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O2’s dogmatic approach to flexible working sends the wrong signals

O2’s dogmatic approach to flexible working sends the wrong signals

by • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design

Flexible working dogmaAlthough we would normally offer the findings of a survey without comment, preferring readers to add their own pinch of salt, it’s sometimes interesting to question the way research is presented. This week a study by O2 claimed that in the six months since nearly all full time UK workers were granted the right to request flexible working, 23 percent of staff have taken advantage of the option. While there is nothing unusual in a mobile tech firm producing a survey about flexible working, what is interesting is that they have chosen to present this as ‘only 23 percent’ and many in the press have gone along with it. Now, unless I’ve missed something, isn’t it actually remarkable that nearly a quarter of UK employees have requested flexible working in a six month period?

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We all need to embrace the opportunities presented by BIM

by • Architecture, Comment, Technology, Workplace design

contemporary-reception-desk-66059-2171731Described as ‘key to growth in the sector’ by chief construction adviser, Peter Hansford and increasingly recognised as a much more collaborative and efficient way of working, Building Information Modelling (BIM) continues to gather supporters from across the industry, yet there is a percentage of people who are still keeping their heads down and hoping it will all just go away. Maybe it’s the required element of investment or maybe it’s the small matter of change itself – always a difficult one for the construction industry – but there is still an amount of SMEs who are shrinking away from BIM, despite the fact that it is destined to become the established way.

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Government should accept that self employment is the new normal for many

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

self employmentThe Government should develop more policies that meet the needs of the growing numbers of self-employed in the UK and across Europe. That is the message of a new report from think tank The Institute for Public Policy Research which points out that while 40 percent of the rise in job levels since 2010 has been in self-employment, the Government should accept this is not a blip but a structural change in the way many people work and develop appropriate policies to meet their needs. The report argues that self-employment is already the new normal for some 4 million UK workers and the Government should take steps to ensure their pensions, training and earnings are in step with the rest of the workforce.

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Workers feel increasingly undervalued and over a third plan to move jobs this year

by • News, Workplace

Workers feel increasingly undervalued and over a third plan to move jobs this yearThere’s been a dramatic increase in the number of workers planning to move jobs. According to the latest research by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), 37 per cent of workers are planning to leave their current jobs in 2015 – compared to 19 per cent in 2014 and 13 per cent in 2013. Of those who left their jobs in 2014, 35 per cent cited greater opportunity for progression as their main motivation for seeking a new role – compared to only 12 per cent who sought a higher salary. In 2015, that has increased to 59 per cent, meaning increased opportunity is a number one priority; beating a better salary (56%), a more interesting role (50%) and better management (30%). Staff are also feeling increasingly undervalued by their managers. 25 per cent of those planning to leave said they felt unappreciated in their current role, almost 10 per cent more than last year (16%). (more…)

Smartphone use is rewiring our brains, claims new research

by • News, Technology, Wellbeing

Smartphone brainWe may be finding out a lot more about the way smartphones shape our behaviour, but a new study from Swiss researchers at the University of Zürich and Fribourg claims that any changes may go a little deeper than the obsessive need to peer at them. It suggests that while repeated and regular use of smartphones improves how quickly and dextrously we use screens and keystrokes, the cortex of our brains is also adapting to cope with the new demands we place on it. Touchscreen usage appears to actually change the way our fingers, thumbs and brains work, according to the report published in the journal Current Biology. The study appears to show that the increased use of touchscreens in the recent past has resulted in an instinctive increase in brain activity when our fingertips are touched.

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CIPD claims 2015 should be a ‘rollover year’ for workplace productivity

by • News

workplace productivityThe UK labour market will continue to expand at a strong rate in 2015 but there are unresolved issues relating to levels of pay and how best to increase workplace productivity to drive further growth, according to Mark Beatson, chief economist for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in a new report. While the report argues that the ongoing economic recovery and improvements in the labour market are good news for jobseekers and good news for businesses, it also considers it unlikely that we’ll see any real increase in wage growth until 2016. The author also warns that the UK’s steady growth remains vulnerable to developments in Europe and that the UK’s ‘workplace productivity puzzle’ is an urgent issue for policy makers and businesses to address in order to sustain growth.

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Report finds that tech increases productivity, but also the hours we work

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

Flexible workingA report published at the end of December by the non-profit Pew Research Center claims that while nearly half of US workers believe that new technology helps them to be more productive, it also means they are working significantly longer hours. The study of 535 people claims that 46 per cent of US workers believe that the internet, email, and mobile phones have upped their productivity, while only 7 per cent think they have led to a fall in their productivity. Over a third (39 percent) of those surveyed say that they now have more flexible working hours, and a similar number (35 percent) believe that new technology has increased the number of hours they work. For office based workers the changes are even more pronounced with nearly half (47 percent) seeing an increase in their working hours.

Digital infrastructure boost will lead to urban brain drain, claims report

by • Cities, Flexible working, News, Technology

Country_MouseThe tap roots of the digital economy will not spread beneath the concrete of Tech City and other urban enclaves, but in the fertile soil of the UK countryside. That is the finding of a new briefing document from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which claims that rural areas are set to overtake towns and cities as the main driver of Britain’s digital economy. As a result of improvements in the country’s digital infrastructure and transport links as well as a changing relationship between firms, employees and contractors, there are now more people moving to the countryside from towns and cities than those moving in the opposite direction. The briefing suggests that by 2025, the rural economy will be worth an additional £35 billion and the productivity of rural areas could outstrip urban areas for the first time since the industrial revolution.

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Latest addition to flexible working locations should be the local library

by • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace design

flexible working bookThe latest venue to be co-opted as a potential flexible working space is the public library. According to a new report published last week by William Sieghart, based on research into over 150 locations and hundreds of written submissions, the key to saving Britain’s imperilled public libraries is for them to introduce more seating, Wi-Fi connectivity and hot drinks and food. The provision of fast and reliable Wi-Fi access was named as one of the key actions to draw more people away from coffee shops, which often prove popular venues for flexible working, and into libraries. The report, published by the Department for Culture Media and Sport found that a third of libraries currently do not offer visitors Wi-Fi, which is a “shocking” statistic, according to report author, William Sieghart. “So they’re slated for closure while everyone’s in the Costa opposite, where there’s a loo, hot drinks and internet access.”

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Only a third of staff trust their senior management, finds CIPD

by • News, Workplace

Only a third of staff trust their senior management, finds CIPDThere is little evidence of improvement in the quality of management in the UK over the last decade – and it is one of the reasons behind the UK’s long-standing productivity weakness compared to the likes of the US and Germany. According to the CIPD report ‘Are UK organisations getting better at managing their people?’ while 65 percent of employees are generally satisfied with their line manager and largely trust them and value their honesty, only 33 percent say they trust their senior management. It found that management processes are not always applied consistently or fairly and this is one reason why there is a lack of trust in senior leadership. These are deep-rooted problems and the solutions are largely down to organisations, says the CIPD, which is urging the Government to consider ways in which it can raise awareness of the challenges and potential approaches to tackling them, not least in its capacity as an employer.

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Flexible working is best built on the foundations of a great office

by • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

flexible working loungeIt’s getting on for two years since Yahoo’s much talked about decision in 2013 to ban its staff from homeworking but, in many ways, the fallout has continued ever since. Certainly a lot of commentary on the subject refers back to CEO Marissa Mayer’s trend bucking decision. This can only be because it was a defining event in what is an enduring debate about where we work and what that means for a range of factors including our productivity, wellbeing, sense of belonging, access to information, the way we structure our time and our ability to communicate with and develop relationships with our fellow human beings. If those things were the same regardless of how and where we worked, there would be no discussion in the first place. But they do make a difference and there is a discussion.

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Central London office take-up hits highest level since 2010

by • Facilities management, News, Property

Office take-up in central London expected to hit highest level Take-up in the central London office market is expected to hit its highest level since 2010, bolstered by a massive increase in demand among firms in the Professional and the tech, creative and new media sectors. These sectors are forecast to employ a further 110,000 people across Westminster, the City of London, Southwark and Tower Hamlets in the next decade, which is expected to further increase demand. According to DTZ’s latest Central London Offices Update overall office take-up is expected to reach 14.5m sq ft in 2014; up by 30 per cent on the five year average and at the highest level recorded since 2010.  However , availability has continued to fall, with just 9.5m sq ft of office space currently remaining – the lowest level since 2001. This restricted availability is leading to a higher level of competition for space which is driving up rents. (more…)

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