Search Results for: workplace

Digital inclusion empowers women but does not lead to better jobs

Digital inclusion empowers women but does not lead to better jobs

by • News, Technology, Workplace

A woman in a pair of smart glassesAll European regulatory frameworks cite technology as a key factor in promoting competitiveness and innovation, and right alongside it is its greatest tool, the population’s digital inclusion. Digital inclusion makes it possible to develop human capital able to adapt to labour market challenges and contributes to ensuring equal opportunities in terms of accessing online resources related to work, education and social participation. Is this inclusion, however, sufficient in itself to ensure improved economic status and equality? According to the results of a study produced by Lídia Arroyo, a researcher at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya IN3 GenTIC research group, the answer is no. (more…)

A twenty minute connection with natural surroundings reduces stress

A twenty minute connection with natural surroundings reduces stress

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Nature and the workplaceA twenty to thirty minute stroll in a park is one of the best ways to reduce stress levels for people in cities and as a way of dealing with workplace related anxiety, claims a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan. The study Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life published today in the Journal Frontiers in Psychology suggests that any half hour connection with surroundings that make people feel connected to the natural world can reduce the key stress hormone by around 10 percent and so improve a person’s sense of wellbeing. Longer period of time increase the beneficial effects but at lower levels.  (more…)

Seven in ten Brits claim online world affects their mental health

Seven in ten Brits claim online world affects their mental health

by • News

A new, nationwide study released today, has revealed over a quarter (28 percent) of Britons feel their phone or social media addiction is actively stopping them living life to the full, with as many as 83 percent saying they are desperate to spend more time in the real world, according to the report commissioned by the photographic tech company Popsa. (more…)

People, not cost now most important factor behind corporate real estate decisions

People, not cost now most important factor behind corporate real estate decisions

by • Facilities management, News, Property

One Creechurch PlaceThe corporate appetite for flexible space continues to grow as around two-thirds of occupiers rank employee engagement (68 percent) and talent attraction & development (65 percent) as two of the three most important drivers of corporate real estate (CRE) strategy. According to the 2019 EMEA Occupier Survey by CBRE over a third of companies see labour and skills shortages as a key strategic challenge, double last year’s result. In line with last year’s survey, technology disruption (36 percent) economic uncertainty (43 percent) and cost escalation (31 percent) all feature highly as key challenges for occupiers.

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London, Paris and Stockholm lead ranks of European coworking hotspots

London, Paris and Stockholm lead ranks of European coworking hotspots

by • Coworking, News, Property

Epicenter Coworking Space in StockholmLondon, Paris and Stockholm are among the major cities featured in a new research report from Cushman & Wakefield (registration) into the coworking and flexible office sectors, which pinpoints future demand and the next likely growth hotspots across Europe. According to the report, coworking’s rapid expansion in recent years has quickly disrupted global office markets. The report charts the current state of the sector, the emergence of flexible working space across continental Europe and where future growth will occur. (more…)

Government needs to sort Brexit deadlock as construction sector falls

Government needs to sort Brexit deadlock as construction sector falls

by • News, Property

constructionThe Government and Parliament must break the Brexit deadlock and find a way forward warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), in response to the latest Construction PMI data, which shows another drop in construction output. The March 2019 PMI data revealed an Index score of 49.7, up slightly from 49.5 in February, against the no change threshold of 50.0. This points to a sustained decline in construction output, representing the first back-to-back fall in construction output since 2016. While the residential building sector enjoyed an upturn, commercial construction was the worst performing area.

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Procurement fraud rampant in UK businesses

Procurement fraud rampant in UK businesses

by • News, Technology

smartphone with procurement appProcurement fraud is widespread in the UK and the country lags behind many countries in its detection capabilities, new research from SAS claims. British companies, on average, lose significantly more money to procurement fraud, and the country is far more reliant on ineffective manual detection techniques than other nations.Procurement fraud occurs when employees and suppliers behave fraudulently during the contract bidding process or over the course of the contract. This can range from employees colluding with their preferred vendor to give unfair advantage during procurement, to suppliers submitting multiple invoices for a single item. While procurement fraud is a serious crime that carries a jail sentence in many countries, perpetrators are often willing to take the risk for personal revenge or financial gain. (more…)

A quarter of a century ago, the newborn Internet set office design on a different path

A quarter of a century ago, the newborn Internet set office design on a different path

by • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design

Vitra Ad Hoc systemBecause we are now so immersed in technology, we can sometimes forget just how young the Internet is. It was only in 1995 that the final barriers to its full commercial development were removed. In 1994, the number of people using it worldwide was estimated at around 20 million, there were under 15,000 company websites and the UK had one ‘cybercafe’. Even so, there was something in the air. A sense that everything was about to change – and change spectacularly.

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The flat white economy is now the most important sector in the UK

The flat white economy is now the most important sector in the UK

by • News

flat white economy

According to a new study from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) think tank, the so-called ‘flat white sector’ is now the most important driver of the UK economy. Consisting of the digital and creative businesses that cluster around areas like Silicon Roundabout in north-east London, the term has been coined by Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman at the CEBR to reflect the way startups can apparently save on property costs by working out of coffee shops. McWilliams claims that the flat white economy contributed 14.4 per cent of gross value added (GVA) to the UK in 2018, making it more important than traditional sectors such as manufacturing, mining and utilities on that measure. (more…)

Mind launches toolkit to promote better wellbeing in the built environment

Mind launches toolkit to promote better wellbeing in the built environment

by • News, Wellbeing

A new toolkit is online at the Mental Health at Work website. This UK-wide initiative allows all types of employers and employees to access free tools, advice and information – all in one place. The construction toolkit includes resources from a range of expert organisations. The resources include tips on how to start the conversation on mental health, mental health first aid training and five steps to building a positive and supportive culture in construction. Mind invited colleagues from Building Mental Health to put together this toolkit of resources. (more…)

Channel 4 chooses Bristol’s Finzels Reach for its new Creative Hub

Channel 4 chooses Bristol’s Finzels Reach for its new Creative Hub

by • News

Channel 4 Bristol new creative hubChannel 4 is in advanced negotiations with developer Cubex to locate its new Creative Hub at Finzels Reach, Bristol’s new waterfront quarter. Channel 4 will lease 3,200 sq ft of space on the second floor of the Fermentation Buildings at Finzels Reach. Channel 4 announced in October 2018 that it had confirmed that Leeds would be the new National HQ alongside Glasgow and Bristol as its Creative Hubs.

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Against metrics: how measuring performance by numbers backfires

Against metrics: how measuring performance by numbers backfires

by • Features, Workplace

A still from Jacques Tati's film playtime as the protagonist looks out over cubicles in an officeMore and more companies, government agencies, educational institutions and philanthropic organisations are today in the grip of a new phenomenon. I’ve termed it ‘metric fixation’. The key components of metric fixation are the belief that it is possible – and desirable – to replace professional judgment (acquired through personal experience and talent) with numerical indicators of comparative performance based upon standardised data (metrics); and that the best way to motivate people within these organisations is by attaching rewards and penalties to their measured performance. (more…)

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