January 11, 2024
A new poll from Scalable Software of 2,000 UK knowledge workers claims more than a third (35 percent) resent being told they have to go into the office for a set number of days. Half (50 percent) of respondents say their employer has “productivity paranoia” over employees working away from the office, with 62 percent reporting their organisation has implemented a return to office policy within the last two years. More →
December 17, 2023
New research by the British Chambers of Commerce Insights Unit and technology firm Cisco, shows less than 30 percent of firms expect their workforce to be fully in person over the next five years. The survey of over 1,000 businesses, of which 96 percent were SMEs, found just 27 percent of respondents predict their staff will be fully in-person over the next five years. 47 percent anticipate their staff to be mostly in-person, 16 percent expect mostly remote and 8 percent fully remote. More →
December 5, 2023
The flexible workplace provider Clockwise has opened what the firm claims is the first office space in the metaverse, the Clockwise Campus. According to Microsoft, 51 percent of Gen Z expects to be working in the metaverse in some capacity by 2024. The firms say the space is heavily influenced by Clockwise’s physical offices and provides a digital platform for its members and the public to connect, collaborate and interact in various spaces including; meeting rooms, dedicated desks, breakout spaces, call zones and a contemplation room. More →
November 29, 2023
Many associate the notion of futuristic office spaces, filled with equipment like sleep pods and beer taps, with companies that have a young workforce or challenger brand identity. The association is often linked to tech giants like Google, which created quite a stir when it originally revealed its indoor slides. Whilst the inclusion of playground furniture in the office is not right for every business, the assumption that unconventional workspaces should be limited to unconventional companies simply isn’t true. More →
November 20, 2023
It’s March 2020, very early days of lockdowns and the first catastrophising headlines appear. Is this the death of the office? Is this the death of handshakes? Is this the death of the open plan? I dismissed them at the time in this piece from March the 19th, citing Betteridge’s Law which states: “any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered with the word no”. More →
November 20, 2023
Way before the lockdown rewired the whole events scene in cities around the world, I was given a task by an old, now departed, friend. He wanted to explore the possibility of creating something like Clerkenwell Design Week in Manchester. The obvious problem was that, for some of its historic parallels, Manchester isn’t Clerkenwell and it certainly isn’t London. What it particularly lacked for this type of event was a hothouse of office design showrooms sharing space with a youthful community of architects and designers. The ecosystem for such an event didn’t really exist in the same way. More →
November 15, 2023
Office workers now spend more time in the office, with the average creeping up to three and a half days per week compared to three days in 2022, according to a new report from international law firm, Gowling WLG. The report, titled Strategic moves: why the office is now a business-critical decision [registration], surveyed senior representatives responsible for making office lease decisions in companies, and a selection of office workers. It identifies that a more permanent approach to office usage is now emerging, as the shadow of the pandemic recedes, as well as demonstrating the changing metrics being applied by occupiers to decisions relating to premises requirements and the more complex environment for landlord asset management. More →
November 15, 2023
A new survey from JLL, Is hybrid really working? [registration] claims that the majority of international organisations (87 percent) are encouraging employees to work from the office at least some of the time. In fact, only 20 percent of employees who can work remotely all of the time or one-two days in the office now do so, down from 39 percent a year ago. However, the data demonstrates varying approaches to the so-called return to office across Europe, with France and Belgium leading, spending an average of 3.5 days working from the office. Germany, Netherlands, Spain and the UK are however lagging behind with an average of 2.5 days working from the office. More →
November 12, 2023
For many people, a large portion of the day is spent at the workplace. In fact, the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. The Covid-19 pandemic saw the typical ‘workplace’ setting change for many people, after businesses around the globe were forced to adjust to a ‘work-from-home’ model. Now, three years later, we are starting to see more employees return to the office, with large corporations including JPMorgan, Chase, Apple and Google all announcing plans to bring their workers back to base. More →
November 6, 2023
As part of their ongoing commitment to doubling their UK revenue, Norwegian office furniture giant Flokk have further strengthened their presence in Clerkenwell, London with the expansion of their showroom. Previously the sole home of Flokk brand Connection, 31 Great Sutton Street has been expanded with the addition of a new floor to support the integration of all Flokk brands: HÅG, Profim, RH, OFFECCT and Giroflex. The reimagined space, which now spans across three floors, totalling 6,000sqft, has been curated as an experiential design centre for colleagues and guests to provide a unique space to showcase a series of work settings with products across the whole Flokk portfolio ‘House of Brands.’ More →
October 30, 2023
BNP Paribas Real Estate has predicted that super prime office rents in London’s West End could hit £300 per sq ft by December 2024, as it says demand continues to outstrip the constrained supply of space. The prediction has been made on the basis of evidence shared by an expert at the firm. BNP Paribas Real Estate West End office agent Simon Knights claims that lettings could see rents for super prime office stock reach highs of “up to £300 per square foot by December 2024” as demand continues to outstrip constrained supply. More →
December 8, 2023
Inclusive office design is essential if we want offices to be worth the commute
by Guzman de Yarza Blache • Comment, Workplace design