Search Results for: values

October 26, 2018

We need to move on from the stigma of mental health to finding solutions

Just as in physical health, everybody has a level of mental health. And while companies have begun to offer corporate gym membership discounts, bowls of fruit around the office, monthly massage and investment in huge amounts of ergonomically supportive furniture to try to assist their colleagues in maintaining a good level of physical health, few seem to be getting to grips with their colleagues’ mental wellbeing, despite the reality that they are dealing with huge numbers of employees who struggle.

September 28, 2018

The horrors and harmonies of workplace hierarchy

by Monica Parker • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

I am a child of the seventies, and one of my favourite shows when I was just a tyke was The Jeffersons. For those not familiar with The Jeffersons, it was about a black family in New York City who had, through ambition and entrepreneurship, ‘made it to the top’. George Jefferson, the patriarch, was a bolshie character. Hijinks usually ensued. But what stuck with me about that show was the catchy theme song, Movin’ On Up. The lyrics were ‘I’m movin’ on up, to the upper east side, to a deluxe apartment in the sky… I finally got a piece of the pie.’ Growing up in suburbia, this was probably the first time that I learned the idea of a penthouse, and the notion that the higher up the building, the more important you were. It wasn’t until I was about age eight that I realised the word wasn’t ‘high-archy’, but ‘hierarchy.’

September 28, 2018

Change of mindset can transform workplace performance says Smart Summit

by Sara Bean • Events, Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Changing mindsets and the workplace through co-creative leadership was the theme of the latest Quora Smartworking Summit which took place this week at ExCeL London. Hosted by Quora’s Managing Director John Blackwell, the event featured a distinguished group of senior leaders who discussed under Chatham House rules, how they have helped change their organisation’s mindsets using leadership styles aimed at achieving successful work performance transformations.

September 4, 2018

Cash is key motivator for UK workers and it is leading to high levels of disengagement

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

UK workers are more motivated by cash than their European counter-parts, a new survey has claimed, with over half (62 percent) saying their pay check is the reason they come to work. According to the research from ADP, this compares to an average of 49 percent across other European countries. The study, which surveyed over 2,000 workers across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the UK, also shows that non-financial drivers lead to higher engagement levels and greater satisfaction on pay day. UK employees were also the least likely to claim they come to work because they love what they do, with only 13 percent of UK workers saying this is the case, compared to 26 percent in the Netherlands. Worryingly, UK workers are also the most likely to feel like quitting, with 19 percent thinking this every week or more, and 9 percent going as far to think about it most days. This is drastically higher than all other countries, averaging 11 percent and 6 percent respectively.

August 30, 2018

Flexible hours and opportunities for growth help reduce graduate job-hopping

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The latest generation of workplace recruits, the so-called Gen Z graduates, are more likely to stay in their first role if flexible working and mentoring is on offer, new research claims. According to graduate jobs board Milkround, while over half (55 percent) of new graduates’ plan to stay in their first role for less than two years, 76 percent can be encouraged to stay longer with training/mentorship and 63 percent with flexible hours. They are also ambitious and have high expectations, with 65 percent believing they will work in their dream industry. This impacts what is expected of employers and could hold the key to encouraging this new generation to stay in roles longer. This change in expectations begins before they start their new role – 68 percent of graduates are calling for more detailed job descriptions and 57 percent would like to have an open line of communication with their line manager from the moment they accept a job.

August 21, 2018

How do you make your company culture work for everyone?

by Jonathan Richards • Comment, Workplace

Company culture is the bedrock of any business. And it has been thrown into sharp focus in recent months with many high-profile scandals hitting the headlines such as the discrimination case at Uber. In light of this, many businesses are now investing in – even living and breathing – their company culture. This is of course, great news for employees. Shouting about how your company culture is like being part of a family and how everyone mucks in together may have swayed a new recruits’ decision during their interview. However, have you stopped to think how accessible your culture will be to new team members? Close-knit can often translate to the ‘in-crowd’ and office politics can get in the way of a pleasant working environment if the culture is too close.

August 17, 2018

Employees reveal truth about company culture

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Organisations must do more to engage with their people and meet their personal expectations if they want a positive work culture, highlights a new research white paper by leading HR and payroll supplier, MHR. ‘Company Culture: Don’t Just Throw Money at The Issue’ explores the real experience of UK employees and their true thoughts about their employers. The paper, based on findings from a survey of 1174 UK employees by YouGov on behalf of MHR, reveals that 49% of employees believe the portrayed public image of the company they work for matches the actual experience of working there. The research shows that employees are generally happy with the culture at their workplace, with 70% of people agreeing their company’s ethos is well communicated to staff, and 61% saying they would feel comfortable speaking to their manager if they felt the company wasn’t delivering on its aims.

August 9, 2018

How will Crossrail impact the office landscape of London and beyond?

by Lars Brown • Comment, Property

We are now just a few months away from the grand opening of the central section of Crossrail, the 118km long railway line spanning London and the South East which will, once completed, will deliver a direct connection between all of London’s main employment centres; linking Heathrow with Paddington, the West End, the City and Canary Wharf. This ambitious redevelopment plan will bring huge positive change to the City and is estimated to generate over 850,000 new jobs in the Capital, as well as making the lives of those already working in London easier and more efficient.

July 19, 2018

When it comes to change management, culture sometimes eats strategy for breakfast

by Gary Chandler • Features, Flexible working, Workplace design

21st Century organisations are under constant pressure to evolve. They are beset by a number of forces that demand they change constantly. These include the need to restructure the organisation, adapt to new technologies, respond to competitors and changes in the economy and legislative environment. Inevitably, this constant need to change affects both people and the built environment in very profound ways. However, according to a study of Culture and Change Management published by the Katzenbach Center, only around half of all transformation initiatives meet their objects over time. Among the biggest obstacles to successful change management cited by the study is change fatigue, which is characterised by a lack of empathy and a widespread failure to engage with the change process.

July 17, 2018

Businesses told to consider the interests of workers and other stakeholders in new code

by Neil Franklin • News

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published its new Corporate Governance Code in a bid to improve trust in UK business. The new Code will remain on the “comply or explain” basis mandatory for which it has been criticised in the past, but has been broadly welcomed by industry bodies. The code sets out a number of recommendations aimed at improving culture and trust in business, of which it suggests at least one be applied. They include having a director appointed from the workforce, a formal workforce advisory panel and a designated non-executive director. The Code will apply to accounting periods from January 2019 and is applicable to all companies with a premium listing.

July 11, 2018

A beauty industry veteran makes the case for corporate wellness

by Leena Jain • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Wellness is a term that today transcends the consumer and business worlds, but it is so much more than a buzzword. Today, the wellbeing of employees is essential for organisations to flourish, so much so that the term has in many ways replaced ‘productivity’ as the way to measure the success of an organisation. Both the beauty and workplace design sectors are very personal areas of high emotional involvement. There is a very real and physical contact with these products — in beauty, women are particularly (and increasingly men too) engaged in developing a customised routine because it gives them a sense of happiness, wellbeing and identity.

July 5, 2018

Why a Google office simply does not work for everybody ⁰

by Dr Caroline M. Burns • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

The open plan office versus closed debate rages on, and rather than running out of steam in the face of all of the evidence and reasoned argument put forward one one side or the other by many industry thought-leaders, it seems to have nine lives. Those grand and ground-breaking new offices occupied by the world’s tech giants seem to be particularly popular examples of why highly open and transparent workplaces do, or don’t work, especially those headline-grabbing offices created around the world by Google. This public debate has led to some very interesting and insightful discussions in various forums (to which I have contributed), inspiring me to synthesise the key themes into four reasons why a Google office is not necessarily the right type of office for your organisation. Many thanks in particular are due to David Rostie and Kay Sargent for their valuable online contributions to the debates which inspired this article.