January 24, 2019

Australian designers are fundamentally reshaping workplaces around the world

by Bronte Turner • Comment, Workplace design

Earlier this year, the QS World University Rankings revealed that the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales are better places to study architecture and the built environment than some Ivy League universities. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for eight of the top 20 architecture schools from the region. As a result, there’s an incredible pool of talent coming from Australia and entering the global market.

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January 23, 2019

Work’s not working; to be productive we need to get creative

by Zoe Humphries • Comment, Workplace design

Productivity in the UK workforce is dropping; output per hour fell 0.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2018 compared with the previous and grew just 0.2 per cent on the third quarter of 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics. Yet the UK workforce log the longest hours in Europe, working 42.3 hours per week on average. Clearly something isn’t lining up. So we must surely ask the question, what is going wrong and what can we do to improve the situation?

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January 15, 2019

Surface Design Show 2019 Preview

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace design

Surface Design Show hosts over 150 exhibitors highlighting the very best in exterior and interior surface design from 5 – 7 February. Taking place at London’s Business Design Centre, the show provides a platform for architects, designers and specifiers to explore interior and exterior surface materials, lighting design, development and innovation. Visitors will uncover thousands of new materials from the latest technological advances in building materials to innovative workplace surfaces and everything in between.

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December 18, 2018

Government’s new workplace reforms: the world responds

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The UK government has introduced what it claims to be the most significant package of workplace reforms for 20 years in response to last year’s Taylor Report on working practices. The Good Work Plan has introduced a range of measures which the Government claims will improve the rights of agency and part time workers and discourage employers from indulging in unwelcome practices. The reforms are intended to stop businesses opting out of equal pay arrangements for agency employees and improve the conditions for gig economy workers generally, for example by giving workers details of their rights from the first day in a job, such as eligibility for sick leave, pay levels, maternity and paternity leave.

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November 28, 2018

Line up of speakers announced for Workplace Trends: Research Spring Summit

by Maggie Procopi • Events, Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace design

The research-driven Workplace Trends Spring Summit returns for 2019. We have two sessions with invited guest speakers, our keynote and the after lunch debate. Following a recent Call for Abstracts and a blind peer review by our two moderators for the day, Nigel Oseland (Workplace Unlimited) and Mark Eltringham (Workplace Insight), the remaining sessions have now been filled with the highest ranked submissions.

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November 28, 2018

Government treading carefully with proposed plans for gig workers

by Neil Tonks • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news

Leaked government plans to protect the working rights of people operating in the gig economy will help to stop unscrupulous employers from exploiting low-paid workers by stamping out false self-employment. But it is questionable whether this goes far enough. (more…)

November 21, 2018

Career opportunities with SMEs are growing, but graduates not convinced

by Sara Bean • Cities, News, Workplace

Small and mid-sized businesses have hired three times more people than larger businesses over the past five years and could overtake large companies by 2030, according to new analysis of the latest ONS data commissioned by Santander Business Banking. However, separate research commissioned by the bank has found that significant numbers of young people are failing to recognise the significant job opportunities that SMEs offer. Just a third (35 percent) of Generation Z and Millennials leaving full time education say they wish to work for an SME, while an even smaller proportion, just one in six (18 percent), want to work for a start-up or micro business. (more…)

November 14, 2018

Far too few people cycle to work despite promotion and investment in infrastructure

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

In spite of the government investing £1.2 billion into cycling, new research claims that it is still only a few people who are cycling to work, with many citing nervousness about cycling in traffic as the reason. A survey of more than 7,600 UK adults published by Decathlon in the Decathlon Activity Index 2018, shows that only 7 percent of the nation is commuting to work with a bike. Despite cities including Manchester, Cambridge and London having made improvements to accommodate cycling, more than 1 in 4 (26 percent) still feel it is too dangerous to do so. This was followed by 21 percent who said they are still too scared to cycle the roads to work.

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November 7, 2018

Will technology prove a threat or a godsend in the new workplace?

by Matt Weston • Comment, Technology, Workplace

In the past decade, the business landscape has fundamentally shifted with the emergence of companies like Uber and Netflix, in addition to the rapid growth of large technology companies such as Apple and Amazon. Underlying this shift is the constant evolution and implementation of technology into the workplace. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum stated that digitisation could add a staggering $100 trillion to businesses by 2025.

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October 31, 2018

Top global industries leading the way in remote work

by Neil Franklin • Features, Flexible working, Property

More business owners are swapping rigid 9-5 schedules and traditional office environments in favour of flexible space and remote work as an option for saving costs, retaining employees and encouraging a healthy work-life balance. With this in mind, Instant Offices has investigated what industries are leading the way for remote working and how to overcome the typical challenges of managing a remote team.

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October 24, 2018

Commercial property uptake shows finance sector remains committed to London

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

Undeterred by political and economic headwinds in recent years, London remains a world leading financial centre and is by far the most active centre in Europe, according to the latest research from global real estate advisor CBRE. According to the report, 1.1 million people were employed in the UK financial services sector in 2017, of which 34 percent were in London. The industry contributed £119bn to the national economy (7% of UK GDP) – half of this was generated by London, where it accounted for 14 percent of the city’s economic output.

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October 22, 2018

Nearly a quarter of London office take up is in financial sector, says CBRE

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Despite political and economic uncertainly and the aftermath of the global monetary crisis in 2008, London remains a leading global financial centre, with nearly a quarter (24 percent) of the capital’s office take-up attributed to banking and finance occupiers over the last ten years. London is by far the most active banking centre in Europe, according to the latest research from global real estate advisor CBRE. According to the report, 1.1 million people were employed in the UK financial services sector in 2017, of which 34 percent were in London. (more…)