Search Results for: workplace

UK productivity continues to drag despite variations across sectors

UK productivity continues to drag despite variations across sectors

The UK has seen a significant dip in productivity growth since the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-8, according to a new report from PwC UKThe UK has seen a significant dip in productivity growth since the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-8, according to a new report from PwC UK. However, this new analysis also highlights sectoral differences in productivity growth, with some sectors performing better than others in recent years. The slowdown in manufacturing productivity is also shown to have played a significant role in the fall in economy-wide productivity, but there is positive sentiment amongst manufacturers, with almost 1 in 5 expecting to see gains of 10-25 percent in the coming year. According to PwC UK’s new UK Productivity Tracker, a lack of sustained investment expenditure may be behind the UK’s weak performance. (more…)

American employees spend 200 hours a year watching adult sites on their work computer

American employees spend 200 hours a year watching adult sites on their work computer

American employees are wasting hundreds of contracted work hours a year using their work equipment for personal tasks and activities, according to a new survey from ExpressVPN. The survey, conducted by the consumer privacy and security company, found that some people are spending only 33 percent of annual contracted hours on work tasks. With a steep rise in hybrid and home working in recent years, many companies have provided employees with work devices to use in the comfort of their own homes, including work laptops, desktops, phones, and microphones. (more…)

Half of people in the UK say they  feel ‘overworked’

Half of people in the UK say they feel ‘overworked’

More than half (53 percent) of employees in the UK ay they feel overworkedMore than half (53 percent) of employees in the UK ay they feel overworked, citing factors like reaching their maximum capacity, being spread too thin, or stressing over the threat of additional work – according to a poll from Censuswide, commissioned by Visier. The survey of around 1,000 people claims that young professionals aged 25-34 say they feel most overworked, followed closely by those aged 55+. Four in ten (40 percent) employees polled would look for a new job with a better work-life balance if they felt overworked.   (more…)

Workspace Design Show goes from strength to strength this year with visitor numbers up by 76 percent

Workspace Design Show goes from strength to strength this year with visitor numbers up by 76 percent

The Workspace Design Show returned to the Business Design Centre from 27- 28 February 2023, with exhibitors and visitors alike hailing it as a must-attend addition to the trade show calendarThe Workspace Design Show returned to the Business Design Centre from 27- 28 February 2023, with exhibitors and visitors alike hailing it as a must-attend addition to the trade show calendar and a place where the workplace community can come together to be inspired and network. The overarching theme for this year’s show was Destination Workplace: Places Where People Want To Be, exploring how to create environments where employees have a desirable experience at their workplaces. (more…)

Robots will improve your wellbeing – as long as they look cute

Robots will improve your wellbeing – as long as they look cute

Robots can be useful as mental wellbeing coaches in the workplace – but perception of their effectiveness depends in large part on what the robot looks likeRobots can be useful as mental wellbeing coaches in the workplace – but perception of their effectiveness depends in large part on what the robot looks like. That is according to researchers from the University of Cambridge who conducted a study of a tech consultancy firm using two robot wellbeing coaches. In the study, 26 employees participated in weekly robot-led wellbeing sessions for four weeks. Although the robots had identical voices, facial expressions, and scripts for the sessions, the physical appearance of the robot affected how participants interacted with it. (more…)

Lighting is just as important for those working from home as it is in the office

Lighting is just as important for those working from home as it is in the office

Working from home now constitutes a part of many office workers' lives so the latest revision to The Society of Light and Lighting Guide  now includes guidance for those creating an office in their homeWorking from home now constitutes a part of many office workers’ lives so the latest revision to The Society of Light and Lighting Guide  now includes guidance for those creating an office in their home through the conversion of a bedroom or other room. This revision to The Society of Light and Lighting’s Lighting Guide 7: Lighting for Offices [paywall] is the most significant in a long time. Not because of the amount of information that has changed or been introduced, but because home working now constitutes a part of many office workers’ lives. Such a dramatic change for many could not have been foreseen when the previous edition of LG7 was published. (more…)

Most hybrid workers worldwide don’t think they’ll return to old ways of work

Most hybrid workers worldwide don’t think they’ll return to old ways of work

A poll of 3,000 office workers by Insights Learning & Development claims that 70 percent of hybrid workers in the UK want to maintain the arrangement permanently.A poll of 3,000 office workers by Insights Learning & Development claims that 70 percent of hybrid workers in the UK want to maintain the arrangement permanently. According to the report, UK employees are generally happy with their hybrid working arrangements – more so than employees in the US, Canada and France. Overall workers in the Netherlands are most satisfied with their hybrid working arrangements. (more…)

“Flexible working has been introduced very inflexibly”: IN conversation with Jeremy Myerson

“Flexible working has been introduced very inflexibly”: IN conversation with Jeremy Myerson

Jeremy Myerson in conversation about his new book, an inflexible form of flexible working and a great relearningOne of the latest people to invent activity-based working is a sociologist, who combined it with the similarly familiar hub and spoke office model on her substack as a solution to the Great Office Problem and as a way of implementing flexible working. She’s not the first and is a less surprising pioneer of a decades old model than some other people who should really know better. That includes an architectural practice who came up with the idea earlier this year and whose name escapes me. (more…)

Only one in eight office occupiers think their property aligns with their business objectives

Only one in eight office occupiers think their property aligns with their business objectives

Only around 14 percent of office occupiers believe their existing workspace portfolios align completely with their business objectives,Only around 14 percent of office occupiers believe their existing workspace portfolios align completely with their business objectives, according to a new report on the future of the office by the Urban Land Institute and The Instant Group. The ‘state of flux’ identified in the report suggests that while the office is ‘here to stay’, the sector is bracing itself for a profound shift.  Two thirds (62 percent) of office landlords expect a decrease in capital values with the current valuation model and less than 2 percent of asset owners feel they have the required capex to respond to occupier and ESG legislation-related requirements. (more…)

Office market continues to fail on environmental standards …. say landlords

Office market continues to fail on environmental standards …. say landlords

A new survey that explores the state of sustainability within the UK office market, jointly commissioned by infinitSpace and The Instant Group, claims that the office market is falling behind on environmental policiesA new survey that explores the state of sustainability within the UK office market, jointly commissioned by infinitSpace and The Instant Group, claims that the office market is falling behind on environmental policies. The poll of 250 landlords suggests that almost half (47 percent) of landlords believe the office market is lagging behind other areas of the property sector in implementing/adopting environmental policies.  The same number say they can’t ‘go it alone’ with 47 percent of landlords agreeing they need help in shaping environmental policies. At the same time, 84 percent of landlords report a vacancy rate of 30 percent and above as average among their office building portfolio. (more…)

Hybrid workers exercise more, sleep longer and eat better

Hybrid workers exercise more, sleep longer and eat better

A new study claims that hybrid working is leading to a healthier workforce, with more time being dedicated to exercise, sleep and healthy eating. Research among more than 2,000 hybrid workers by IWG suggests that the time saved by reduced commuting has led to multiple health and wellbeing benefits including weight loss, better cooking habits, improved mental health and a longer night’s sleep. (more…)

Employers over-estimate the wellbeing benefits of hybrid working

Employers over-estimate the wellbeing benefits of hybrid working

Employers and employees have a differing opinion about the health and wellbeing impact of hybrid workingEmployers and employees have a differing opinion about the health and wellbeing impact of hybrid working, according to a new poll from GRiD. Two thirds of employers (64 percent) believe that hybrid working has had a positive impact on their employees’ health and wellbeing, but only 53 percent of employees agree. Where they do concur is on the number of people for whom hybrid working can have a negative impact, with 6 percent of employers, and 7 percent of employees, acknowledging that it is not a positive experience for everyone. (more…)