July 13, 2020

The economic challenges of the post lockdown world become clearer

by Jayne Smith • Briefing, Features, Premium Content, Property

There are so many unknowns about the ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic will shape our world in the coming months and years but what it has highlighted are the strengths and weaknesses in the global and UK economy and their implications for the commercial property sector. In its latest white paper, property consultancy and chartered surveyors Bruceshaw examines the macro and micro economic challenges that will shape the property sector for many years to come. More →

July 13, 2020

Half of SME employees say working from home negatively affects mental health

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Findings from a recent study show that there is little additional support from SME’s to meet employee wellbeing standards when working from home, as many make a more permanent change after lockdown. The Working from Home study, conducted by Wildgoose, surveyed employees from 133 companies throughout the UK as the Covid-19 lockdown eases. They were asked how their working day differs at home compared to in the office, whether they would be happy to continue working from home after lockdown is ended, and how companies could improve home working practices. More →

July 13, 2020

Flexible workspace provider Serendipity Labs to expand UK operation

by Neil Franklin • Company news

US flexible workspace provider Serendipity Labs has appointed JLL to expand its operations to 20 new locations in the UK over the next two years. Founded in 2011, Serendipity Labs operates a network of “hospitality-infused” workplaces offering shared and dedicated workstations, meeting venues and work lounges. The new plans follow an initial launch last year in partnership with Newable to open and operate 25 locations in the UK. More →

July 9, 2020

Mental health and coronavirus: a human resources perspective

by Ian Caminsky • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

In March, coronavirus presented a stark challenge to businesses attempting to cope with workplace absence. FirstCare statistics show that during Q1 2020, more than 98 percent of Covid-19-related absences were due to unconfirmed cases, self-quarantining as a precaution, or caring for dependents. This has resulted in huge financial pressure on businesses. Now though, as restrictions are gradually eased, human resources must respond to the mental health challenges the pandemic has manifested in workers, including grief, trauma, PTSD and more general anxiety. More →

July 9, 2020

Three quarters of furloughed employers are worried about redundancy

by Neil Franklin • News

A new report claims that the majority of people who are currently on furlough are concerned about being made redundant when the scheme ends. Two thirds (67 percent) feel there’s been a lack of communication from their employer. The platform surveyed professionals currently on the government job retention scheme to find out if they are worried about job security, along with how being furloughed has impacted them. The survey revealed that the hospitality industry is where staff feel the least amount of job security, closely followed by travel/tourism and sales. More →

July 8, 2020

Mental health of finance workers seriously harmed by lockdown

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

More than eight-in-ten London-based banking and finance professionals (86 percent) say Covid-19 lockdown has affected their mental health, according to a new survey of white-collar employees by Helix Resilience. According to the survey of 352 banking and finance professionals, over half (52 percent) of respondents claim to be less productive, and nearly four-in-ten (39 percent) say they find it difficult to concentrate outside the office. While most working in the sector (53 percent) feel their employer is doing enough to support their wellbeing during lockdown, a third (33 percent) do not feel supported. More →

July 7, 2020

Overcoming the fear of going out

by Michelle McQuaid • Comment, Wellbeing

Over the last several months, some workers have exhibited a new ailment that has got nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic that sent them scurrying home to set up virtual offices in the first place. It’s called FOGO, as coined by Forbes magazine contributing writer Jodie Cook, and it refers to a new phenomenon known as the “Fear of Going Out”.

July 5, 2020

From the archive: the future of work and place in the 21st Century ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Features, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design

However much we know about the forces we expect to come into play in our time and however much we understand the various social, commercial, legislative, cultural and economic parameters we expect to direct them, most predictions of the future tend to come out as refractions or extrapolations of the present. This is a fact tacitly acknowledged by George Orwell’s title for Nineteen Eighty-Four, written in 1948, and is always the pinch of salt we can apply to science fiction and most of the predictions we come across. More →

July 3, 2020

Watch where you sit: new workplace setups could hit productivity

by Geoffroy de Lestrange • Comment, Wellbeing

Slowly, it seems we are seeing a gradual return to some sort of normality. Shops are opening up as well as restaurants and pubs and many of us are now also heading back into the office. But these aren’t the offices as we once knew them. Workspace layouts and seating plans are being completely overhauled to bring in new social distancing and safety measures. Beyond just the physical changes this incurs, this could also have a wider impact on how we work – and businesses need to be prepared and ready for that too. More →

July 3, 2020

Demand for workspace in Oxford-Cambridge Arc set to soar

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

New research from Property Consultants Bidwells claims that up to 20 million sq ft of new lab and office space will be required in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc within the next two decades to keep pace with demand, twice the volume of the previous 20 years. The new report, ‘Oxford-Cambridge Arc Beyond the Covid-19 Crisis’, also estimates that the Arc will represent almost 11 percent of UK GVA by 2050, up from 6 percent today, equivalent to £100bn a year. More →

July 2, 2020

Leaders need to develop a high care quotient for the new challenges they face

by Chris Parke • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives

Everything has taken a hit in 2020. Nothing has gone unscathed or unchanged – and the same goes for leadership. From boardrooms to living rooms, meeting rooms to spare rooms, leadership has moved away from face-to-face interactions to digital communications. Meanwhile, forward-thinking initiatives, spurred on by continuing diversity imbalances and widening gender pay gaps, have been put on hold. Following government guidance, only half of businesses published their 2018-19 gender pay gap report – which could reportedly push gender equality back a whole generation. We are risking losing sight of what’s important to us – and unless we’re intentional about how we make systemic, much-needed organisational changes, they’re not going to happen if we only focus on more ‘critical’ things, or keeping the lights on. More →

July 2, 2020

Wellbeing of overwhelming majority affected by events of 2020

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A new study commissioned by Perkbox of 13,271 employees claims that 93 percent of employees have faced new wellbeing challenges in 2020. The most common being feeling less connected to the company/colleagues, increased loneliness/feelings of isolation and increased financial concerns. The study looks at the wellbeing impacts of the events of 2020. Nearly 73 percent state that coronavirus has negatively impacted their mental health, followed by Brexit (29 percent) and Black Lives Matter (27 percent). More →