March 27, 2024

Highly organised CEOs can hold back a firm’s flexibility in times of change

CEOs who prioritise planning and organisation can find their skills make them a hindrance to their organisations when it comes to adapting to external changes, according to new research from Durham University Business School. The researchers say that this is because organised CEOs tend to be more rigid in their practices, thus making it more difficult for them to change their ways. The researchers also found that CEOs who are anxious and can get stressed easily also make it difficult for the organisation to adapt quickly. More →

March 27, 2024

Connection launches ONE. ONE Module – infinite possibilities

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Furniture, Workplace design

Connection, the British based furniture designer and manufacturer, has added to its existing portfolio of interior architecture products, with the launch of ONE. A unique modular solution, ONE is as the name denotes, one core module that facilitates and supports infinite possibilities. The ONE range comprises of a single core module, supported by a series of simple components to create building blocks, conceptualised to deliver inspiring configurations for inspiring spaces. More →

March 26, 2024

New objectives in workplace design guide set out to increase biodiversity in government estate

by Jayne Smith • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

The UK’s Government Property Agency has published details of how it intends to protect the natural environment and increase biodiversity across its extensive estate. The Biodiversity and Nature Recovery Annex (BNRA) forms part of the Government Workplace Design Guide. As the largest office property holder in government, the GPA believes it ‘has an opportunity to improve the environment for the benefit of everyone by playing a part in ceasing the extensive loss of biodiversity in the UK’. More →

March 25, 2024

Biophilic design has a long history and an even bigger future

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

There are plenty of definitions of the modish concept of biophilic design around right now. But perhaps nobody can top that of Erich Fromm, the sociologist and psychoanalyst who first described it in his 1973 book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness as “The passionate love of life and all that is alive”. More →

March 25, 2024

AI will leave a lot of people with nowhere to go in the job market

by Jayne Smith • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Non-graduates, ‘silver surfers’ and those in lower socio-economic brackets will be left behind as the rise of AI creates a ‘skills glass ceiling’. That’s according to the latest Robert Half Jobs Confidence Index (JCI) – an economic confidence tracker produced in partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The latest iteration of the Robert Half JCI revealed that almost half (45 percent) of the UK workforce is concerned that AI will disrupt their career in the next six to ten years. More →

March 25, 2024

Commuter towns becoming main place of work for many people

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Property

New office footfall data from IWG taken from more than 400 locations across the UK, suggests that over the past two years workers have significantly increased their use of office workspaces in rural, suburban and commuter towns, choosing to forgo lengthy daily commutes and work closer to home. More →

March 24, 2024

Half of people ‘struggle’ with the idea of more face to face meetings

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new poll claims that over half (52 percent) of office workers in the UK, who have experienced an increase in face to face meetings, are struggling to cope with the increased demand, as business travel and in person time is on the rise. For many this has resulted in an increase in business travel, with 35 percent admitting the frequency of work related travel has steadily increased over the last two years – in fact 66 percent of office workers have travelled up to 50 times for business in the last 12 months. More →

March 24, 2024

Can commercial buildings shift from Carbon Conundrum to Carbon Control?

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Environment, Facilities management

A white paper challenging the building sector to consider what is really impeding the move to greater carbon control has been launched at an event in London by Artus. The heating and cooling experts have produced From carbon conundrum to carbon control – how will the building sector get to net zero? to amplify the debate on whole-life carbon, design and the industry’s ability to move forward together to find solutions. More →

March 22, 2024

Most US firms are yet to match their culture to the demands of flexible working

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

A survey of 900 leaders in HR, real estate, IT, and product roles at US based firms suggests that most employers have not adapted their working culture and practices to support the shift to flexible working. In addition, according to The 2024 Workplace Flexibility Trends Report from TechSmith Corporation in partnership with workplace research firm Global Workplace Analytics and Caryatid Workplace Consultancy three quarters of workers have yet to receive any training for the rise of flexible working arrangements. More →

March 21, 2024

Fitwel Announces 2024 Best in Building Health Awards

by Freddie Steele • Environment, News, Wellbeing

Fitwel, the building health certification system, has announced the winners of the 2024 Best in Building Health Awards. The awards are designed to honour the most innovative real estate companies and individuals ‘setting the standard for health and wellbeing in the built environment across the globe, leveraging the trusted Fitwel Standard to enhance quality of life and drive value through design and operational excellence’. This year’s winners include projects from Canada, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and the United States. More →

March 21, 2024

AI is already transforming the legal sector, but challenges remain

by Sarah Murphy • AI, Comment, Technology

As AI technologies continue to gain traction, just about every sector you can think of is going to face huge changes in the coming years – and that’s especially the case in the legal industry. From the rise of large language models (LLMs) to the integration of AI into existing software, this cutting-edge technology is already uprooting the way we work now, and it’s making us think deeply about what work will look like in the future. More →

March 20, 2024

Reviving flexible workspaces – a guide to saving failing operations

by Calum Russell • Comment, Property

The landscape of flexible working has witnessed unprecedented growth, spurred by the evolving needs of businesses in the aftermath of the pandemic. Despite the economic turbulence of 2023, the flexible office market has remained strong in the UK, achieving a record overall occupancy of 83 percent in the same year. As the demand for adaptable and collaborative working environments continues to rise, landlords and operators of flexible workspaces need to ensure that what they offer is meeting customer demands. Given the number of notable operator closures, many landlords are beginning to find themselves at the forefront of decisions about managing and revitalising failing operations. More →