May 17, 2021
Search Results for: office
May 13, 2021
The pivotal role of remote working in the journey to jab the nation
by Michael Whitmore • Comment, Flexible working
At 6.31 a.m. on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, the UK became the first country in the world to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Just over five months earlier, I had been deployed to the NHS England and NHS Improvement COVID-19 vaccination programme to help drive the highly complex design and planning needed to bring the nation to this point. My role involved leading the set up and embedding of the Estates, Equipment, Consumables and Logistics workstream. The purpose of this was to establish and combine the new and existing infrastructure required in England to manage the distribution, regulation and administration of multiple vaccines so that all systems would be ready to vaccinate on the ‘go-live’ date. (more…)
May 13, 2021
People working from home might now be subject to a visit from the Pensions Regulator
by Anne-Marie Winton and Danyal Enver • Features, Flexible working
The Pensions Regulator might now have the power under current UK pensions legislation, to enter the private homes of employees when it is investigating their employer, if those employees are working from home. The current law has been in force since 2005 and it allows the Regulator to enter some premises at any reasonable time. This power is restricted to use only in relation to some limited statutory investigations. However, though currently limited, these regulatory powers will soon be widened and extended by the Pensions Schemes Act 2021 which is due to come into force in Autumn 2021.
May 10, 2021
The workplace industry needs to think outside its ever-shrinking boxes
by Andy Lake • Comment, Flexible working
Is the workplace industry stuck in the past, in a 20th century model of how and where work is done? The separation of work and the rest of life during the Industrial Age has shaped the structures of modern life: the houses we live in, the offices, factories and shops we work in, and the transport networks that shuffle us from one location to another for different activities. It has also shaped the planning system, the institutional and financial structures of how places are designed and built, and perhaps most of all the mindsets of just about everyone involved in creating places to work and live. (more…)
May 6, 2021
Mental health is not a cultural priority for half of organisations
by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives
Koa Health, has released a new report titled Wellbeing at Work, exposing the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in businesses across the UK and organisations’ response to the crisis. Social listening research conducted by Pulsar on behalf of Koa Health claims that as COVID took told in the UK, content shared online about people’s declining mental wellbeing increased by 400 percent in the period from the last week of February 2020 to the final week of May 2020. (more…)
May 6, 2021
Why mobile site surveys have changed so dramatically
by Freddie Steele • Company news, Technology
Central to any business is the need to communicate effectively. Whether you’re relocating to new or refurbished premises, or switching providers, it is vital to ensure your communications networks are up to the job in terms of performance and reliability. Not only is this required to support conventional telecoms and OTT services, it is key to smart building and smart infrastructure applications. Connectivity should not be limited to Wi-Fi either. Businesses are increasingly pushing mobile-only strategies and landlines are fast becoming obsolete in the workplace. PwC, for example, removed all landlines from their offices back in 2018 and many other organisations have since followed suit, with smartphones providing a single point of contact for all voice and internet connectivity, as well as being used as resilient IT infrastructure. (more…)
May 5, 2021
The future of work will see profound changes in the way firms engage with customers
by Yusdi Santoso • Comment, Technology
Businesses are managing a new work dynamic that’s made up of three parts, or three ‘types’ of employee. Some are keen to go back to the office, some want to stay working from home, and some want an entirely flexible arrangement so they can fit work around important personal commitments. (more…)
May 4, 2021
Why some people are more productive working from home than others
by Stephen Bevan • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing
Has working at home during lockdown made people more productive or not? This has been the subject of some lively debate recently. Many companies do not routinely measure productivity. A large number will have traditionally assumed that they get the highest output when staff work longer hours or under close supervision, but remote working is clearly causing some to re-evaluate this. Major firms, for instance professional services group PwC, have been sufficiently impressed to make remote working a permanent option for their staff. (more…)
May 4, 2021
Workspace Show announces details of speakers lineup
by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design
Workspace Design Show, the event bringing together the commercial interiors community with its inaugural event taking place over the 4-5 November this year at London’s Business Design Centre, is building momentum with news of new speakers and partners that have joined the party, as well as details of its discussion on ‘New Product Ideas for Tomorrow’s Workspaces.’ The show’s organisers say they are especially thrilled to announce that its inaugural event will feature key speakers from the world of commercial interiors, from established brands including Gensler, Perkins and Will, BDG, tp bennett, Unispace, Arup, PwC, Landor and Fitch, Aviva, Areen Design, KKS Savills, MF Design Studio, Susan Lake and The Office Group. Workplace Insight and IN Magazine are also partnering with the event. (more…)
May 4, 2021
Businesses prioritise tech and outsourcing to overcome front of house challenge
by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Technology
Swiss Post Solutions (SPS), has released new research that claims how the pandemic has impacted front of house strategies for UK businesses. Half (50 percent) of UK companies plan to introduce interactive technologies to help overcome new ‘front of house’ (FOH) challenges that have been imposed by COVID19. A further 41 percent of businesses plan to outsource FOH services altogether. (more…)
May 14, 2021
We need to acknowledge our bias if we want to see the world for what it is
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives