Search Results for: people

September 30, 2013

Bad management tolerated to a “shocking degree” say employment experts

Employers wouldn’t dream of appointing a person to a senior role for which they have no experience, yet in a new study nearly half admit individuals within their organisation have been promoted into a managerial role based on their performance record rather than people management or leadership skills. According to a report from the CIPD, 36 per cent of line managers have not received any training for their role, with any time for effective line management often squeezed or lost in favour of more immediate task oriented priorities. With 24 per cent of managers facing situations where they often have to put the interests of their organisation above the interests of team members, many might be left confused and aim for quick wins over the interests and wellbeing of team members. More →

September 27, 2013

What’s wrong with adopting a more positive approach to work and workplaces?

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Public Sector, Workplace, Workplace design

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Has there ever been a UK government more interested in the workplace than this one? Most of it has been about cutting costs of course, so the majority of announcements emanating from the Cabinet Office have been about procurement, design and environmental performance. David Cameron even at one point announced that he wanted to measure people’s happiness. The questions needed to work out how happy we are proposed by the Office for National Statistics as a result would have had a very familiar feel for anybody who has ever completed a workplace satisfaction survey even if they miss the most blindingly obvious point that when you’re skint and in mortal fear of losing your job, most other things about work lose their lustre.

September 26, 2013

Bosses most likely to lie at work, while still promoting an ethical culture

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Business has been fighting a PR battle in recent years to convince us that ethics and corporate social responsibility is of equal importance to the bottom line. However, when it comes to individual behaviour it seems that managers are far from practising what their employers’ preach. Bosses are much more likely than other staff to ditch ethics to get ahead in their career (29.4% compared to 13.3%), yet at the same time are more likely than other staff to think it is important to be seen as ethical at work (66.4% compared to 54.0%). According to the research from CMI (Chartered Management Institute) 35.4 per cent of managers bend the truth once a day or more, compared to 25.3 per cent of other workers. More →

September 24, 2013

If you are moving to new offices, make sure you can get rid of the old ones first

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Property, Public Sector, Workplace design

Building 1000 – seemed like a good idea at the time

One of the most common reasons for large organisations to move to new offices is a consolidation of an extensive and disparate estate that has developed over a long period of time. But what happens when the benefits of the move are scuppered because the organisation finds it impossible to get rid of its old buildings? That is the question facing Newham Borough Council as it emerges that it may have to quit the controversially swanky £110 million offices it moved to in 2010 and back into some of the 26 properties it left at the time and has struggled to unburden itself of since.

September 23, 2013

Employee engagement among younger workers is on the increase

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

A staggering 92 per cent of Generation Y workers believe their role directly contributes to their organisation’s success. According to a poll of 1,120 UK office workers by recruitment solutions provider hyphen, younger workers in the UK feel more empowered and positive than ever about their workplace. Nearly two thirds (62.9%) of those aged 25-34 are proud to work for their current organisation and 81.8 per cent believe their colleagues and managers seek their opinion and listen to their views, up 16 per cent from March 2013. While the attitudes among younger workers are positive, the research suggests that older workers are feeling less optimistic – 15.9 per cent said they were not proud to work in their organisation – up nearly 8 per cent from March 2013. More →

September 20, 2013

The rehabilitation of the cubicle and other lessons from 100% Design

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Events, Flexible working, Furniture, Products, Workplace design

UniteSE from KI

As we’ve said before, acoustics has become the dominant theme at office design exhibitions over the past three or four years. That’s been true at shows in Milan, Cologne, Chicago and London and was certainly the case at this year’s 100% Design at Earl’s Court. A quick whizz around the office zone at this year’s event – which is a useful way of getting an impression before you stop to talk to people about the detail of what they’re doing – revealed that well over half of the exhibitors were showcasing products that addressed the issue of acoustics. And yet things have also moved on from recent events, not least in the rehabilitation of that most demonised of all office furniture pieces – the cubicle.

September 19, 2013

Plans for a new high rise office development in City of London unveiled

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

DBOX for Henderson Global Investors and MAKE

Plans for a new high rise office development in the City of London have been unveiled by Henderson Global Investors. Designed by Make architectural practice, the high buildings at 40 Leadenhall Street, EC3 will vary in height between 7 and 34 office storeys, with two additional basement levels, a roof level plant, and café and restaurant uses at ground floor level. The total size of the building is 910,000 sq ft, split between 890,000 sq ft office and c. 20,000 sq ft retail. A grade II listed building at 19-21 Billiter Street, built in 1865, will be restored and integrated in the proposed scheme, which it is estimated will create 390 construction jobs, with around 7,000 people expected to work in the completed building. More →

September 18, 2013

Winners announced for outstanding leadership in sustainable buildings awards

by Sara Bean • Environment, News, Property

City Green Court building in Prague

British Land, Spanish city Vitoria-Gasteiz and the City Green Court building in Prague, Czech Republic, have clinched the top spots in the inaugural World Green Building Council Leadership Awards – Europe Region. The awards, which were announced to coincide with World Green Building Week 2013 – honour leadership and best practice in green building policy, construction projects and corporate initiatives. British Land won the category for Business Leadership in Sustainability; Vitoria-Gasteiz picked up the award for Leadership in City Policy for Green Building award; and office building City Green Court, topped the Leadership in Building Design and Performance category for its sustainability features. More →

September 17, 2013

Sound design: a debate on openness and privacy at work, 100% Design, 18 September

by Mark Eltringham • Events, Facilities management, Furniture, News

Insight publisher Mark Eltringham will be chairing a debate at 100% Design on Wednesday the 18 September on the ever topical and ever changing issue of designing for sound. The discussion will consider whether we have the balance right when it comes to providing people with a mixture of spaces to work quietly and privately and others in which they can work with colleagues and even- dare we admit it – enjoy the racket they create? The panel includes noted workplace experts Tim Oldman of Leesman, Monica Parker of Morgan Lovell and Colin Rawlings of Icon who will discuss the conflicting forces involved and challenge with examples and data the lazy assumptions and received wisdom that can distort decision making on this most sensitive of topics.

September 17, 2013

New research sheds light on why executives persist in stressful work habits

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

There’s a fine line between enjoying the stimulation of a demanding job and feeling burnt out. Lloyds’ chief executive, Antonio Horta-Osorio made headline news in 2011 after being signed off sick with stress and exhaustion. As the recent suicides of two Swiss banking executives have shown, it’s often difficult for pressurised workaholics to admit the job has become too much. A recent US academic study provides some clues as to why senior executives persist in working to unhealthy levels; while research by serviced office provider Business Environment reveals how UK office workers are also prone to stressful work habits. One fifth (21%) take work home at least one to two times a week, and one in five employees (19.6%) have taken time off work due to stress. More →

September 17, 2013

Record number of managers in the UK, but who or what are they all managing?

by Mark Eltringham • News, Public Sector, Workplace

The number of managers in the UK has reached record levels according to a new report. But who or what they are all managing is slightly less clear as structural changes in the UK economy mean there are fewer people in full time and skilled work, especially in the public sector, as well as a growing number of the self-employed. An analysis of ONS statistics by the Jobs Economist reveals the number of people defined as managers in the UK is now 3.1 million, up 7.8% in just two years and now more than 10% of the entire workforce. By contrast the number of skilled trades people has fallen by 2.2%, the number of people working full time has fallen to 21.4 million, public sector employment has fallen by 437,000 in three years while the number of self-employed has grown by 367,000 since the 2008 downturn.

September 17, 2013

Businesses report a growing appetite for social media work tools

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology

Social media, as politicians and celebrities are all too aware is a double edged sword. Just last week David Cameron read out a Twitter message during Prime Minister’s Questions sent to a Labour MP, who had asked people for suggestions about what to ask at PMQs. The first reply was “how happy are you that the Labour leader will still be in place at the next election?” And Cameron himself has not been exempt to the odd twitter gaffe. Social media is such a powerful tool however, that employers can’t afford to ignore it – so demand for enterprise social networks – business tools that use Facebook-style features to allow staff to interact with one another on work projects are on the increase. More →