November 15, 2018
Majority of office workers discontented with workplace environment
The vast majority (97 percent) of office workers in UK feel frustrated by their workplace environments, with many feeling the need to escape office life as a result. A new report from Staples has discovered that one-in-five (22 percent) end up browsing LinkedIn job ads for something better when they’re frustrated. As a result, job-hopping is prolific, with workers now predicted to have 11.7 jobs between the ages of 18 and 48. The expectation that the grass must be greener elsewhere is leaving most thinking about switching jobs. However, when they do end up jumping ship, many just experience a short-term fix. According to the study, a third (37 percent) get frustrated in their new office before the end of their first six months. The majority of office workers say they seek fulfilment (89 percent) at work, and for most (77 percent), the quality of their office workspace is a contributing factor in how fulfilled they feel.















A sudden reversal in the growth in the number of both EU and non-EU migrants in employment in the UK could hit employer plans to take on more staff and worsen skills and labour shortages, according to the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD and The Adecco Group. While the net employment balance – a measure of the difference between the proportion of employers who expect to increase staff levels and those who expect to decrease staff levels – has remained extremely positive at +22 (compared to +23 in Q3 2018), among employers which currently have vacancies, seven in ten (70 percent) report that at least some of their vacancies are proving hard-to-fill, higher than in Summer 2018 (66 percent) and Spring 2018 (61 percent). 




Figures from Macmillan show that almost 900,000 people of working age (16-64) are living with cancer – a figure expected to rise to over a million by 2030, while the HSE disclosed 600,000 workers needed time off in the past year due to suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. Men are notoriously bad at checking their health but according to Bupa an increasing spotlight on issues such as prostate cancer and testicular cancer earlier this year led to an increase in male health assessment bookings. In March 2018, Bupa saw a 28 percent uplift in male health assessment bookings compared to the same time last year, and a 43 percent year-on-year increase in April 2018. But according to the healthcare provider, employers must more efforts to help create a culture where male workers can open up about mental or physical problems.



November 13, 2018
Fostering creativity within organisations through space and culture
by Serena Borghero • Comment, Workplace design
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