Search Results for: office

November 14, 2018

Proportion of flexible space within corporate portfolios to increase dramatically

by Sara Bean • Coworking, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

Despite the proliferation of coworking and serviced office operators the majority of global corporates still occupy office space on a traditional lease model, with two thirds of companies in a survey by Knight Frank reporting that co-working, serviced and flexible office space comprise 5 percent or less of their current office space. Knight Frank’s Your Space report, which surveys senior executives at 120 global companies which collectively employ in excess of 3.5 million people worldwide and occupy an estimated 233 million sq ft of office space, found that just a small minority, less than 7 percent, said that flexible workspace exceeds a fifth of their total workspace. More →

November 13, 2018

Fostering creativity within organisations through space and culture

by Serena Borghero • Comment, Workplace design

In organisations around the world, hierarchical structures are breaking down, replaced by deeply interconnected, constantly shifting networks, linked by innovative technology. Meanwhile, huge leaps forward in artificial intelligence promise to fundamentally change the nature of work, either by enhancing or replacing human-beings. Research by McKinsey suggests that half of today’s work activities could be automated by 2055, with repetitive and process-based roles the first to go. For employees, this looks likely to mean a greater focus on creative skills, where humans retain an advantage. These skills are not restricted to being purely artistic, as creativity describes the process of problem-solving in a new way. The rise of creativity is also being driven by new generations entering the workplace with different demands and expectations than those before them.

November 13, 2018

Activity in leisure time does not compensate for sedentary workplace behaviour

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Employees are wrongly assuming that keeping active outside of the workplace and during leisure time will protect them from the danger of sitting for long periods when working in an office, a new study has found. The report defines an ‘active coach potato’ as a person who is physically active in their leisure time, but who also spends long periods of time sat down. Such sedentary behaviour increases the risk of chronic health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and strokes. The study is published in the scientific journal Occupational Medicine. The researchers asked 222 desk based workers and 121 managers to rate the healthiness of various combinations of sitting and physical activities during work and leisure time. They found that if a scenario included being physically active during leisure time, the employee didn’t appreciate the detrimental effect of workplace sitting alongside it.

November 9, 2018

Is leadership the missing variable in the productivity equation?

by Mark Eltringham • News

Quality of leadership is reported to be the single most important factor to impact the level of productivity in an organisation according to a new international research study. The report, The Puzzle of Productivity: What enhances workplace performance? was compiled by the Fourfront Group, The United Workplace (TUW) and WORKTECH Academy. It found that more than half of respondents surveyed (53 percent) named leadership as the most important factor in raising organisational performance. Less than a fifth of respondents named environment, technology or wellness as being the most important factor. Environment came second to leadership, but a long way behind on 18 per cent of the survey. More than half of the organisations surveyed worldwide (54 percent) said that ‘inspiring leadership’ is the best way to motivate staff to improve performance, whereas a ‘well designed workplace’ scored much lower on 19 percent with ‘a focus on wellness’ (14 percent) and ‘seamless tech’ (13 percent) even further down the field.

November 8, 2018

Flexibility of home working must be balanced with a need to connect

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Over half of home workers say they appreciate the benefits that home working offers but nearly a quarter complain of loneliness too, a new survey from BHSF claims. When asked how working from home makes them feel, the top three responses were: free (50 percent), in control (47 percent) and calm (46 percent). However, a significant number of those surveyed chose more negative words to describe their feelings. Just over a quarter (26 percent) said that working from home made them feel remote, 24 percent felt isolated and 21 percent lonely. More →

November 8, 2018

The commuting gap: men account for two thirds of commutes lasting more than an hour

by Mark Eltringham • News

Men undertake almost two-thirds of commutes lasting more than an hour, a new analysis from the Office for National Statistics shows. It also reveals that women tend to undertake shorter journeys to work, accounting for more than half (55 percent) of commutes lasting 15 minutes or less. But, for all people, commuting times are most likely to last 15 minutes or less and least likely to last more than an hour.

November 7, 2018

Will technology prove a threat or a godsend in the new workplace?

by Matt Weston • Comment, Technology, Workplace

In the past decade, the business landscape has fundamentally shifted with the emergence of companies like Uber and Netflix, in addition to the rapid growth of large technology companies such as Apple and Amazon. Underlying this shift is the constant evolution and implementation of technology into the workplace. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum stated that digitisation could add a staggering $100 trillion to businesses by 2025.

November 6, 2018

Working parents lead the charge of British workers into the side hustle

by Neil Franklin • News

A new study published by GoDaddy and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), claims that ‘side hustling’, in which people have small business ventures running alongside their main job, has risen by around a third over the last decade. The study claims that the UK’s side hustlers make a substantial contribution to the economy, with every 1000 side hustles creating 876 extra jobs. The report, Side hustle: a way of life, not work also claims that 44 percent of side hustlers are parents with at least one child under 19 living at home.

November 5, 2018

An intersectional approach to trends in workplace design at Orgatec 2018

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design

There are perhaps three characteristics that ensure the European office furniture and workplace design fair Orgatec continues to attract so many exhibitors and visitors to Cologne. Firstly, it takes place every two years, so offers a snapshot of a sector, framing the most important workplace developments in a particular time and place. For those of us who’ve been attending the shows for any length of time (in my case 26 years), we can track the evolution of workplace thought in a measured way, noting key developments like the launch of the Aeron chair (1994), Vitra’s Alcove (2006) and in 2018 – what?

November 5, 2018

Employees call for radical new approach to address stress at work

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Today marks the start of International Stress Awareness Week, 5th – 9th November 2018, and new research claims that two-thirds of employees (64 percent) have ‘poor’ or ‘below average’ mental wellbeing according to the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). The research, conducted by The Stress Management Society and commissioned by workplace consultants, Peldon Rose found that over a third (36 percent) of people say their workplace stress has been on-going for the past five years.

November 2, 2018

A little local difficulty, treating people as pets, designing for serendipity and some other stuff you might like

by Mark Eltringham • Features

The big news to be on the lookout for this month is the BIFM’s impending name change to the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management. Now the interesting thing about this development is what it might tell us about the changing world of work and the distinction between the physical office and the places we actually work, including in digital space. So that’s what everybody’s focussed on right?

November 2, 2018

Happiness at work: Lessons from home

by Dr Tracy Brower • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Thanks to technology and mobility, our work has come home with us. So it’s only fair that home should come to work, right? It would seem logical that if people sit in front of a TV on the sofa at home while they work remotely, employees would be thrilled to have a similar set up within their office. However, in the workplaces where we’ve seen companies install couches and big screen TVs, those work spaces are almost never used by employees. Those companies missed the bigger picture. Home is as much an emotional experience as a physical one.