Search Results for: technology

November 16, 2018

More needs to be done to bridge the digital gender divide, says OECD

Barriers to access, education and skills, as well as ingrained socio-cultural biases, are driving a digital gender divide that is holding back women’s participation in the digital economy, according to a new OECD report. Bridging the Digital Gender Divide: Include, Upskill, Innovate says women are not currently empowered to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital transformation. While G20 economies have taken important actions to narrow gender gaps in general, more needs to be done to increase the participation of women and girls in the digital economy so that they too can contribute to and benefit from the digital transformation that is under way.

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November 15, 2018

Are you ready for the world of agile working we will experience in the 2020s?

by John Eary and Paul Allsopp • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

Some organisations believe they have ‘done’ Agile Working. They have increased the ratio of people to desks and achieved a saving in accommodation costs. They have provided flexible working arrangements across the organisation and have enabled their people to work at home for part of their working week. Staff surveys show employees are pleased with the opportunities and benefits this provides them. But organisations cannot afford to become comfortable or complacent, there are greater opportunities to grasp. As in any transformation initiative, Agile Working is more than a project it is a cultural journey involving continuing change to achieve continuous improvement. Agile Working is moving on.

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November 15, 2018

Two new studies set out business case for contemporary office design

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace design

A brace of new reports sets out to identify the challenges organisations set themselves by inhabiting dated offices and how modern office design principles could address them. According to the Meeting Expectations report, released by K2 Space, workplace productivity is being impeded as a direct result of dated office design. The second study from Saracen Interiors focuses more on the role of office design as a recruitment tool. The reports follow the recent publication of a major report on similar themes from Worktech Academy and Fourfront Group.

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November 14, 2018

Quarter of UK workforce have turned down a job for not offering flexible working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new study claims that UK workers of all ages have shown a demand for flexible working. According to the research of 2,300 people commissioned by communications technology firm TeleWare, employees are actively turning down jobs that don’t offer flexible working. A quarter of all employees have turned down a job in the past for this reason. Whilst a further third (31 percent) would actively do so. Although the proportion of those that have done so is higher amongst millennials (40 percent), three in 10 (29 percent) employees over 45 would turn down a job if flexible working options were not on offer. (more…)

November 13, 2018

Fostering creativity within organisations through space and culture

by Serena Borghero • Comment, Workplace design

In organisations around the world, hierarchical structures are breaking down, replaced by deeply interconnected, constantly shifting networks, linked by innovative technology. Meanwhile, huge leaps forward in artificial intelligence promise to fundamentally change the nature of work, either by enhancing or replacing human-beings. Research by McKinsey suggests that half of today’s work activities could be automated by 2055, with repetitive and process-based roles the first to go. For employees, this looks likely to mean a greater focus on creative skills, where humans retain an advantage. These skills are not restricted to being purely artistic, as creativity describes the process of problem-solving in a new way. The rise of creativity is also being driven by new generations entering the workplace with different demands and expectations than those before them.

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November 13, 2018

Gig economy set to boom to meet growing need for digital skills

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

Over a quarter of businesses plan to hire temporary or contract staff in the next 12 months to help plug skills shortages created by digitalisation as more than half of CEOs are concerned about a lack of digital skills within their organisation. This is according to the Robert Half 2019 Salary Guide which argues that technology is reshaping businesses; with two in five UK organisations (38 percent) considering digitalisation as the main evolving force in the workplace today. This shift has created demand for a new set of skills, such as DevOps, data visualisation, data management and analytics. While softer skills such as resilience, adaptability and critical thinking remain key characteristics in potential employees, a third (31 percent) of employers state that a candidate’s technical skillset is their most important consideration when making a new hire. Around 1.6 million1 (28 percent) UK businesses plan to hire temporary or contract staff in the next twelve months, to combat the lack available talent required, which is creating a critical skills gaps in the workplace.

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November 9, 2018

Amazon dupes the world, the mystery of AI, a workplace zoo and some other things you may like

by Mark Eltringham • Features

Sometime over the past few years, the search for possible locations for the latest tech giant palace has become something of a media preoccupation. Typical of the stories this quest generates is this piece in the New York Times about Google’s search for new property in the city. But the apotheosis of all this has been Amazon’s quest for a new HQ in the US, leading to an unedifying scrabble between municipal authorities keen to attract the lair of OmniCorp to their turf.

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November 9, 2018

Is leadership the missing variable in the productivity equation?

by Mark Eltringham • News

Quality of leadership is reported to be the single most important factor to impact the level of productivity in an organisation according to a new international research study. The report, The Puzzle of Productivity: What enhances workplace performance? was compiled by the Fourfront Group, The United Workplace (TUW) and WORKTECH Academy. It found that more than half of respondents surveyed (53 percent) named leadership as the most important factor in raising organisational performance. Less than a fifth of respondents named environment, technology or wellness as being the most important factor. Environment came second to leadership, but a long way behind on 18 per cent of the survey. More than half of the organisations surveyed worldwide (54 percent) said that ‘inspiring leadership’ is the best way to motivate staff to improve performance, whereas a ‘well designed workplace’ scored much lower on 19 percent with ‘a focus on wellness’ (14 percent) and ‘seamless tech’ (13 percent) even further down the field.

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November 9, 2018

Gen Z are technologically literate but not actually robots, Dell study confirms

by Freddie Steele • News, Technology

Generation Z is entering the workforce, bringing with it a tech-first mentality that will propel businesses further into the digital era while potentially deepening the divide among five generations in the workplace. According to global research commissioned by Dell Technologies, post-millennials – those born after 1996 and known as Gen Z – have a deep, universal understanding of technology and its potential to transform how we work and live.

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November 9, 2018

Importance of mental wellbeing underlined on national stress awareness day

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Wellbeing

In the fourth of their series of wellbeing events leading flooring manufacturer Milliken invited Neil Shah (founder and Director or the Stress Management Society and best-selling author) to run an ‘excelling under pressure’ workshop. Interior designers and architects are known to be amongst the most stressed workers with tight deadlines, financial pressure and an ultra-competitive environment.

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November 8, 2018

Workers ignore security concerns by bringing own devices to the office

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

Workers are increasingly introducing technology devices, software and other tools into the workplace without their employer’s approval, claims a new report from NextPlane that examines the extent of this growing rift and its impact on collaboration and productivity. Nearly half of professionals (46 percent) said they or their team have introduced new technology into their workplace, and despite IT attempts to remain in control, workers are not standing down, as 53 percent said they or another team have pushed back on IT or management when they tried to dictate the technology they use.

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November 8, 2018

CIPD launches new standard and profession map to reflect the changing face of HR

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

The CIPD has launched a new and fully updated Profession Map which sets out the knowledge, behaviours and values underpinning today’s people profession in the modern world of work. The new Profession Map – the first since the 2013 version of the CIPD’s original Profession Map – has been designed to reflect the changes in the world of work and the priorities and role of people professionals. Major trends, from the changing demographics and needs of the workforce to alternative employment models and increasing use of technology, have challenged us to innovate and adapt our people management practices and approaches. The Map will evolve in line with the world of work, updating when the landscape shifts and keeping experts in people, work and change future-fit for years to come.