Search Results for: technology

Multi-tasking and workplace distractions don’t allow us to focus on the essentials

Multi-tasking and workplace distractions don’t allow us to focus on the essentials

by • Comment, Knowledge, Workplace, Workplace design

Although the structure of our brains is largely the same as that of our hunter-gatherer prehistoric ancestors, that does not mean they are immutable. Research shows that the way our brains change in response to technology and the changing workplace suggests they are subject to a certain degree of ‘rewiring’. For example, a recent study found that the emotional response of adults to smileys in emails and texts is exactly the same as they would have to real faces. Tellingly, however, this appears to be learned behaviour because babies do not exhibit the same response. One other aspect of working life that is now proven to change the way our brains work – and not in a good way – is multitasking. Research published by Kep Kee Loh and Ryota Kanai of the University of Sussex found that “Individuals who engage in heavier media-multitasking are found to perform worse on cognitive control tasks and exhibit more socio-emotional difficulties”.

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Momentum grows to make BIM standard for global construction industry

Momentum grows to make BIM standard for global construction industry 0

by • Architecture, Facilities management, Knowledge, Technology, Workplace design

BIM Level 2According to a new survey from research firm Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), momentum is growing towards the universal implementation of Building Information Modelling across the construction industry worldwide, with the highest percentage of respondents claiming that it will be the future of the industry. In related news, the UK BIM Alliance will be launched in October and will take over from the UK BIM Task Group as the emphasis is now on making Building Information Modelling the standard approach to construction. The industry alliance has been set up to respond to the UK Government’s challenges in meeting Level 2 requirements. The group will be branded the UK BIM Alliance, and is planned to be officially launched this October. The challenge now faced is to transform from industry mobilisation for Level 2 to make BIM, the standard approach to construction for the entire UK Construction Industry.

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Many firms lag behind their customers in use of latest tech innovations

Many firms lag behind their customers in use of latest tech innovations 0

by • News, Technology

DigitalJust one in three IT decision makers believe advances such as cloud-based solutions, big data and wearable tech will be available in their industry within the next 12 months, according to a new study from Capita. Although the report – Trends vs Technologies – has yet to be published, the firm has released some of its findings. Based on a survey of IT professionals in the insurance, finance, legal services and manufacturing sectors, the study analyses nine key organisational trends and the implementation of related technology. The report claims that while many decision makers describe a tech trend as being relevant to their industry, several barriers to implementation mean solutions are not yet ready and in many cases might be lagging behind consumer take-up of the new technology. The trends named in the report are Big Data, Digital Workplace, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Wearable Tech, Robotics, Cloud Based Solutions, 3D Printers and Virtual Reality.

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Employers and staff disagree on root causes of workplace stress

Employers and staff disagree on root causes of workplace stress 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Work is greatest cause of stressSeventy-five percent of US employers say workplace stress is their number one health concern, but a disconnect between employers and employees on the causes of stress could undermine efforts to address the problem. Data from Willis Towers Watson’s 2015/2016 Global Staying@Work Survey along with its 2015/2016 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey reveals that the top causes of stress has picked by employer tended to fall into categories of large organisational issues, such as change and ubiquitous technology connections which can make employees feel that they are always on the job. By contrast, employees pointed more directly to specific elements of their personal work experience. For example, employees ranked organisation culture — including a lack of teamwork and a tendency to avoid accountability — third on their stress list, while employers ranked it last. Conversely, employers identified insufficient work/life balance as the top stressor for workers, while employees ranked it sixth.

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Sea and space: the final frontiers for remote working and connectivity

Sea and space: the final frontiers for remote working and connectivity 0

by • Case studies, Comment, Knowledge, Legal news, Technology

Captain_on_a_bridge_-_main2Tim Peake’s recent return home from space at the end of a six month stay in the International Space Station highlighted just how essential it is for people to stay in contact with their friends, family and the rest of the world, literally from wherever they may be. Of course, back on Earth we now take it for granted that we are in a state of constant connectedness to the rest of the world. So the idea of someone being out of contact, even for brief periods of time, strikes us as odd. Perhaps that partly explains our fascination with the experiences of astronauts and other people who cannot take connectivity for granted. But it’s not just astronauts who have to consider how to enjoy the connectedness that we normally assume to be ours by right. People who work at sea face the same challenge and you could argue that it is more important for such truly remote workers to be in contact with other people and the Internet. So who fares better when it comes to achieving connectivity?

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Managers responsible for promoting engagement distrust employers

Managers responsible for promoting engagement distrust employers 0

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

Workplace managersThey may be responsible for upholding their company’s corporate values and ensuring employee engagement, but HR and line managers lack confidence and faith in their employers. According to a survey by Cornerstone OnDemand almost a third (29 percent) of HR and line managers are not proud of their workplace nor do they recommend it. Managers in the Nordics (88 percent), Austria (84 percent), and Spain (81 percent) are the most satisfied with their places of work, whereas Italy (59 percent) and Switzerland (64 percent) are the least proud of their companies and the least willing to recommend it to others. Meanwhile, managers in the UK are struggling with this lack of positivity towards their own company, with only 37 percent agreeing that their company is an attractive employer. The survey also found that the greatest influences on ‘happiness’ in the workplace were revealed to involve career flexibility and technology.

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Netherlands creates first countrywide Internet of Things network

Netherlands creates first countrywide Internet of Things network 0

by • Facilities management, News, Technology

Internet of ThingsDutch telecommunications company KPN claims it has created the world’s first national network devoted to the Internet of Things (IoT). The firms says its technicians have upgraded hundreds of existing towers with Long Range (LoRA) gateways and antennas, to create the new public network. The first (IoT) applications are already connected to the network, including at Schiphol Airport where it is being tested in logistical processes such as baggage handling and for facility services. An experiment is also being carried out at Utrecht Central station that allows LoRa to monitor rail switches, and depth sounders at the port of Rotterdam have been fitted with devices to connect them to the IoT network. “Last year we identified an increasing demand for low-power network technology for Internet of Things applications,” says Joost Farwerck, COO of KPN. ” We are responding to this by choosing LoRa, so millions of devices can be connected to the internet in a cost-effective manner. In less than a year KPN has implemented a network that allows us to satisfy this market demand.”

Beyond monoculture + Future shock + Confusion over productivity 0

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, Insight Briefings, Newsletter, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Insight_twitter_logo_2In this week’s Newsletter; Mark Eltringham pays tribute to futurologist Alvin Toffler who died this week and is famed for introducing the concept ‘Future shock’; and Charles Marks looks at the ways our noisy world was foretold by some of the 20th centuries’ greatest minds. A study finds that people find meetings more useful than is widely reported; many office workers struggle to understand the meaning of productivity; and spending on workplace technology doubled over the past five years. Older workers – not millennials – are most positive about working freelance; more US over 65s are working now than at any time; and agile workers report the highest levels of productivity. You can download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design which examines the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

People find meetings more productive than you might think

People find meetings more productive than you might think 0

by • News, Technology, Wellbeing

Boardroom meetingsPeople generally find they don’t spend as much time in meetings as is commonly assumed and find them more productive than is widely reported, according to a study of global workers by unified communications firm Shoretel. The report sets out what it suggests are ten misconceptions about how people meet based on the results of an online questionnaire carried out earlier this year with 1,000 respondents worldwide. It claims that over three-quarters of respondents (76 percent) say they spend one hour or under each weekday in a meeting. Inevitably, the report breaks things down by age demographics, claiming that Generation X’ers,  are more likely than other generations to spend more time in weekly meets as were respondents working in the tech sectors. Only 11 percent of respondents found meetings a waste of time. Forty percent of respondents reported meetings were productive and another 48 percent said they were ‘sort of’ productive.

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Lack of leadership development undermines organisational agility

Lack of leadership development undermines organisational agility 0

by • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

agilityEmployers are failing to address weaknesses in leadership development, and this is compromising their organisational agility, according to a report published by Orion Partners. The report, Agile HR: Mindset Not Methodology found that those questioned understood the importance of agility, with 67 percent of HR professionals describing it as “business critical.” Yet despite 59 percent agreeing that the people management practice that has the greatest impact on organisational agility is leadership development, none of the senior HR professionals polled rated their organisations as highly effective at building versatile leaders and 75 percent believed they were no more than moderately effective in this area. Attempts to make their companies more agile with the introduction of flexible working are not being focused correctly either, which the authors suggest is reaping the consequences of failing to sell the wider business benefits of effective HR management.

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Property and workplace experts have their say on the Brexit outcome

Property and workplace experts have their say on the Brexit outcome 0

by • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

brexitWell, the results are in and the UK’s electorate has voted by a narrow margin for the country to leave the EU. There are likely to be other developments but whatever you make of the UK’s decision to vote to leave the EU – and I think it’s fair to say most independent people think it’s inexplicable – there’s no doubt that it will have a profound impact on the UK’s economy, relationship with the world, culture, working conditions and markets. What it will mean in practice won’t be apparent for months or years, of course, but that hasn’t stopped experts who work in the property, workplace, design, legal, HR and architecture sectors having their say on its potential implications. We’ll look at these specific issues in more detail going forward but for now, here’s a round-up of those we have so far, which we’ll keep updated throughout the day as the dust settles on what will prove to be a momentous decision for the UK, Europe and rest of the world.

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Small businesses outpace larger firms in adoption of virtual working

Small businesses outpace larger firms in adoption of virtual working 0

by • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

{9f354208-5623-47fc-9edf-1efb90f919df}_V9_launch_LP_lrg_1Around two thirds (60 percent) of knowledge workers in small and medium sized businesses in the US, UK and Germany now use virtual working technology that is internet or cloud-based in their professional roles. This figure is higher than in companies with 500 or more employees (53 percent). These are the findings claimed by the Way We Work Study commissioned by unified comms firm Unify. Surveying 5,000 British, American and German knowledge workers, it explores people’s attitudes and expectations about their workplace. Knowledge workers at SMBs expect to see large changes in their jobs over the next five years. More than a third (38 percent) believe their roles will not exist after this period, and almost two-thirds (64 percent) thinking they will be substantially different. On the subject of trust, 76 percent of SMB knowledge workers feel they are listened to in their organisation, compared to 71 percent in larger companies.

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