations. I also strongly believe that the workplace management area is a key for us in the FM industry to bring FM to a higher level, to shift from cost focus to more value focus, and this is something we need to do together within the FM industry and we really should take the driver’s seat. But, let’s start from the beginning.

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Nearly a quarter of workers claim work is biggest barrier to being more physically active

Nearly a quarter of workers claim work is biggest barrier to being more physically active

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Work is the biggest barrier to taking regular exercise a new survey suggests, with 20 percent of people citing being too busy with work as the reason why they are not more physically active. The research, which is published by not-for-profit health body ukactive to mark today’s National Fitness Day 2017 also reveals that only 1 in 10 adults (12 percent) know NHS recommended physical activity guidelines and well over half of Brits spend at least six hours each day sitting down. In addition to shunning exercise, more than 64 percent of adults spend at least six hours each day sitting, be it at work, in front of the TV, commuting or on social media. The average UK adult also spends more than twice as much time sitting on the toilet as they do exercising, with the study of 2,004 British adults by ComRes reveals that British adults say they are on the loo for an average of 3 hours and 9 minutes each week, compared to just 1 hour and 30 minutes spent doing moderate exercise such as fast walking or riding a bike.

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Growing concerns about staff wellbeing will transform real estate over coming years, claims study

Growing concerns about staff wellbeing will transform real estate over coming years, claims study

by • News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The UK commercial property market will be transformed over the next few years as a growing number of firms use their workplaces to address the physical and mental wellbeing of staff, claims a new report from law firm CMS. The report, Smart Healthy Agile, is based around the findings of a survey of 1,000 office workers and 350 real estate firms. It claims that the most common problems associated with office life and sedentary lifestyles, such as weight gain, stress, depression and musculoskeletal disorders are encouraging employers to adopt a different approach to working culture and office design.

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British organisations must step up to the challenges of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation

by • AI, News, Technology

A report published by the RSA think-tank has encouraged UK businesses to embrace artificial intelligence, automation and robotics. arguing that new technology has the potential to raise productivity levels, boost flagging living standards, and phase out ‘dull, dirty and dangerous’ tasks in favour of more purposeful and human-centric work. The Age of Automation report warns, however, that the UK is fast becoming a ‘laggard’ in the adoption of new machines and called on UK business leaders to accelerate their take-up of technology. The RSA found that sales of robots to the UK decreased over 2014-15, with British firms falling behind the US, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. A YouGov poll of UK business leaders, commissioned by the RSA, found that UK business leaders are currently wary of adopting AI and robotics, with just fourteen percent of firms currently investing in this technology or soon planning to. Twenty-nine percent of businesses believe AI & robotics to be too expensive or not yet proven and twenty percent want to invest but believe it will take several years to ‘seriously adopt’ the new technology.

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Brexit having a significant impact on London firms, but tech and media sectors growing

Brexit having a significant impact on London firms, but tech and media sectors growing

by • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

With the overwhelming majority of London businesses employing staff from the EU (88 percent), Brexit is having a significant impact on the capital’s companies, according to the latest CBI/CBRE London Business Survey. Just under three quarters of firms (73 percent) view uncertainty over the UK’s role in Europe as their top concern, whilst a similar number (69 percent) have developed, or are developing, a contingency plan for when the UK leaves the EU. Indeed, over a quarter of respondents (27 percent) indicated they are planning to move part of their operations overseas. Close to two thirds (62 percent) have, or are developing, a strategy to address skill shortages that could be incurred if restrictions are placed on EU nationals working in the UK. However, two thirds of the 271 respondents to the Survey (65 percent) said that the tech and creative sectors were the principal sectors for the capital’s economic growth over the next five years, followed by professional services (49 percent) and FinTech (47 percent).

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The most productive thing you may do today is go for a walk

The most productive thing you may do today is go for a walk

by • Features, Wellbeing

According to a widely reported government study in today’s news, 40 percent of middle aged English adults do not even manage a ten minute walk each month. The report from Public Health England says that so many people are sedentary that official activity guidelines are so unrealistic and people should be encouraged to walk ten minutes a day – half the current guidance – to improve general levels of health and mental wellbeing. Little steps, in other words. We can confidently say that the underlying problem here is cultural, including the amount of time people spend on their backsides at work. This is in spite of all the evidence that shows that we may not only be fitter and happier by moving more but more creative too.

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Shared experiences and even team building exercises might actually make people happier

Shared experiences and even team building exercises might actually make people happier

by • News, Wellbeing

A new study from the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, published in the Journal for Environmental and Public Health, claims that shared activities in workplaces can boost wellbeing and performance by improving their ‘social atmosphere’. The review of nearly 1,400 scientific papers and reports from across the globe led researchers from the Universities of East Anglia, Essex, Reading and Sheffield to conclude that team activities are effective at making us happier at work. All the successful examples they found shared common characteristics in that they involved everyone – including people who might be reluctant to interact in shared activities and involved more than a one-off activity and carried on over time. Examples ranged from as few as three one-hour workshops to a more extensive programme delivered over several years.

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New eco coworking centre breaks ground in Oxfordshire

New eco coworking centre breaks ground in Oxfordshire

by • Architecture, Company news, Environment, Property

Construction has begun on a new zero carbon business centre at the Elmsbrook development in Bicester, Oxfordshire. PERCH, Elmsbrook is one of two new coworking spaces brought to Bicester by Cherwell District Council (CDC) and is subject to support from European Regional Development Funding. The 1,400 sqm building will span three floors and accommodate up to 125 people. The council claims it will be unique in ‘providing local office space for individuals and small businesses in a highly sustainable building, meeting the standards of the North West Bicester Eco Town’ scheme.

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London Mayor launches strategy to make the city “one of the greenest on the planet”

London Mayor launches strategy to make the city “one of the greenest on the planet”

by • Cities, Environment, News

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has launched a new environmental strategy which he claims will help make the capital the world’s first ‘National Park City and one of the greenest cities on Earth’. The strategy includes plans for a new £9million Greener City Fund to boost trees and green infrastructure; improved planning policy proposals to encourage more green roofs, green walls and rain gardens; the creation of a ‘Challenge Map’ to prioritise areas in need of green infrastructure; and a series of measures to tackle pollution, promote cleaner energy & make more than 50 per cent of London green by 2050. As part of the strategy, the Mayor will use planning regulations to protect the Green Belt and incorporate into new developments more ‘green roofs’ (roofs covered with grass and plants which are excellent for soaking up rainwater), green walls (which can be added to the outside walls of buildings by busy polluted roads and are covered in plants to help boost air quality), ‘rain gardens’ (small green spaces which help prevent flooding), and habitats for wildlife.

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Workplace menopause study claims women need more support from employers

Workplace menopause study claims women need more support from employers

by • Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report from the UK Government and University of Leicester has called for menopause-friendly workplaces and culture change programmes. In what the authors claims is the most comprehensive study of its kind, the report claims that ‘many women tend to feel that they need to cope alone’ – because of ‘a reluctance to speak up at work’. The report ‘The effects of menopause transition on women’s economic participation in the UK’ was funded by the Government’s Equalities Office. The research, published by the Department for Education, was carried out by Joanna Brewis, Andrea Davies and Jesse Matheson of the University of Leicester School of Business and Vanessa Beck of the University of Bristol School of Economics, Finance and Management.

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Putting people at the centre of building design could provide large boost to the economy

Putting people at the centre of building design could provide large boost to the economy

by • News, Workplace design

More thoughtfully designed workplaces, centred around people’s needs, could improve performance and help tackle the UK’s productivity gap, according to a new report. Applying design thinking to boost workplace productivity by 5-8 per cent could contribute up to £20 billion to GDP. The potential gain in productivity, equivalent to twice the annual contribution to UK GDP made by the aerospace industry, is revealed in research conducted by researchers from Imperial College London in partnership with Atkins. Atkins commissioned the research to better understand and quantify the economic benefit from human centred design. The research claims to examine the ripple down effect on productivity brought about by an human centred focus on health and wellbeing. This in turn has a benefit for future business growth and can enhance the position of the national economy, according to the report. The research claims to support the importance of employees’ experience of the building in which they work and confirms that steps to create the right working environment can have a material impact on staff productivity and wellbeing.

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