Search Results for: office

Experimentation is the name of the game

Experimentation is the name of the game

Uncertain times call for different measures and approaches, the old rules and playbooks are no longer applicable – so what are you going to do? Sit around, stagnate, hanker after old solutions trying to manipulate and squeeze them into new, unknowable, untried paradigms? No! One thing human beings are fairly good at is evolving and adapting to new and unknown situations and as we all know, being flexible and  accepting change creates resilience and ensures survival. More →

Facilities Managers should be seen as stewards of corporate culture

Facilities Managers should be seen as stewards of corporate culture

hybrid working facilities managersThe pandemic has irrevocably changed the way we work. Once considered a place simply to do business, the office is fast becoming a ‘lifestyle choice’ among young people who value more than just a desk. Instead, they want an engaging, healthy, and resilient working environment where they can socialise, make friends, and build connections to help their career and wellbeing thrive. In fact, an EY study found that 90 percent of Generation-Z value the human connection in the workplace above salary when it comes to their at-work communication. A recent Gallup survey even found a tangible link between having a best friend at work and productivity: those who have a best friend in the office are twice as likely to be engaged in their role and company. More →

Research casts doubt on environmental benefits of hybrid working

Research casts doubt on environmental benefits of hybrid working

commuters and hybrid workingA permanent post-pandemic switch to hybrid working may do little to reduce carbon emissions as the majority of remote workers travel further each week than their office-based counterparts, new research from the University of Sussex Business School reveals. The newly published study finds that, prior to the pandemic, most remote workers in England travelled further each week than office-based workers – despite taking fewer trips. This was partly because remote workers tended to live further from their workplace than non-teleworkers, so had longer, if less frequent, commutes. In addition, remote workers engaged in more travel on the days when they worked from home – for example, by making extra trips to shops and cafes. More →

The Metaverse in the workplace: Meta’s wobble may affect how we use emerging technologies

The Metaverse in the workplace: Meta’s wobble may affect how we use emerging technologies

metaverse at workThere has been much talk over the past two years of the adoption of hybrid working for elephant-in-the-room reasons and it is now the case that the practice is being widely adopted by many organisations. Knocking at our office doors now is the next big talking point in terms of technology: the Metaverse. There has been much speculation recently on how this collective, virtual open space, which incorporates environments including those in which to shop, learn, be entertained and, of course, work, will evolve. It has been described as the ‘next chapter of the Internet’ and is created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. More →

Structural and cultural change are what we need to escape the wellbeing rut

Structural and cultural change are what we need to escape the wellbeing rut

wellbeing at workWellbeing has been one of the largest challenges to the UK workforce over the last several years. A recent study by the Mental Health Foundation and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), states that mental health problems cost the UK economy at least £117.9 billion every year – around 5 percent of the UK’s GDP. Companies recognise the urgency to help: British employers planned to increase spending on employee mental health and wellbeing by 18 percent from 2021 to 2022. But the long and short of the issue is that this progress is being outpaced by accelerating burnout rates among workers. More →

Firms are failing to meet the needs of hybrid workers

Firms are failing to meet the needs of hybrid workers

hybrid workersA survey of UK employers and employees gives insight into the lack of provision for remote and hybrid workers to carry out their roles. While just over half (56 percent) of employers admit they regularly check in with all employees to enquire about their health and wellbeing and 55 percent provide laptops, 73 percent of employees are ready to choose their next employer based on physical, health and wellbeing support and flexible technology provision. More →

Hybrid working burnout is inevitable, say third of workers

Hybrid working burnout is inevitable, say third of workers

hybrid working burnoutOver one in three (36 percent) UK workers believe burnout is an inevitable part of their career, according to new data based on 2,000 UK knowledge workers. The figure, which rises to 41 percent of managers was noted by UK workers as a natural part of career progression by those who had experienced it. UK employees are feeling isolated at home when part of a hybrid working culture and they’re struggling to balance priorities and establish clear boundaries. More →

Firms must do more to earn the commute of hybrid workers

Firms must do more to earn the commute of hybrid workers

hybrid work office designSteelcase has released a new global research report which reveals that outdated offices are no longer conducive to employees’ shifting needs for greater control, comfort, and privacy. The study found that if a workplace was made more in tune with shifting expectations, staff were more engaged, productive, connected to their organisation’s culture and less likely to leave.  The Steelcase report, The New Era of Hybrid Work, surveyed nearly 5,000 workers in 11 countries. The findings reveal that whilst 87 percent of respondents now spend at least some of their time working from the office as the threat of the pandemic recedes, six in ten (58 percent) prefer working from home. One of the most appealing attributes of a home for two-thirds (65 percent) of UK employees is that they have a dedicated space for work. Whereas in the office, the majority (59 percent) have desks in open areas, with minimal privacy. More →

MIPIM revival offers up a pale, stale imitation of life (but there’s hope)

MIPIM revival offers up a pale, stale imitation of life (but there’s hope)

MIPIMIf a week is a long time in politics, then two years in real estate is practically a lifetime. Time enough for an opportunity for MIPIM, the property world’s annual gathering in Cannes to reset itself post-pandemic. Unlike back in London where British Land had offered up space for Ukrainian care packages at its Paddington Central Campus and Quintain also pledge to make space at its Wembley Park space (as reported by Estates Gazette), unfortunately such correct reading of the room wasn’t the case on the Croisette. More →

Making sense of an uncertain but energetic return to some sort of normal

Making sense of an uncertain but energetic return to some sort of normal

The first Omnirama event on the 23rd of March launched the series exploring different factors challenging the world of work in a time of prevailing  uncertainty. Underlying Ominirama’s raison d’etre is that recent events have turned the status quo on its head with some major structural and systemic changes taking place. Nobody seems to have any clear idea of how to deal with this enormous transformation in the ways we work  All the playbooks and all the guidance that we have all relied upon for so many years have now gone out the window. More →

The Great Resignation and what is really happening

The Great Resignation and what is really happening

Great ResignationThe ‘Great Resignation’ is a buzzphrase that first appeared in May 2021, and has struck fear into the hearts of employers ever since. Coined in the US, the term refers to the unprecedented rise in the number of workers resigning from their jobs following the pandemic. There has since been a huge amount of research trying to work out why this has happened. Are workers quitting work entirely, as the pandemic makes us re-evaluate our priorities? Or are they quitting to pursue their dreams in a different career? More →

Working from home means getting your priorities right

Working from home means getting your priorities right

working from home with SedusIt should come as no great surprise to learn that data from Leesman, the world’s leading workplace analyst, found that the chair was seen by remote working employees as the second most important feature in creating a productive working from home environment. Cited by 90 percent of people, it was narrowly beaten into second place only by a desk or table (91 percent). A ‘mere’ 89 percent of people cited WiFi, which is what you may have assumed was the most important need of remote workers, especially given that Hierarchy of Needs meme we’ve all seen. That needs to be reworked because clearly broadband matters slightly less than comfort and safety. More →