Search Results for: office

June 16, 2015

Staff want flexible working but worry about growing fat, stale and lonely

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A new report from Regus, based on a study of 44,000 workers worldwide claims that while many people see flexible working as an important factor in their career choices, they also remain worried about what working from home will mean for their happiness, health, family lives and job prospects. The report claims that many workers are afraid that working from home will mean they grow lonely, overweight and stale. According to the report, home workers still long for a chance to mix with other professionals and so opt to pop out of the house regularly for a change of scenery and to reconnect with the real world. (more…)

June 15, 2015

The London Festival of Architecture explores the workplace of the future

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Events, News, Workplace design

The ongoing London Festival of Architecture (LFA) which is running for the entire month of June, continues what the organisers say are the ‘big workplace conversations’ with a week of focussed discussions, debates and contributions from a number of prominent designers, architects and industry commentators on the theme of the workplace of the future. Running in tandem with London Technology Week (15-21 June), week three of the festival will focus on what the organisers claim are several ‘game-changing’ workplaces as well as the smart technologies and architecture already being created by industry leaders shaping where we work, how we work and what the next generation office and employee will need. Exclusive access will also be given into the practices realising the new models of the workplace through the RIBA Open Studios programme.

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June 13, 2015

The latest issue of Insight Weekly is available to view online

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Newsletter, Public Sector, Wellbeing, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; Dr Kerstin Sailer, Ros Pomeroy and Rosie Haslem describe the ten demonstrable facts about the workplace you may not know; Mark Eltringham says the most pervasive and enduring myth about the office is that it is somehow dying off and discovers that people have been writing guides to good ergonomics since the early seventeenth Century. Also this week; a parliamentary inquiry into the effects of design on behaviour is launched by the Design Commission, a survey for World FM Day reveals the key role played by FM in wellbeing and productivity, the US Government’s plans to reform the way federal office space is managed, and too few employers advertise jobs with flexible working opportunities. Subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and for weekly news via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

June 10, 2015

Time to get back a sense of proportion about sitting down

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The well of public discourse about office design is regularly fouled by the effluent of people who really should know better. Normally this is characterised by hyperbolic assertions about how flexible working will lead to The Death of the Office (it won’t) or how the decision by Yahoo and others to go into partial reverse on remote work would spell The Death of Flexible Working (it didn’t). All of this drivel can be forgiven when it comes from civilians, but the fact that it remains commonplace in the workplace media and emanates from the mouths of people who work in the sector is enough to make you despair. The latest example of this attention seeking behaviour, excretion of simplistic bullshit, market making or whatever you see it as, is the drive to demonise sitting, now normally expressed alongside some variant of the slogan ‘Sitting is the New Smoking’.

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June 9, 2015

National increase in number of commercial property new builds for 2015

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

There has been a strong start to the year for non-residential construction, with the annual total starts for new builds and existing projects rising by 7.9 percent over the first three months. According to JLL and Glenigan’s latest Commercial Construction Index Q1 outperformed same quarter in 2014 – with new building activity increasing most in Yorkshire & the Humber (30.6%) during Q1, boosted by the Hammerson’s Victoria Gate scheme in Leeds. In Scotland, building is up (28.1%), in Wales by 24.4 percent and the East Midlands has seen a 24.2 percent rise. Greater South East (London, the South East and the East of England) saw the volume of new builds rise 7.3 percent from £11.2bn to £12.0bn. However, construction has fallen in the North West (-14.2%) and the West Midlands (-9.2%), while across the UK refurbishments and extension projects have declined slightly.

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June 8, 2015

Dietitians publish key findings on workplace health programmes

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

We spend around 60 percent of our life at work and consume at least a third of our daily food intake, which is why the British Dietetic Association (BDA) has announced that the theme of office for its new Chairman, Dr Fiona McCullough, will be workplace health. Responding to recent policies such as the NHS Five Year Forward View and the NICE public health guidance for the workplace, which recognise that businesses benefit from investing in the wellbeing of employees, the BDA is conducting a review of published peer-reviewed evidence of workplace health studies in order to determine how best individuals and employers can optimise health at work. This review will underpin the development of a BDA Work Ready Programme, which has produced interim research that has already highlighted the key role employers can play in enhancing the wellbeing of staff.

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June 8, 2015

Proximity determines how middle managers copy bosses’ unethical behaviour

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Workplace design

Middle managers mirror their bosses’ unethical behaviour, regardless of how ethical they are themselves, claims new research from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. The research, conducted in partnership with Cambridge University, shows that in cases of unethical leadership at the top of an organisation, middle managers will treat their subordinates unfairly if the social and spatial distance between them and the top management is low. This can lead to employee dissatisfaction, lower organisational commitment and increased employee turnover. In contrast, the effect is reversed if the social and spatial distance between managers and top management is high. Middle managers, who are unfairly treated by their bosses, will treat their employees more fairly if, for example, they are based in different offices or buildings from their managers, and the social distance is high.

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June 6, 2015

The latest issue of Insight Weekly is available to view online

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Furniture, Newsletter, Property, Technology, Work&Place

In this week’s issue; employees advised to spend up to half of each day working while standing. Paul Robathan’s views on the loosening of the bonds that link work with place are backed up by a new report that says work will be something workers do, not a place to which they commute; and Mark Eltringham explains why designers and manufacturers continue to launch more sophisticated and better chairs. Plans for the tallest office building outside of London are submitted to Birmingham City Council; CIBSE, the BCIA and the Building Futures Group collaborate to ‘kick-start the future of FM in the UK; and only 3 percent of European employees say their workplace is suitable for collaborative work. Subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and for weekly news via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

June 2, 2015

Workers should spend half of each day working while standing, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Furniture, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A new study published yesterday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine claims that office workers spend far too much time sitting, are suffering from a range of conditions and illnesses as a result and so should be encouraged to spend up to half of each working while standing. The report, The sedentary office: a growing case for change towards better health and productivity, was commissioned by Public Health England and claims that our present sedentary working lives can lead directly to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Mirroring the findings of other studies, the report also claims that we cannot fully mitigate these effects with exercise outside of work and need to address our working habits each day instead. The report argues that there is a “strong case” for changing the designs of offices and workstations, for example, by offering standing desks.

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June 2, 2015

The bonds that link work with place are loosening day by day

by Paull Robathan • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Work&Place

Over the decades designing productive spaces for work has focused on redefining the corporate office and its surroundings. While there are examples of quality design in buildings around the world, there is a growing movement that challenges the presumption that work should always be done “at work”. If we aim to allow people to be at their best, develop and nurture creativity and maximise quality output then we must ensure the place where the work is done is outstanding. Sarah Kathleen Peck of ‘It starts with’ summed it up when she wrote “There are people, places and things that make me feel like I’m building my energy stores, that rejuvenate me, and help me to do my best work. Likewise, there are also people and places that zap my energy; that leave me exhausted; that make me feel as though I’ve waste my time and my energy – and my day – without getting anything useful done.”

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June 1, 2015

London’s buoyant startup scene driven by tech sector success

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology

The UK has seen an all-time high of new startups in 2014, with London contributing the majority of new businesses to the mix. According to a new analysis by Instant Offices, London’s startup scene is set to reach record highs in 2015 as it spearheads the UK’s growing entrepreneurial community. The tech industry in particular has skyrocketed, rising 40 percent year-on-year and resulting in a seven year high. Research from the national enterprise campaign Startup Britain shows 581,173 businesses registered with Companies House last year, beating the previous record of 526,446 businesses recorded in 2013, and 484,224 in 2012, indicating a rapid upward trend of the UK’s startup market. Last year alone, London produced 184,671 startups, centering around finance, media, fashion and technology. Investment into England’s capital has also seen rapid growth, with London now the leading venture capital city in Europe.

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June 1, 2015

New report lays out its 2040 vision of the workplace of the future

by Mark Eltringham • Briefing, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

By 2040 knowledge workers will decide where and how they want to work, according to a new report on the workplace of the future by Johnson Controls’ Global Workplace Solutions business. The Smart Workplace 2040 report claims that 25 years from now, work will be seen as something workers do, rather than a place to which they commute. According to the study, work patterns will be radically different as a new generation of what it terms ‘workspace consumers’ choose their time and place of work. Most workers will frequently work from home, and will choose when to visit work hubs to meet and network with others. There will be no set hours and the emphasis will be on getting work done, while workers’ wellness will take priority. Technology will bring together networks of individuals who operate in an entrepreneurial way, with collaboration the major driver of business performance.