September 3, 2021

Business confidence back to pre-pandemic levels, with fewer plans to shrink offices

CEOs of the world’s largest businesses are increasingly optimistic about the outlook for their own business, according to the latest KPMG CEO Outlook Survey. Despite a slower ‘return to normal’ than expected, their confidence in the global economy has returned to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic. The number planning to reduce their office footprints has fallen dramatically since the height of the pandemic, and instead there is a growing focus on introducing flexible working cultures. More →

August 30, 2021

Overseas investment in UK regional offices soars

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Property

Investments in offices outside the capital for the first half of this year hit £3.58bn – 18 percent above the long-term average for the first half of this year, Savills research claims. Overseas investors accounted for two-thirds of the £3.58bn of investments from January to June 2021 – 38 percent above the five-year average. More →

August 27, 2021

UK office design scene takes a fresh approach at the Clerkenwell Open

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

The new Clerkenwell Open event organised by the BCFA and Women in Office Design takes place on the 9th and 10th September 2021. Although long the epicentre of the UK’s office design community, this is a new two day showroom trail event which aims to provide a focus and a clear statement that Clerkenwell is “alive” again, and will provide a combined opportunity for architects, designers, specifiers , dealers and end users to network in person and exchange views. More →

August 23, 2021

Executives think work should be split 70:30 between office and home

by Neil Franklin • Comment, Flexible working

A new survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit backs up the most commonly cited form of ‘hybrid working’ by claiming that business executives on average think work should be split 70 percent / 30 percent between the office and home respectively. In A chan ged workplace after covid-19, published by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Kyocera Document Solutions, the authors argue that Covid-19 was a watershed moment in the way we work. More →

August 17, 2021

Return to office doesn’t mean occupiers have lost sight of flexibility, claims report

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Property

Offices will repopulate over the remainder of this year, led by small companies – those with fewer than 100 employees, according to the EMEA Occupier Survey of 130 companies from real estate advisor CBRE. The survey found that small companies are further advanced in their return to office. Over 80 percent of small companies report all locations are now open. This compares with only a third of the largest companies, although a majority of them have opened more than half of their sites. More →

August 12, 2021

Southeast office take-up higher than five-year average

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

Pent-up demand on hold in 2020 has returned with office take-up in the first half of this year nearly a quarter above the five-year average, according to Savills‘ data. Demand is outstripping supply with a development pipeline equal to five months take up in an average year said the property agent. More →

August 9, 2021

DESSO Serene and Serene Colour carpet tiles for offices that people want to return to

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Working from home has not only laid bare just how much we miss interaction with colleagues, but also how the office could and should support employees to work and feel better, so that they will not only feel safe to return, but will want to return. Through Tarkett’s extensive research on office worker’s attitudes towards returning to the office, a successful workplace that supports employees to thrive needs to prioritise collaboration, flexibility and sustainability. More →

August 6, 2021

Arrival of paperless office may have been accelerated by lockdowns

by Neil Franklin • News

One of the least talked about potential casualties of the recent lockdowns is the printed page. In a sign that the arrival of the paperless office may have been accelerated, total worldwide page volumes printed from office and home devices plummeted nearly 14 percent year in 2020 after several years of stable but slow decline. According to the research from International Data Corporation (IDC), 2.8 trillion pages were printed in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and the dramatic shift from offices to work from home models are behind the sharp decline, even for those who can manage to get a printer to work in the first place. More →

August 5, 2021

London office leasing activity gathers momentum in Q2 2021

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

There was a spring in the step of the central London office market in Q2 2021 with more businesses committing to new office space, as plans to return to workplaces took shape. Research by DeVono Cresa claims that just over 1.98 million sq ft was transacted, representing an upturn of 21 percent on the previous quarter and the highest quarterly total since the outbreak of the pandemic. More →

August 4, 2021

No rush to get back to the office despite easing of restrictions

by Alexandra Anders • Comment, Flexible working, Working culture

Restrictions may have been lifted but there is no major rush for everyone to head back to the office. Many firms are being cautious about bringing employees back and the official government guidance is for employers to plan a gradual, safe return to places of work. Official guidelines aside, this doesn’t even start to factor in employees’ own attitudes to being back in the office. Certainly, there are plenty of people itching to be in and amongst the buzz of an office, popping out somewhere different each day for lunch and having that commute to distance work and home life. More →

July 22, 2021

European workers positive about post pandemic partial move back to the office

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture

With much of Europe having worked remotely for over a year and many continuing to do so for the foreseeable future, new insights from Sharp, claims that there is a significant appetite among European workers to return to the office for some of the working week. More →

July 21, 2021

UK workers hesitant to return to the office

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Working lives

New research commissioned by Kadence claims that despite restrictions being lifted, office workers in the UK are resistant to a full-time office return. The survey of 1,500 UK and US office workers claims that over half of British workers (55 percent) still expect to spend fewer days in the office per week, with more than a third wanting to come and go as they please (35 percent). More →