Search Results for: performance

Rebuilding belonging: how offices can overcome loneliness  

Rebuilding belonging: how offices can overcome loneliness  

In the coming weeks it will be six years since the UK entered lockdown and working life changed overnight. While much has stabilised, the impact of the pandemic still shapes how people experience work, particularly when it comes to connection and belonging. Loneliness is widely recognised as a growing societal issue and government data shows that around a quarter of adults in Great Britain report feeling lonely at least some of the time, rising significantly among younger age groups. Hybrid working has not created this challenge but it has highlighted that for many people the workplace was a consistent source of social interaction. (more…)

Refurbishment dominates UK cities office development pipeline

Refurbishment dominates UK cities office development pipeline

Refurbishment projects account for the largest share of the office development pipeline across the UK’s major regional citiesRefurbishment projects account for the largest share of the office development pipeline across the UK’s major regional cities, as new build activity remains subdued and occupiers continue to favour high quality, sustainable space. According to new figures from Avison Young, refurbishment schemes now represent the majority of space under construction in the Big Nine regional office markets. The volume of refurbishment space in the pipeline has risen by 12 percent year on year, reflecting a sustained shift towards upgrading existing stock rather than delivering entirely new buildings. (more…)

Designing for new work: lighting and acoustics shape Atelier drü’s new studio

Designing for new work: lighting and acoustics shape Atelier drü’s new studio

TRILUX has delivered a lighting solution for the new offices of Swiss architecture practice Atelier drü in Flums, in the canton of St. Gallen. Designed as a collaborative “New Work” environmentTRILUX has delivered a lighting solution for the new offices of Swiss architecture practice Atelier drü in Flums, in the canton of St. Gallen. Designed as a collaborative “New Work” environment, the project combines exposed concrete architecture with minimalist interior design, placing lighting and acoustics at the centre of the workplace concept. The office design features large concrete surfaces, modern furnishings, and integrated ceiling elements to create a balanced working environment where interior design, lighting and spatial planning work together to support comfort and collaboration. (more…)

Lack of innovation continues to hamper small business and startups

Lack of innovation continues to hamper small business and startups

Small business innovation in the UK has fallen for the fourth consecutive year despite record levels of entrepreneurial ambition,Small business innovation in the UK has fallen for the fourth consecutive year despite record levels of entrepreneurial ambition, according to the latest State of Small Business Britain report from the Enterprise Research Centre. The annual study draws together findings from a range of business surveys and shows that 36 percent of working age adults are now starting, running or planning to launch a business. This is the highest level recorded since the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor began tracking activity in 1999. Early stage entrepreneurial activity has doubled since the early 2000s and has stabilised at around 12 percent. (more…)

ULI Europe publishes new guide on asset-level collaboration to accelerate decarbonisation of occupied buildings

ULI Europe publishes new guide on asset-level collaboration to accelerate decarbonisation of occupied buildings

ULI Europe has published a new Asset Sustainability Committees Best Practice Guide through its C Change programme to support collaboration between owners, occupiers and property managers in decarbonising multi-let commercial buildingsULI Europe has published a new Asset Sustainability Committees Best Practice Guide through its C Change programme to support collaboration between owners, occupiers and property managers in the decarbonisation of multi-let commercial buildings. Across Europe, the commercial real estate sector has made significant progress in setting net zero and sustainability commitments. However, translating these ambitions into measurable action within occupied buildings remains a persistent challenge. (more…)

AI adoption exposes generational divide in management, research finds

AI adoption exposes generational divide in management, research finds

KEDGE Business School has published new research suggesting that artificial intelligence (AI) is already reshaping management practice, but that a strong generational divide is emergingKEDGE Business School has published new research suggesting that artificial intelligence is already reshaping management practice, but that a strong generational divide is emerging in how leaders use the technology. The findings come from an OpinionWay survey carried out in October 2025 among managers, and point to younger leaders adopting AI at a significantly faster pace than their older counterparts. While AI tools such as ChatGPT are now widely used across the profession, the study suggests that managers under 40 are far more likely to integrate AI into day-to-day leadership decisions, while older managers remain more cautious and selective. (more…)

New white paper offers actions for managing trauma in the workplace

New white paper offers actions for managing trauma in the workplace

A new white paper offering practical guidance for employers on how to recognise, understand and respond to trauma in the workplace has been published by Nottingham Business SchoolA new white paper offering practical guidance for employers on how to recognise, understand and respond to trauma in the workplace has been published by Nottingham Business School (NBS), part of Nottingham Trent University. Recent national figures show that more than 8.5 million adults in England and Wales are survivors of childhood abuse, underlining the scale of trauma?related experiences within the UK workforce. Managing Trauma in the Workplace: Strategies for Wellbeing and Organisational Resilience brings together research, survivor perspectives, and evidence?based recommendations to help HR professionals and managers create psychologically safe working environments. (more…)

New book explores the emotional side of organisational change

New book explores the emotional side of organisational change

Leadership consultant and change specialist Jennifer Bryan has launched a new book examining the often-overlooked emotional dimension of organisational change. The Emotional Side of Organizational Change: How to Survive and Thrive focuses on how leaders can better support people through uncertainty, transformation and disruption by placing human emotion at the centre of change strategies. (more…)

Intentional AI adoption is a leadership challenge, not just a technology problem

Intentional AI adoption is a leadership challenge, not just a technology problem

even in an AI-driven future, the real challenge remains deeply human—guiding teams with intention, empathy, and trust.A lot of conversations about AI jump straight to the end state. Leaders envision a future where the human workforce is focused on higher-order thinking and augmented with agentic capabilities across the enterprise, and where operational costs are much lower. While visionary thinking is not negative, we’re discovering that the transition from today’s version of the organization to a more automated state will require a massive transformation to achieve. Effective, sticky change requires active work and leadership to truly pivot processes, integrate technology, cultivate new skillsets, establish the cultural foundations, reformat the organizational structure, and ramp to new ways of working. Machines can’t steer that kind of change; humans still have to. (more…)

Faking positivity at work is causing leaders to burn out

Faking positivity at work is causing leaders to burn out

Being forced to fake their emotions in the workplace is causing leaders to burn out, according to new research by emlyon business school. The researchers say that this ‘surface acting’ creates a scientifically proven exhaustion loop that drains the very resources necessary to function well in interpersonal environments. As a result, cognitive capacity declines, authenticity erodes, and team trust suffers in ways that makes engaging in leadership more difficult in the future. (more…)

Surface Design Show announces details of speaker’s programme

Surface Design Show announces details of speaker’s programme

The Surface Design Show has announced the final details of its speaker’s programme for the 2026 edition of the show.The Surface Design Show has announced the final details of its speaker’s programme for the 2026 edition of the show. Featuring a range of topics with some of the most innovative voices in industry, the schedule includes an impressive list of industry names including Michelle Ogundehin, Katie Treggiden, Liz Bell, Tim Gledstone, Giles Miller and Justine Fox.  The main stage is designed by Design Command using acoustic surfaces, soft textures and gentle light, with furniture supplied by Table Place Chairs. The design treats silence not as absence but as an active design language, exploring how materials can shape space while creating a pause for visitors to reflect and feel inspired amid the show. The programme will consist of 21 presentations from over 50 speakers spanning the full breadth of the design industry. (more…)

Surface Design Show 2026 champions the next generation of material innovators

Surface Design Show 2026 champions the next generation of material innovators

Surface Design Show 2026 reaffirms its commitment to nurturing emerging design talent, placing material innovation, sustainability and future-focused thinking firmly at the heart of the show. Through its ongoing partnerships with the Royal College of Art, the Green Grads initiative and for the first time the Emerging Talent category within the Surface Design Show Awards, the 2026 edition highlights a new generation of designers redefining what surface design can be. Across the exhibition, visitors will encounter projects that challenge extractive systems, transform waste streams and place human and environmental wellbeing at the centre of material design. (more…)