Search Results for: people management

Staff development still tops European employers’ priorities

by • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Image credit: <a href='https://www.123rf.com/photo_10259161_portrait-of-successful-young-businessman-showing-presentation-in-a-meeting-at-office.html'>logos / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

European employers are still maintaining ambitious staff development plans, despite the gloomier macro-economic climate. According to a study by Aon Hewitt, the proportion of companies that expect to add new jobs in 2012 has increased to 47 per cent, overtaking the number of companies foreseeing a reduction of their workforce (31 per cent). Explained Leonardo Sforza, chair of the European Club for human resources Scientific Committee: “The slow and painful road to economic recovery is not discouraging successful multinationals from continuing to invest in their human capital and from demonstrating the belief that their people remain the most powerful engine for sustainable growth and innovation.” (more…)

Where are the iconic office furniture products of yesterday?

Where are the iconic office furniture products of yesterday?

by • Comment, Workplace design

Originally published November 2023: Occasionally, this image goes viral on social media. It is of a group of Bauhaus design students from around 1927. They are called Martha Erps, Katt Both and Ruth Hellos. The full image (reproduced below) shows them with legendary office furniture designer Marcel Breuer, who Erps would later marry. The story of the photograph can be found here. On social media, though, the standard response from people of a certain vintage – my vintage admittedly – is to suggest that they were last seen supporting Echo and the Bunnymen at the Barrowland Glasgow in 1984.  (more…)

Memories of the Office Age 

Memories of the Office Age 

by • Cities, Features, Working lives

memories of the office ageOriginally published in November 2021. No author uses the built environment like J G Ballard. In his 1975 novel High-Rise, the eponymous structure is both a way of isolating the group of people who live and compete inside it and a metaphor for their personal isolation and inner struggles. Over the course of three months, the building’s services begin to fail. The 2,000 people within, detached from external realities in the 40-storey building, confronted with their true selves and those of their neighbours, descend into selfishness and – ultimately – savagery.  (more…)

Why winning the AI race starts with workforce readiness

Why winning the AI race starts with workforce readiness

by • AI, Comment, Workplace

While AI is heralded as a transformative force across industries, a quieter challenge threatens to slow its momentum: the growing shortage of skilled AI professionals. Behind the buzz of breakthroughs lies a stark reality — companies are racing to adopt AI, but many are leaving their people behind. Recent data shows the skills required for AI-exposed jobs are evolving 66 percent faster than for other roles — a dramatic leap from just 25 percent a year ago. The demand for AI talent is surging in the UK, where the job market is cooling off. Yet, as job postings requiring AI skills continue to climb, this only underscores a critical imbalance felt across the job market. (more…)

Navel gazing may not be the answer to the challenges facing workplace professions

Navel gazing may not be the answer to the challenges facing workplace professions

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design

An adherence to strongly held beliefs can make people think and behave in peculiar ways and get them tangled up in peripheral issues that take on a great deal of significance. Early religious artists, for example, spent centuries wrestling with the seemingly intractable problem of whether to depict Adam and Eve with belly buttons or not. (more…)

Resistance to change is holding the UK back, report suggests

Resistance to change is holding the UK back, report suggests

by • News, Workplace

There is a growing culture of resistance to change across the UK workforce, particularly among women, older employees, and public sector professionals.It used to be said that the UK was a nation of lions led by donkeys. Now it would appear that the country has become as stubborn as mules at every level. The new survey from Right Management claims there is a growing culture of resistance to change across the UK workforce, particularly among women, older employees, and public sector professionals. (more…)

Milan proves to be the perfect setting for an optimistic BCO conference

Milan proves to be the perfect setting for an optimistic BCO conference

by • Comment, Property

Milan may not seem an obvious choice for the BCO conference. Turns out it was perfect for an increasingly optimistic sector, writes Anna KingIf anyone was asked to think of where to find the best examples of an office, I doubt very many people would reply ‘Milan’ but that may just be the reason that this year’s BCO conference was a resounding success. With Milan and its layers of history, culture, design and the vital ‘caffè’, we are reminded that workspaces are about so much more than function. A view certainly held by Amber Luscombe, Head of ESG at Oxygen, “This is my third BCO conference I was expecting more of the same, but the discussions have moved on with engaging speakers, stimulating conversations and a more positive – yet realistic –  outlook from the attendees. So many factors influence, surrounds and support good office design, from fostering a sense of belonging and community to wellbeing and nature and they were all on the table at Milan.” (more…)

How you handle your home life is reflected in how you handle your work life

How you handle your home life is reflected in how you handle your work life

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new study shows that people who proactively reorganise their family routines – such as adjusting childcare schedules or redistributing domestic responsibilities – are more likely to demonstrate adaptability and innovation in their work lifeA new study shows that people who proactively reorganise their family routines – such as adjusting childcare schedules or redistributing domestic responsibilities – are more likely to demonstrate adaptability and innovation in their work life. Researchers found that employees who take initiative at home carry the momentum into their professional lives, becoming more resilient and forward-thinking. The study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, was led by the University of Bath’s School of Management. Over a period of six weeks researchers followed 147 full-time, dual-income heterosexual couples with children in the US to explore how home life influences work performance. (more…)

Furniture Makers organising fifth conference for HR professionals

Furniture Makers organising fifth conference for HR professionals

by • News, Workplace

The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, is organising its fifth annual HR conference, Routes to a Stronger Workforce 2025. Sponsored by Blum UK, the event is taking place on Thursday 10 July 2025 (10:00am – 3:00pm) at Furniture Makers’ Hall, London, and is tailored for HR professionals working in the furniture and furnishing industry. The conference will be chaired by Emma Welch, group HR director at Ocee International, and will feature expert-led sessions on topics such as debt management, mental health, and apprenticeship recruitment. (more…)

Online gig economy is failing to meet even the most basic labour standards

Online gig economy is failing to meet even the most basic labour standards

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

Most of the world’s leading online gig economy platforms are failing to uphold even the most basic labour standardsA major new report from Fairwork, a research network backed by the University of Oxford and WZB Berlin that researches the online gig economy, suggests that most of the world’s leading online work platforms are failing to uphold even the most basic labour standards. The Fairwork Cloudwork Ratings 2025 assess 16 of the world’s most widely used online work platforms on five core principles: fair pay, conditions, contracts, management, and representation. (more…)

UK suffers from a major disconnect between leaders and employees

UK suffers from a major disconnect between leaders and employees

by • News, Workplace

The UK is experiencing one of the largest disconnects in 'proximity leadership' between senior management and employees, according to a new European Workforce StudyThe UK is experiencing one of the largest disconnects in ‘proximity leadership’ between senior management and employees, according to a new European Workforce Study from Great Place To Work. Part of the organisation’s Leadership in Focus series, the study surveyed nearly 25,000 employees across 19 European countries and found a troubling gap between how leaders perceive their management style and how it is experienced by their teams. Proximity leadership refers to the ability of managers to build trust through regular, meaningful engagement—whether in-person, remote, or hybrid. It’s not about physical closeness, but about emotional and psychological presence: showing genuine interest, encouraging participation, listening actively, and recognising contributions. (more…)

Purpose and autonomy are better predictors of job satisfaction than pay and status, major study finds

Purpose and autonomy are better predictors of job satisfaction than pay and status, major study finds

by • News, Wellbeing

The research offers new insights into the complex factors that shape job satisfaction and how people feel about their work and wider lives.The most satisfying jobs and fulfilling occupations are those that offer a strong sense of purpose and autonomy rather than high pay or prestige, according to what researchers are calling the most comprehensive study yet of job satisfaction. Led by Kätlin Anni at the University of Tartu in Estonia, the study analysed data from 59,000 individuals and 263 occupations as part of the Estonian Biobank project. The research, now published as a preprint on PsyArXiv, offers new insights into the complex factors that shape job satisfaction and how people feel about their work and wider lives. (more…)

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