July 4, 2019
The number of people doing gig economy work has doubled in the last three years, according to TUC and FEPS-supported research. The survey – carried out by the University of Hertfordshire with fieldwork and data collection by Ipsos MORI – suggests that nearly 1 in 10 (9.6 percent) working-age adults surveyed now work via gig economy platforms at least once a week, compared to around 1 in 20 (4.7 percent) in 2016. More →
June 27, 2019
What is it that makes (some of) us bound into work, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, in the morning? Is it the promise of a proper coffee from the barista-style machine so many modern offices and studios now boast? Or could it simply be the chance to catch up with a favourite colleague? For many, it may be the lure of work itself that gets them out of bed. Few of us will hum merrily on our morning commute, though, contemplating the comfort of our office chair, or daydreaming about taking five minutes to enjoy the calming ambience of the breakout area. A West Yorkshire-based company specialising in acoustic design is making huge strides to change our attitudes about the workplace, though. After all, why shouldn’t we feel at home in the office? More →
June 25, 2019
Leesman, the workplace experience analysts, and Delos, a wellness real estate and technology firm, have announced a new collaboration to investigate how real estate strategy can better support wellbeing at work. With a variety of strategies being promoted as a secret to ‘wellness at work’, this collaboration aims to test and validate the impact of real estate strategies on worker wellbeing on an ongoing basis, and not only when an office is new.
June 25, 2019
The Aviva Stadium in Dublin hosted from 13th to 14th June the 27th Edition of EFMC, the European Facility Management Conference. The event, held for the first time in the Irish capital, has brought together international experts of the FM sector and has served as a platform of communication amongst facilities managers, suppliers, Universities and associations. The event culminated with tours of One Microsoft Place and the offices of Google in the Irish capital. In the closing ceremony it was announced that EFMC 2020 will be held in Barcelona. More →
June 24, 2019
Most US workers prefer to spend some time in an office (83 percent) over fully working from home, according to a new survey of full-time employees from Clutch. Respondents claim that office based work helps them collaborate with coworkers and feel included in the company’s culture. However, more than half of employees (52 percent) say they prefer a private office to a workstation in an open floor plan or cubicle office at work. More →
June 20, 2019
Any survey that sets out to establish what people believe cuts their productivity and annoys them most about their workplace almost invariably throws up the same result; the noise and distractions generated by other people. So it will come as no surprise to learn that the same surveys usually find that employees believe that peace and quiet and freedom from distractions is the most important factor when it comes to getting some decent work done. More →
June 19, 2019
Having disrupted the property sector over the last decade, coworking continues to impact investors, developers and end users as the concept appears to be the dominant force in the commercial sector. Coworking can trace its roots back as far as the 1980s when Regus (now part of IWG) popularised the idea of a serviced office, by taking on leases of office buildings, subdividing the available space and leasing it out to small business, fully furnished and ready to rent. More →
June 17, 2019
The practice of sharing workstations with fellow workers is making people increasingly unhappy, according to a survey of more than 1,000 office workers by real estate firm Savills, who for some reason still insist on referring to it as hot desking in spite of the fact that the idea covers a range of practices that are not hot desking. According to the firm’s study, a mere 12 percent of people believe sharing workstations with their colleagues make them more productive. Half claimed it made them less productive, compared to around a third in a related study two years ago. More →
June 14, 2019
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 11, 2019
It’s a hot day on the Savannah, and our hero Jon picks up the tool that he uses to hunt and cut his food, and marches across the plain to complete the next big task of the day—survival. Even though Jon lived 2.5 million years before basic writing was developed, the tools he’s invented are the difference between eating or starving. Jon is one smart Ape, and he wasn’t even doing it for likes or followers. Of course, big Jon’s tool is not workplace technology as you might think about it, but it is in the truest sense. More →
June 7, 2019
Socialising and drinking opportunities are some of the least enjoyable things about working in London, as loving their job and a chance to grow personally is more of an incentive for those who work in the Capital, a new report suggests. The survey of 1,000 London workers by Flexioffices, claims that 75 percent of employees in the city enjoy going to work for the personal development opportunities, training and the job itself. Flexible hours are becoming an increasingly enticing aspect of a job, with 21 percent of London workers liking their workplace because of the flexible hours available.
July 2, 2019
A Turing Test for the workplace 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design