Search Results for: people

September 13, 2016

The future of London depends on cohesion, flexible working and infrastructure ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Features, News, Products, Technology

The future of London is the subject of a new and wide ranging collection of essays from Think Tank Localis. It includes contributions from the likes of Boris Johnson, Terry Farrell, Peter Bazalgette and Justine Roberts. Its core theme is that while London has established itself as one of the world’s great financial and cultural powerhouses over the last thirty years, it now faces a number of new challenges and intransigent problems that it must address in a new globalised era. These have taken on a new perspective as the UK prepares to negotiate a new relationship with the EU, something which the report repeats was not the choice of Londoners, but which did perhaps reveal a neglect of the rest of the UK as the Government focused too much attention and investment on the capital. So, while the report focuses on London it also tries to create a vision of a London better integrated with the needs of the rest of the UK and based on a new partnership with the EU.

September 13, 2016

How climate change may be affecting us in more ways than we suppose ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Wellbeing

Just how affected we all are by what is going on in our surroundings is confirmed by a new academic studies which links the environment to to our moods, physical wellbeing and performance. Although we are increasingly aware of the impact the working environment has on our productivity and wellbeing, the new study from researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Joint Global Change Research Institute suggests we are more influenced by the global environment and climate than we might suppose. The meta-analysis of over 200 papers published in Science magazine concludes that while climate change concerns are largely focussed on its long term and worldwide effects, we should also pay attention to the effects over the short term and at local level because of the impact on individuals, businesses, society and the national economy. As well as slowing the global economy by 0.25 percent each year, it also has a profound additional effect at local levels.

September 10, 2016

Home working myths + Millennial’s needs + Global sustainability ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; Mark Eltringham finds some global patterns in office design, but many local differences; suggests we stop treating Generation Y as an alien species; and shares a new report which suggests that younger people are in fact people after all. A new study finds that the perceived benefits of working from home disappear over time; Germans now work significantly longer hours than twenty years ago; and two thirds of those who have worked as an independent contractor in the US would choose not to do so again. The commercial office sector leads the global property market in sustainability; Mothers with young children are a third less likely to be in work than fathers; and we round up the latest post-Brexit news. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

September 9, 2016

Businesses in developed world failing to invest in tech and agile working ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

Businesses operating in developed national markets risk falling behind businesses in emerging markets that are placing greater importance on leveraging technology to fuel their growth and increase their agility, claims a report from enterprise software provider Epicor. The study of over 1,800 business leaders from 12 countries claims that 54 percent of emerging market business executives cited “technology leadership” as a significant growth factor compared to just 36 percent of those in developed countries. The report claims that by recognising the importance of flexible technology and business systems in fuelling growth, executives in emerging markets are putting themselves in a stronger position when it comes to preparing for international expansion. Businesses that have more agile working practices can respond more quickly to changing market environments, making them more prepared to deal with the demands of growth.

September 8, 2016

What do Millennials and Gen Z want from work? The same as everybody else ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

More evidence that younger people are in fact people after all emerges with the publication of a new report from Randstad and Future Workplace. The study of over 4,000 individuals worldwide claims that despite widespread belief, 41 percent of Generation Z employees believe that collaborative, corporate offices combined with a degree of autonomy and flexibility is their preferred way to work. They prefer bosses with strong communication skills, value face to face meetings, are irritated by distractions and believe they will probably have a career focussed oln one specific sector. As a follow-up to a previous study conducted in 2014, the Gen Z & Millennials Collide@Work report focuses on the impact of Gen Z entering the workplace for the first time and how Millennials are engaging with them. Both studies claim that Gen Z and Millennials continue to prefer communicating with co-workers and managers in-person in lieu of email and phone.

September 8, 2016

Acas issues guidance for line managers on how to run effective teams ⁰

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

The transition from team member to manager can be a challenge. Well trained front line managers are crucial for business performance but need the right tools to help them do their jobs says workplace experts Acas, which is calling on small businesses and larger companies to use its new guidance to ensure that staff are equipped to manage and care for their teams. The new guide highlights leadership, people management and strong organisational skills as three key areas for team leaders. It advises the managers should know how to build trust and respect with their teams, listen to their concerns and ideas. They should also learn how to manage tricky situations with people; for whether it’s staff members having family problems, two colleagues accusing each other of bullying, or jealousy in a team over nominations for training and bonuses. A good manager should also be effective at planning team work, rotas, budgets, and balancing their own time.

September 7, 2016

Report published on employing older workers to help close labour gap ⁰

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

A new report – published to encourage employers to create more age friendly workplaces – warns of a widening labour gap in the UK. Between 2005 and 2015 the number of people working over the age of 50 in the UK increased by 2.5 million. By 2022, the UK economy will need to fill 14.5 million job vacancies created by people leaving the workforce and by new positions being created; but it is estimated that there will only be seven million young people available to fill them – leaving a labour shortage of 7.7 million people. Yet currently, one million older people who are not in work want to work and if just half of these were to move into employment GDP would increase by up to £88 billion a year. Business in the Community’s new report, Age in the Workplace, supported by the Centre for Ageing Better, advises employers on how to implement practical changes; such as introducing more flexible hours, which will help improve the recruitment and retention of older workers.

September 7, 2016

Working from home just as unproductive and frustrating as working in an office ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

It’s always good to see academic research supporting ideas that would appear pretty obvious but go against a widely accepted narrative. So we should all welcome the results of a new study from researchers at the London School of Economics and Political Science, which found that the perceived benefits of working from home disappear over time for both employees and organisations when homeworking is a full-time arrangement. The report concludes that while previous studies have demonstrated how home workers are more productive than office-based workers, the LSE study of more than 500 employees shows that on a long term basis, there are no differences between home and office workers. The reason, according to Dr Esther Canonico from LSE’s Department of Management, the lead author of the report, is that employees no longer see home working as a discretionary benefit or a privilege when it becomes the norm in an organisation.

September 6, 2016

Two thirds of US gig economy workers would choose not to repeat the experience ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

While the number of independent workers in the US gig economy is expected to grow to 54 million people by 2020 and some 40 percent of workers have already experienced it according to MBO Partners: State of Independence in America 2016, a new online poll by Deloitte of nearly 4,000 workers found that 67 percent of those who have worked as an independent contractor would choose not to do so again in future. Additionally, more than 60 percent of employed workers said that their stability would suffer if they moved to independent contract work, and 42 percent worry about sacrificing good compensation and benefits. Four-in-ten respondents (41 percent) recognise that independent contracting offers more flexibility to work where, when, and how they want to as compared to full-time employment. However, respondents cite inconsistent cash flow and lack of employer-paid benefits as drawbacks that discourage them from pursuing independent work.

September 6, 2016

Significant rise in the length of the German working week, study finds ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

It’s not just British workers who are experiencing the creep of longer working weeks and in spite of the EU’s Working Time Directive. A report published last week in the German newspaper Zeit based on information supplied by the German Federal Ministry of Labour in the Bundestag found that Germans now work significantly longer hours than they did twenty years ago. According to the report, the number of people in Germany working more than 48 hours per week grew by around a third in the twenty years between 1995 and 2015, up from 1.3 million to 1.7 million. The report found that a growing number of Germans are now working in the evening and at weekends and outside traditional working hours. One in four Germans now work routinely at weekends. The report also found that the number of people in work grew over the period by 2 million to 32 million while the overall German population barely increased at all during the two decades to 2015.

September 5, 2016

Majority of Londoners support greater restrictions on new tall buildings ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Cities, News, Property

Most Londoners think tall buildings should only be built in areas like the City and Canary Wharf, and that there should be limits on how high they can be, according to an IPSOS Mori survey carried out on behalf of the Skyline Campaign. The findings come after Westminster Council controversially gave the green light for a 30 storey tower to be built in Paddington, and show stark differences in the views of Londoners in the inner and outer boroughs about how this new generation of tall buildings is affecting the Capital. The survey of more than 500 Londoners finds almost half (49 percent) of residents of inner London boroughs think that the 270 tall buildings planned, proposed, or under construction in London is too many. This contrasts with 34 percent of people in outer boroughs who say the same. Latest data released after the research was conducted indicates more than 400 new tall buildings are planned, proposed or under construction.

September 5, 2016

We’re only just beginning to understand the issue of indoor air quality ⁰

by Paul McLaughlin • Cities, Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing

Our aim at BESA is to raise awareness about indoor air quality and encourage more people to be mindful of the best solutions for particular buildings and building types to ultimately promote a healthy workplace environment. The BESA revealed the results of a recent YouGov survey (released on 17 August 2016), which looked into views of office workers and their attitudes toward indoor air pollution in office environments across the UK. The aim of the study was to illustrate attitudes, behaviours and perceptions in order to understand how office workers feel, think and act. Our survey, combined with our ongoing research and collaborations, shows us that opening a window isn’t always the most effective solution to accessing ‘fresh air’ in offices. BESA wholeheartedly agree with Mark Eltringham’s comment that clean, fresh air, is the best way to ventilate a workplace environment. Our survey was commissioned to highlight that in the urban, office environment, this is not always possible.