Search Results for: workplace

August 20, 2016

Links between people and place + Lessons from Yahoo + Intelligent lighting ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Technology, Workplace

In this week’s Newsletter; Steve Maslin argues the idea that people matter to workplace designers is all too often surface deep; Andy Gallacher describes the benefits of intelligent lighting; Alexander Gifford reveals the majority of people still prefer to work at a desk; and Charles Marks says the way we interact with technology is changing the way we think. In news, the UK’s commercial property sector has fallen since the Brexit vote: researchers find a link between flexible working patterns and susceptibility to infection; and a survey suggests that even demanding job applicants place flexible working low on their priorities. From Work&Place Chris Kane’s views on bridging the gap between people and place; and Andrea Hak looks at the lessons of Yahoo. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on 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.

August 19, 2016

The staggeringly cynical medicalisation of the air that we breathe ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing

As regular readers are no doubt aware, normally we don’t comment on the reports and surveys we publish, instead leaving people to form their own opinions. However, the study we’ve published today from the Building Engineering Services Association can’t pass without comment. You are still free to make your own mind up, but personally, I think it is perhaps the most dangerously self-serving report we’ve seen in some time. The conclusion from the report that ‘healthy indoor air’ (I’ve added the quotation marks), provided by mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning systems is somehow superior to fresh air (I’ve removed the quotation marks from the original report), is staggeringly cynical. We’ve all grown used to the medicalisation of day to day life in these reports, but this is too much. The fact is, the healthiest thing you’ll do today is to get up from your desk, get away from the air con, get away from the traffic, stick two fingers up to BESA, go for a long walk in the fresh air and breathe deep.

August 19, 2016

Over a third of office workers complain about poor air quality ¹

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Almost 70 percent of office workers believe poor air quality in their place of work is having a negative effect on their day-to-day productivity and wellbeing, claims a survey commissioned by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA); and a third of workers are concerned that poor air quality could be having a negative effect on their health. Opening windows is the most commonly used form of ventilation with 60 percent of workers saying it is the first thing they do if they need fresh air. However, although this is seen as a natural response, opening windows runs the risk of further polluting the working environment by letting in outdoor toxins, the survey claims. Given that we spend 90 percent of our time indoors and on average, 212 days a year at work, BESA has called on firms, managers and employees to ensure proper, effective, well maintained ventilation systems are operating in all offices across the UK.

(more…)

August 18, 2016

Uncompromising job candidates’ demands don’t include flexible work ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Job candidates are becoming more demanding claims a new survey, with three quarters (79.2 percent) of UK workers polled not willing to compromise on certain areas when looking for a new role. Unsurprisingly, 18.2 percent say that a low advertised salary would put them off a role entirely, but other less tangible issues would also dissuade them from pursuing an application. This includes unclear job descriptions (20 percent) and a long recruitment process (10.2 percent); while 7.8 percent revealed that poor communication throughout the recruitment process would drive them away from a company. The research, which was conducted by CV-Library, surveyed 1,000 UK workers and found that candidates are growing increasingly impatient with their job hunt. Other key deterrents cited were poor traits about the businesses themselves, including a bad reputation (9.5 percent), a high staff turnover (7.1 percent) and poor management (6.1 percent).

(more…)

August 18, 2016

Economic slowdown curbs demand for office space in Dubai ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

There has been a reduction in demand for office space in Dubai over the past six months, as the ripple effect of the oil price collapse and the subsequent economic slowdown in the rest of the Gulf reverberates across the emirate’s commercial property market. As firms retrench staff and reconsider their future strategy in the wake of global economic challenges, decisions to acquire, expand or move office space have commonly been put on hold according to Cluttons’ latest Dubai Office Market Bulletin. This has resulted in an exaggeration of the seasonal summer slowdown throughout late Q2 and early Q3 2016. Cluttons’ research also highlights that, the general lack of rental growth is unlikely to change in the short-term. Across the market as a whole, rents are not expected to fall much further, particularly as they are at a point where they are considered to be fair market value and landlords appear unwilling to lease below a certain level.

(more…)

August 16, 2016

A well executed wellness strategy benefits staff and employers ⁰

by Beate O'Neil • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employee health and wellbeing is moving up the agenda of many companies. A recent report from the Reward and Employee Benefits Association (Reba) and Punter Southall Health & Protection found that a third of companies have a wellness strategy in place, with 80 per cent having introduced one in the last three years. Of the 70 per cent that don’t yet have a strategy, a third plan to implement one this year, a third plan to implement a plan in the next few years and the final third have it firmly on their wish list. This is driven by the fact that the UK is experiencing a major demographic change – in 2014 the average age of the population exceeded 40 for the first time. With the percentage of the total population over 60 predicted in a report from AgeUK to rise from 24.2 percent at present to over 29 percent in 2035, employers are beginning to wake up to the fact that wellness is good for staff and good for business.

(more…)

August 16, 2016

Flexible working patterns may make us more susceptible to infection ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Wellbeing

We are more susceptible to infection at certain times of the day as our body clock affects the ability of viruses to replicate and spread between cells, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may help to explain why people who work outside normal working hours are more prone to health problems, including infections and chronic disease. The time of day of infection can have a major influence on how susceptible we are to the disease, or at least on the viral replication, meaning that infection at the wrong time of day could cause a much more severe acute infection. According to the study, when a virus enters our body, it hijacks the machinery and resources in our cells to help it replicate and spread throughout the body. But, the resources our body has to fight infection fluctuate throughout the day, partly in response to our circadian rhythms – in effect, our body clock.

(more…)

August 16, 2016

How to save a sinking ship: lessons from Marissa Mayer’s experience at Yahoo ⁰

by Andrea Hak • Case studies, Features, Flexible working, Technology, Work&Place

When former Google employee Marissa Mayer joined Yahoo as its CEO in 2012, she inherited the company’s vast problems. Though it was once seen as one of the first tech behemoths, Yahoo’s inability to come up with ground breaking products like Google and others, put it in a slow, steady decline. Mayer was immediately tasked with trying to reinvigorate the stagnating company. Her focus was to find a way to identify and retain talent, while phasing out ineffective employees. However, Yahoo’s new management policies have brought about much debate and criticism from HR experts. A controversial book by journalist Nicholas Carlson titled “Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!” paints a highly critical view of Mayer’s first years as CEO. In response others have defended her, arguing that she has done the best she can with the resources available, but has become a scapegoat for poor management, like so many other women in powerful positions.

(more…)

August 16, 2016

Women struggling to reach senior executive roles in top US firms ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Workplace

Progress for women in reaching the executive ranks within the UK’s FTSE 100 is too slow and the picture is less than inspiring on the other side of the Atlantic. A new analysis by Korn Ferry of the top 1,000 US companies by revenue finds the percentage of women in most executive positions is dramatically lower than their male counterparts. Across the most prominent executive job titles and several industries (consumer, energy, financial, life sciences, industrial, technology) an average of less than one quarter (24 percent) of the top leaders are women. The most senior post is held by the smallest percentage of women, with only 5 percent serving as CEO; 12 percent of CFO’s (Chief Financial Officer) are women; and 19 percent of women holding the CIO (Chief Information Officer) role across all industries. The CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) role is the only one where there is gender parity, with 55 percent of CHROs across industries being women.

(more…)

August 15, 2016

Brexit leads to ‘softening’ of employment market, claims CIPD survey ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Public Sector, Workplace

The UK’s decision to leave the EU has resulted in a softening in hiring intentions and businesses should invest in skills immediately, according to the latest CIPD/Adecco Group UK & Ireland Labour Market Outlook. The report is based on employer sentiment in the two weeks before and after the EU Referendum and claims that employers surveyed ahead of the vote were somewhat more optimistic about hiring intentions than those surveyed afterwards. It suggests that the proportion of employers expecting to increase staffing levels over the next three months dropped from 40 percent pre-Brexit to 36 percent following the vote. The net employment balance, based on the difference between the share of employers expanding their workforce and those reducing it, dropped from +21 pre-Brexit to +17 post-Brexit. However, the fall was significantly sharper among private sector employers, with the post-Brexit employment balance declining to +25 from +39.

(more…)

August 15, 2016

UK commercial property prices fall during first full month after Brexit ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, News, Property

The first full month of market activity in the UK’s commercial property sector since the Brexit vote, saw its value fall by just under three percent, according to the latest data from real estate researchers MSCI in their monthly IPD real estate index. The value of the nationwide market fell by 2.8 percent over the month. Central London was particularly badly hit with values falling by 4.1 percent. The monthly report is sponsored by a number of the major players in the commercial property sector and is based on an analysis of every building in the MSCI database including currently occupied buildings and those in development and being refurbished. A report published earlier this month by Investment Property Forum found that while the overall value of the UK’s commercial property had hit record levels, the uncertainty surrounding the consequences of Brexit was of major concern for investors and occupiers.

August 15, 2016

The traditional office is still very much alive, but it is changing ⁰

by Alex Gifford • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A skim through workplace features in the media and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the traditional office is no longer with us. According to the narrative, we’re all now 20-somethings, working in open-plan warehouses, with table football, bean bags and comfy sofas to lounge on, while drinking our custom-made soya lattes. When in actual fact, while more relaxed, fun and funky offices tend to make the headlines, the majority of people still work in a relatively traditional way, with their PC or laptop, a desk and an ergonomic task chair. What’s more, with an ageing workforce, we certainly aren’t all 20-somethings, with DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) figures revealing that the employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 has risen by 14 per cent in the last 30 years, and doubled for over 65s. So designing with just the youngsters in mind simply doesn’t add up. Recent research by the Senator Group, backs up this view.