March 29, 2023
Rising business rates could impact affordable workspace in London
The 2023 business rates revaluation will come into effect on the 1st of April 2023, the first of its kind for six years and according to business rates experts at Colliers could have a material impact on the provision of affordable workspace in the capital, historically located in the “fringe” locations. Colliers claims that this is because rents and hence rateable values in fringe locations such as Hackney, Southwark and Hammersmith & Fulham have increased at a greater pace than in historic ‘core’ office locations such as the City, Islington and the West End, and those fringe locations have now become equally or in some cases more expensive locations than those in the Central London core. More →
The Sustainable Design Collective, a ‘think tank’ group of leading workplace designers and specifiers, has announced a new Forum Day, together with industry awards, focussed on greater sustainability. Originally formed in January 2022, the Sustainable Design Collective hosts regular meetings to collaborate and discuss new opportunities to promote environmental and social responsibility within the office workplace. The group is now inviting conversations with fellow designers as well as suppliers and manufacturers. 
American employees are wasting hundreds of contracted work hours a year using their work equipment for personal tasks and activities, according to a new survey from ExpressVPN. The survey, conducted by the consumer privacy and security company, found that some people are spending only 33 percent of annual contracted hours on work tasks. With a steep rise in hybrid and home working in recent years, many companies have provided employees with work devices to use in the comfort of their own homes, including work laptops, desktops, phones, and microphones. 
March 30, 2023
Every workplace innovation contains the seeds of its opposite
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology