Search Results for: workplace

January 30, 2016

Coworking goes mainstream + Sit stand working + Future for tech offices ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Insight newsletter; Mark Eltringham analyses the impact of the sit-stand movement and suggests that the I-phone is a very isolating piece of equipment; Georgi Georgiev says remote work is no longer just a freelancer’s game; and Paul Goodchild explains why co-working is shaping office design more than you’d imagine. A new report outlines the key future property trends for TMT workplaces; parents are at greater risk of burn out as they strive for work life balance; fewer than one in ten (8 percent) of UK organisations currently have a standalone wellbeing strategy; the positive benefits of active work are revealed and the UK’s CEO’s worries about cyber-risks. Download the latest issue of Work&Place and access an Insight Briefing produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

January 29, 2016

Delivering the low-down on the sit-stand workstation phenomenon ⁰

by Ashley Hayward • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design

While the UK, US, Australia and other nations continue to treat them as something of a novelty, across Sweden, Norway and Finland, over 80 per cent of office workers use sit-stand desks. Offering employees a height adjustable work station is now mandatory in Denmark. However, sit-stand working is still in its infancy in the UK, with only 2 per cent of similar workers having access to variable-height workstations. Given the huge amount of news coverage devoted to the subject of sedentary lifestyles in the last couple of years, ‘sit-stand’ and ‘active working’ have become buzz terms in UK workplace design. The ‘On Your Feet Britain’* campaign has raised awareness of the health perils risked by the many Brits who spend an average of 8.5 hours a day sitting, whether at their desk or slumped in front of the telly. Inevitably, savvy employers will be asking themselves if they can afford to ignore the problem.

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January 29, 2016

Rise in skills shortage vacancies as training in UK firms falls short ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

New figures, published by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), show that despite a surge in job openings, the number of positions left vacant because employers cannot find people with the skills or knowledge to fill them has risen by 130 percent since 2011. These so-called “skills shortage vacancies” now make up nearly a quarter of all job openings, leaping from 91,000 in 2011 to 209,000 in 2015. Over a third of vacancies in electricity, gas and water and construction are now subject to some form of skills shortage, with transport and manufacturing not far behind. Only in public administration are skills shortages below 10 percent. And of particular concern, said the Chartered Management Institute was the revelation that almost half (48 percent) of UK managers have not received any form of training at all during the last 12 months, down from 50 percent in 2013.

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January 28, 2016

Shortage of available office space for major occupiers in many US cities ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

The diminishing availability of office space across the US is creating challenges for major occupiers, according to a new report from CBRE. An improving economy and subsequent increase in office demand along with the slow commencement of new construction has led to a shortage of large blocks of available office space in some major cities, including Philadelphia, San Francisco and Manhattan. While construction activity began to increase recently, with many constrained central office markets having new projects under construction, heavy pre-leasing activity means that the increased supply is often not enough to meet demand from large space users. Among downtown markets in the third quarter of 2015, the fewest total available large blocks (defined as 100,000 square feet or more of contiguous space) in existing and under-construction buildings were in Philadelphia (six), San Francisco (seven) and South Manhattan (ten).

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January 28, 2016

UK’s CEOs rate cyber security as greatest challenge for their company ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology

Almost three-quarters (74 percent) of chief executive officers in the UK rate cyber security as the third biggest risk to their company; over regulation and geopolitical uncertainty. Yet commenting on the firm’s 19th Annual Global CEO Survey, released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, PwC cyber security partner Richard Horne has warned that UK companies and institutions remain vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and more needed to be done by boards to protect company data and systems. He said there appeared to be a disconnect between concerns at the top of business and the speed and consistency with which these security measures can be implemented within organisations. This vulnerability to attacks becomes more stark with the speed of technological change and the way organisations’ new digital initiatives present greater potential for attackers, arming them with both new tools and a wider range of targets.

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January 26, 2016

Could a sexy office help you seduce clients back to your place? ⁰

by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

I am not suggesting that a cool or sexy office is all you need to drive business outcomes. Nor am I going to suggest that all you need to do to grow a successful business is to invest in a fully loaded, bells and whistles, technology laden, productivity enabling office environment. Not that all of those things won’t help, they very well could be the things that prove to be difference makers. What I will suggest however, is that in most instances a business’s success relies almost exclusively upon the satisfaction of their customer base. Any deliberations associated with office space should, therefore, in some way consider their needs and desires. No doubt these considerations will be highly dependent on the type of business you are in and whether the model it embraces is business-to-business or business-to-consumer, but when contemplating the needs of your clients, you should at least ask yourself the following 4 simple questions.

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January 26, 2016

Unethical employment practices drive ‘Gen S’ professionals away ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace

Over half of ‘Gen S’ workers would refuse to work for employers who have a record of using slave labour, generating high levels of pollution, employing unsafe working conditions, poor environmental performance, questionable investments and unethical practices. According to the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment’s (IEMA) annual Practitioner Survey these people see environmental roles as the career change of choice, with 42 percent of professionals who now work in these roles considering themselves “career changers”. Those entering the profession come from a variety of backgrounds including finance, operations, marketing and communications and R&D. Gen S workers are typically people in their mid-thirties, above average in their qualifications with 45 percent having a Master’s degree or doctorate, looking for more than just a career and earning money, but actively seeking a career which is primarily “ethical” in nature.

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January 26, 2016

2015 was a record year for commercial property investment ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

At £64.3bn, investment in UK commercial property reached a new annual record last year, 4 percent above 2014, according to new research published by Lambert Smith Hampton. This performance was bolstered by a strong end to the year, with investment between October and December reaching £15.7bn, 23 percent higher than in the previous quarter. Investment in London reached £26.9bn, 4 percent higher than in the previous year. According to the report asset management will be vitally important in 2016, as rental income will be the main driver of performance, and as such, pro-active asset management initiatives, such as investment in office refurbishments in areas with few vacancies, are likely to offer the best prospects for investors. Explained Ezra Nahome, CEO of Lambert Smith Hampton: “This means that knowing your market, almost at a building-by-building level, and understanding the dynamics of each locality, will be more important than ever.”

January 26, 2016

The road to Bali and other destinations for the world’s remote workers ⁰

by Georgi Georgiev • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Technology

The number of people who work from home or travel as freelancers has grown rapidly in the last 25 years. In 1990, as a percentage of the US population only 5 percent fit this classification, today it is closer to 30 percent. From photojournalists to graphic designers, to computer programmers – an increasing number of people are leaving the traditional office behind. The underlying reason is not difficult to establish. People are taking advantage of the opportunities offered them by technology. It’s no coincidence that the number of people working remotely has risen in parallel with the growth of home computing and internet connections, and more recently mobile technology. While the majority of those that traditionally followed this path became self employed, today companies are beginning to hire people to key positions without actually needing them to work from the office. Remote work is no longer just a freelancer’s game.

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January 25, 2016

Families struggle for work life balance despite changing gender roles ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report published today by the charity Working Families and nursery provider Bright Horizons suggests that parents are at greater risk of burn out as they strive for work life balance, with fathers at increasing risk as a result of their changing roles and expectations. The Modern Families Index is an annual study that explores how working families manage their work-life balance. This year’s report claims that nearly half (42 percent) of Generation Y fathers (born after 1980) feel burnt out most or all of the time, compared to just 22 percent of Gen Xers aged 36 to 45 and 17 percent of baby boomers aged over 45. The report claims that a growing number of fathers are now facing the same challenges and life choices most commonly ascribed to mothers. The study found that in half (49 percent) of the 1,000 couples surveyed, both parents were working full time. The figure rose to 78 percent for those in their twenties or thirties.

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January 25, 2016

Active building design may have positive health benefits, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A study published this month in the journal Occupational Medicine suggests that buildings designed to promote active workstyles have a positive effect on the health of occupants. The research, led by Dr Lina Engelen of the University of Sydney, set out to explore whether an ‘active design’ office increased the physical activity, productivity and mindset of occupants. Although a small scale study with just 34 employees working in four locations at the University, the results suggested that people responded to the active design of the spaces by spending less time sitting and more standing and consequently reported lower levels of back pain. However, there was no improvement in productivity or physical activity. The research was based on 60 percent of people working in open plan areas, compared to just 16 percent before. Other studies have shown that sedentary work is linked to a wide range of ailments including heart disease.

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January 25, 2016

Fourth industrial revolution + UK’s best employers + Big data and design ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Insight newsletter; Mark Eltringham says work is still good for us; but five million jobs could disappear worldwide over the next four years in the fourth industrial revolution; and 40 percent of young workers believe their current job could be replaced by automated systems. More than half of US firms still allow smoking in the workplace; over a third of UK employers have introduced flexible working to reduce absenteeism and British firms lead the top UK employers list. Digitisation still has a largely positive effect on our working lives; and a huge surge in the availability of Big Data infrastructure in EMEA countries predicted over the next four years. And regional office take-up reaches 20 percent above the five year average. Download the latest issue of Work&Place and access an Insight Briefing produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.