Search Results for: technologies

October 7, 2016

Green buildings improve occupant’s cognitive function and health ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

New evidence which supports the argument for the Well building concept as new research suggests that compared to people in high-performing buildings without a green certification, occupants of high-performing, certified green buildings had nearly a third (30 percent) fewer sick building symptoms, a 6.4 percent higher sleep quality score and a 26.4 percent higher cognitive function score. The new study from Harvard University and SUNY Upstate Medical University, supported by United Technologies suggests that there may be an even greater benefit to working in green certified buildings than originally thought. “The Impact of Working in a Green Certified Building on Cognitive Function and Health,” demonstrates the importance of green-certified buildings to the health of occupants – particularly for office workers whose health, productivity, decision-making, and sleep could greatly benefit.

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September 23, 2016

Tech laggards risk losing employees, claims Future Workforce Study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

Dell has unveiled the European and South African findings from the Dell and Intel Future Workforce Study, which identifies the global technology trends shaping the modern workplace. The results show that almost half of employees in these regions believe their current employer is not effectively making use of the latest technology advances. The 2016 Future Workforce Study, conducted by research firm PSB, polled nearly 4,000 full-time employees from small, medium and large businesses in 10 countries. Of those polled in the UK, Germany, France and South Africa, many do not believe that they will be working in a smart office within the next five years and perceived their current workplace technology as lagging behind personal devices on innovation. With the research showing that the influx of new technology is having a significant impact on what workers expect from their employer, workplaces which don’t enact these new advances may be left behind.

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September 21, 2016

Millennials no different from their elders in attitudes to the workplace ⁰

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

The portrait often drawn of Millennials is that of a generation which is keen to stand out from that of its elders, and which is difficult to pin down. They’re said to have difficulty accepting a hierarchical structure and no longer view their salary as the only motivating factor but instead are looking for a sense of accomplishment in their work. Yet as we reported recently, the behaviour and expectations of this younger generation has in fact stayed fairly constant. For them, the ideal company has attributes which are actually fairly similar to those cited by their more experienced colleagues. The result of the latest Edenred-Ipsos barometer into the under 30s suggests that for employers, the issue is not so much about dealing with this generation independently of the others, but rather globally rethinking leadership challenges in an environment which is increasingly digitalized, horizontal and multi-task oriented, taking into account individual countries’ cultural differences.

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September 20, 2016

Construction firms still failing to seize opportunities offered by new technology ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property, Technology

Despite substantial investment in new technology over recent years, the construction industry is struggling to realise the full benefits of key technologies including advanced data and analytics, mobility, automation and robotics. That’s the main finding from Building a technology advantage – Global Construction Survey 2016, the annual state-of-the-industry report from KPMG International. Of the 200-plus senior construction executives who took part in the survey, just 8 percent of their companies rank as “cutting edge technology visionaries,” while 64 percent of contractors and 73 percent of project owners rank as “industry followers” or “behind the curve” when it comes to technology. Two-thirds of survey respondents believe project risks are increasing. According to Armstrong, this is an industry ripe for disruption, yet less than 20 percent of respondents say they are aggressively disrupting their business models.

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September 16, 2016

CoreNet report sets out how technology will reshape corporate real estate ⁰

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

The speed of today’s technological advances is dramatically reshaping the way that corporations manage and use their real estate. It’s a dynamic that has significant consequences for the workplace, urban development and the overall lifestyle of the average worker. Those are the unsurprising conclusions of a new report from trade association CoreNet Global, which was discussed this week at the organisation’s 2016 Summit – EMEA, held in Amsterdam. As ever, the devil is in the detail so the report is worth exploring to get a sense of just how imminent many of the changes will be, especially because they will converge to create a perfect storm of change for the workplace. This marks the new era out from the past when technology developed in more predictable ways. Several CoreNet Global Gold Strategic Partners contributed to the report including CBRE, Deloitte, ISS, JLL, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Sodexo and Steelcase.

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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.

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September 12, 2016

CoreNet Global 2016 summit to convene in Amsterdam this week ⁰

by Sara Bean • Company news, Events, Facilities management, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

The Bigger Picture: Geopolitics, Economics and the Environment is the theme of this year’s CoreNet Global 2016 Summit – EMEA, (14-16 September). It will include sessions focusing on issues as diverse as Brexit, terrorism, disruptive technologies in real estate, the impact of geopolitics and economics on occupiers, sustainable buildings, the war for talent, and how the latest findings from neuroscience are contributing to workplace design. The summit, which is being held in Amsterdam, will host more than 500 registered delegates from 25 countries. Confirmed keynote speakers during the three day event include Mujtaba Rahman of the Eurasia Group, who will explore the current political and economic state of the EMEA region, and writer, businessman and futurologist Mark Stevenson, who will address the importance of agility and disruption. This year’s programme will also include a guided site tour of the Overhoeks mixed use development project. Registration details are available from the website.

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.

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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.

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August 19, 2016

Employers must lose ‘stiff upper lip’ culture to promote workplace wellbeing ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude towards wellness by UK bosses needs to change in order to advance employee wellbeing, argues a survey by Bupa. It is business leaders who are the key to overcoming the challenges facing employees’ health and wellbeing, it claims. The vast majority (94 percent) of those questioned believe there will be significant change in the employer-employee relationship in the next ten years. 91 percent of business leaders agree that technology will continue to impact the wellbeing of their workforce over the next decade and 71 percent agree the standard 9am-5pm working day is a thing of the past. Seven in ten (68 percent) noted a ‘stiff upper lip attitude’ at executive level, creating barriers to conversations about wellbeing, and three fifths (62 percent) of leaders think they need to show that they don’t suffer from ill health.

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August 15, 2016

The traditional office is still very much alive, but it is changing ⁰

by Alex Gifford • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A skim through workplace features in the media and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the traditional office is no longer with us. According to the narrative, we’re all now 20-somethings, working in open-plan warehouses, with table football, bean bags and comfy sofas to lounge on, while drinking our custom-made soya lattes. When in actual fact, while more relaxed, fun and funky offices tend to make the headlines, the majority of people still work in a relatively traditional way, with their PC or laptop, a desk and an ergonomic task chair. What’s more, with an ageing workforce, we certainly aren’t all 20-somethings, with DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) figures revealing that the employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 has risen by 14 per cent in the last 30 years, and doubled for over 65s. So designing with just the youngsters in mind simply doesn’t add up. Recent research by the Senator Group, backs up this view.

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August 10, 2016

The solution to closing the digital skills gap starts at home ⁰

by Andrea Chadwick • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace

Much has already been written about the UK’s digital skills gap, and undoubtedly as the Government continues to develop and roll out its Digital Strategy for the nation, many more headlines will be devoted to it. For a country so focused on technological development it’s a problem which is both acute and imperative. Recent Government figures put 12.6 million Britons at risk of being left behind in terms of the skills needed for a modern economy. Parliamentary plans to address this issue focus firmly on education: including digital development as a key part of apprenticeships, encouraging vocational digital skills courses at universities, and broadening access to other educational courses to help people to learn to code. However, responsibility to upskill the nation’s workforce also resides with employers. Whether the current role demands IT skills or not, technology increasingly impacts and transforms every element of our lives.