Search Results for: workplace

Happiness and wellbeing must be at the heart of the economy finds new report

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Happiness and wellbeingTo mark International Day of Happiness, a major new report has revealed that a country’s GDP fails to reflect levels of people’s happiness, which, it says, “are not easily reducible to monetary values”. Wellbeing and policy was commissioned by the Legatum Institute, which established the Commission on Wellbeing and Policy to advance the policy debate on social wellbeing and is chaired by the former head of the civil service Lord Gus O’Donnell. It finds there is growing recognition that the measures of a country’s progress need to include the wellbeing of its citizens. The report adds that with job satisfaction on a long-term downward trend in most advanced countries, and people ranking time spent with their manager as among their least happy moments in the day, there’s a lot more employers can be doing to address levels of wellbeing and happiness at work.

(more…)

Internet of Things will connect ten billion devices over next five years

by • Cities, Facilities management, News, Technology

Internet_of_ThingsA new study from technology market research firm Gartner predicts a near tenfold increase over the next five years in the number of devices connected through the Internet of Things. The study, Smart Cities Will Include 10 Billion Things by 2020 — Start Now to Plan, Engage and Position Offerings, claims that there are currently just over a billion connected devices worldwide but that by 202, the number will rise to 9.7 billion. The key driver for the uptake of these devices will be the new generation of  smart cities which rely on sensors embedded in infrastructure to allow authorities to monitor activities such as traffic levels, availability of car parking, the use of energy in street lighting and so on. The idea is that the sensors deliver real time data to allow planners and administrators to make better decisions about resources and infrastructure.

Office workers report difficulties with remote communications technology

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Office workers report difficulties with remote communications technologyJust as the adoption of digital communications technology is making the one-person per desk workstation model look outmoded, the design and layout of the typical conference room is no longer suitable for remote communications. That is one of the findings of a new survey by Steelcase which found that despite, or rather because of advances in technology, office workers are having difficulties when trying to communicate with work colleagues based elsewhere. The problem, which Steelcase has coined presence disparity can lead to an overall collaboration experience which is best described as unpleasant and taxing, with participants feeling strained physically, cognitively and emotionally. This isn’t helped by the fact that conference rooms, the most used spaces for videoconferencing, usually feature long rectangular tables designed for face to face meetings, not those to camera.

(more…)

Increasing adoption of serviced offices within the corporate sector

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News

Serviced office for Square Enix by Instant officeServiced offices have been viewed as the preserve of start-up businesses, rather than as a solution to the workspace needs of companies. However, with the growth in popularity of cluster and co-working spaces, that is changing. New research, admittedly by a global broker of serviced office space, Instant Offices, indicates the increasing acceptance of serviced office solutions within the corporate sector, ranging from SMEs through to FTSE 100 / Fortune 500 companies. Alongside that, the cost of desk space in serviced offices has grown by double figures across the UK in the past year, rising by 3.6 percent, in addition to an 11.4 percent increase in desk rates. Growth in the number of such spaces across Central London was as high as 17 percent in Southbank and 11 percent in the West End during 2014.

(more…)

What the colonisation of new domains tells us about how we work

by • Architecture, Cities, Comment, Flexible working

40-Leadenhall-StreetHeadlines about the world’s accelerating taste for skyscrapers tend to be dominated by the big numbers. This is a world in which size is important, but get behind the focus on height and you find some very interesting data about the rapid and significant changes in what these tall buildings are actually for and how this chimes with broader changes in the way we create and use workplace and shared spaces. According to the most recent annual report on the world’s skyscrapers from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, last year was a record breaker with 97 new skyscrapers completed globally. The devil here is in the detail. While the world’s tallest new building was One World Trade centre in New York, the overwhelming majority of new skyscrapers are to be found in Asia generally and China in particular.

(more…)

Budget to focus on flexible working, broadband and regional economy

by • Cities, Flexible working, News, Technology

flexible workingAccording to reports in today’s Times, two of the key commitments in this week’s budget announcement will be a commitment to the development of the UK’s technological infrastructure as well as more details on plans for the UK’s regional economies. What is telling about both is they signal an overdue recognition that the vast majority of the UK’s inhabitants don’t live in London and even those that do find it increasingly unaffordable and unattractive. Accordingly, the first communities to be targeted for superfast and ultrafast broadband will be those in the remotest parts of the country, which until now have been those most at risk of being in the slow lane of technological developments. The Times reports that until now about 1.5 million homes were due to miss out on a pledge to give 95 per cent of people access to fast internet by 2017.

(more…)

How facilities management brings organisational values to life. Or not

by • Comment, Environment, Facilities management, Workplace

A story about facilities managementWe have used stories to pass on information for thousands of years and they remain the most powerful way we know to communicate. Indeed, the power of story is magnified in today’s super-connected, transparent world – the truth gets out fast and can be widely communicated – to millions of people all over the world – in such a short space of time. Here is a story which illustrates how employees’ “felt experience” every day strongly shapes their perception of an organisation and how the impact compares to official “corporate messaging”. This, in turn, highlights the critical (often under appreciated) role played by facilities management in reinforcing organisation brand and values. What are the implications for the role of FM and the wider HR agenda?

(more…)

New guidance helps businesses engage staff in a sustainability strategy

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace

Green bizWhile any far-seeing organisation might develop environmental and corporate social responsibility initiatives, it is important to ensure employees are fully informed and committed to their employers’ aims. The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) argues that while the leadership may set expectations, it is employees and managers who make it happen. To aid this process, a new toolkit, the  GEMI Quick Guide for Engaging Employees in Sustainability: has been designed to advise corporations on how to successfully engage and motivate employees to participate in their sustainability strategies. The guide explores potential ways of fostering employee connections to sustainability, implementing an engagement strategy, and understanding the role of corporate culture within it.

(more…)

Managing change plays key role in factors that affect employee wellbeing

by • Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Managing change key element in employee wellnessAnyone who has sat on a stationary train waiting to find out just why they’ve stopped moving, will know the twin frustrations of a lack of communication and lack of control. The same goes for those at work who feel they’ve little control over what happens to them and worse still that their employer is neglecting to keep them properly informed of any changes. Data compiled from workplace wellness organisation Good Day at Work, founded by Organisational Psychologist Professor Sir Cary Cooper now includes a handy infographic which illustrates the five biggest factors affecting employee wellbeing. These are, organisations that change for change’s sake; people having little control over their job; not having enough time to do their job; not being involved in the decisions that affect their job and knowing their job is going to change but not how.

(more…)

Employee benefits policies still not family friendly, claims new report

by • Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

Employee benefits fathersFewer than half (48 percent) of UK employers offer enhanced maternity pay to staff, claims a new study by Croner. According to the Croner reward employee benefits report, based on a survey of 127 employers, the most commonly offered enhanced scheme was 3 months leave at full pay. The research also found that fathers fare even worse with less than a third of firms offering paternity leave above the statutory minimum, with 62 percent offering full pay for a period of two weeks. Commenting on the findings, Viv Copeland of Croner says: “While some family friendly benefits such as flexible working and childcare vouchers have really grown in the last few years, the offer of enhanced maternity and paternity leave and pay still has a long way to go. The recent legislation around shared maternity/ paternity leave should bring some fresh thinking to this area from parents and employers alike.”

(more…)

The latest Insight newsletter is now available to view online

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

Insight_twitter_logo_2In this week’s issue; Maciej Markowski says it’s worth asking exactly where open plan office layouts will work and where they won’t and Justin Miller explores the influence of Scandinavian furniture design on the UK. Mark Eltringham wonders what will become of the generation of Tech Palaces, as exemplified by Google’s California campus; asks why more firms haven’t been drawn to look at leasing to fund office fit-out and argues politicians tend to get behind a big, stupid idea than a number of small, effective ones. Two new reports published this week highlight the potential benefits of flexible working, especially to women; and news of the latest workplace malaise, Invisible Employee Syndrome, when employees disappear from the performance radar. Sign up to the newsletter via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar and follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

A third of Britons claim their employers still don’t offer flexible working

by • Flexible working, News

small businessesMore than a third (37 percent) of British employees claim their employers are not yet offering flexible working arrangements, according to a report from unified communications firm Unify. This is in spite of the fact that nearly all UK employees now have the right to request flexible working following the introduction of revised legislation last Summer. The survey of staff at more than 1,500 businesses in the UK also claims that 39 percent of respondents said they would be more loyal to the business if it offered more flexible working options. According to the report, Humanising the Enterprise, a further 28 percent said they have no preference about where they get work done and 40 percent said they would find it liberating if they were able to work entirely outside of the office. Over half (51 percent) said their colleagues and other interruptions distract them from doing their jobs.

(more…)

«< 589 590 591 592 593 >»