Search Results for: workplace

November 12, 2015

The three workplace professions need to face up to a new reality ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace

The modern workplace consists of an often unholy trinity of people, place and technology and each of these facets has its own associated profession; HR. IT. FM. Six letters. Three disciplines. One big mess. When life was simple, with people generally going to work in the same place and at the same time, each of these professions could operate in its own bubble, with a clear sphere of influence and control. Sure, they could behave in interdisciplinary ways, they could have their intersections, but at the end of each encounter they could each go their separate ways. That is no longer true. The workplace is no longer primarily physical, but digital and cultural too. The boundaries of space and time have slipped and taken with them the clear demarcations between the three main workplace professions. All of this is bound to provoke as big an existential crisis for the professions as it does for the workplace itself.

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November 2, 2015

Insight Briefing: the growth of agile workplaces in the UK public sector ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Insight Briefings, Premium Content, Public Sector, Workplace design

The process of transforming the UK’s public sector estate may have begun under the last Labour administration but it’s fair to say that change really began to kick in as a consequence of the austerity programme initiated by the current administration. Central Government departments and local authorities had already started exploring new ways of owning and occupying their property in the same way as their private sector contemporaries. Now they were incentivised to respond to an administration that was not only prepared to cut their budgets but was introducing frameworks and legislation that encouraged them to innovate and pioneer a new generation of agile workplaces. In our first Insight Briefing, produced in partnership with Connection, we look at how these forces for change have catalysed a new approach and challenged the idea that innovation in workplace design and management is primarily the preserve of the private sector.

November 1, 2015

UK productivity undermined by rule-heavy workplaces, claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Events, News, Workplace

Employers can unleash the productivity of their workers by allowing them more scope to use their initiative, create more stimulating work and reduce the burden of unnecessary rules and procedures, according to a new report which considers productivity from the employees’ perspective. The latest Employee Outlook Survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), surveyed over 2,000 UK employees, asking what enabled them to be most productive. The most common responses were interesting work (40 percent), being able to use their own initiative (39 percent) and being given tasks which complement their skills (25 percent). On the other hand, the most common hurdles to employee productivity were unnecessary rules and procedures (28 percent), not having the resources available to do their jobs (28 percent) and office politics (24 percent).

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November 1, 2015

Firms use workplace improvements to invest in their human capital ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace, Workplace design

A survey by CoreNet Global and Cushman & Wakefield claims that 88 percent of EMEA corporate real estate professionals are actively investing in workplace improvements, and 95 percent are addressing workplace technology as part of those upgrades. The results emphasise the importance of human capital, suggesting that factors such as office environment, flexible working and company culture continue to be seen as critical to attracting and retaining talent. The global Talent Agenda Survey, completed by 250 respondents, addresses how occupiers are managing their talent pool against an ever-changing and unpredictable business environment. The survey focused on categories such as the cost of human capital and its value; the key challenges relating to talent access, assembly and retention and the critical role that real estate plays in workplace innovation, efficiency and talent retention.

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October 29, 2015

HSE publishes latest report on workplace ill health and injuries ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The Health and Safety Executive has released its latest statistics on work related illnesses, injuries and death in UK workplaces. The main takeaway from the data appears to be that after more than a decade of substantial falls across a spectrum of conditions and injuries, there are signs that numbers are starting to stabilise. According to the data for 2014/15, more than a million UK workers were made ill by their work during the year, losing some 27.3 million days and costing the economy £14.3 billion. This represents a fall of over 30 percent since 2002. Most absence is now down to stress, depression, anxiety (collated as a single issue for this particular report) and musculoskeletal disorders. These two groupings account for 9.9 and 9.5 million days off work respectively. The average days lost per case for stress, depression or anxiety (23 days) is higher than for musculoskeletal disorders (17 days).

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October 22, 2015

Shrinking Asian workplace density could impair business performance ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

Workplace static density, i.e. the space per sq. ft. per workstation, has halved in many Asian markets over the last decade and in many parts of Asia, this has already reached a point where further reductions will impact productivity, performance and retention. In Hong Kong, India and China, workplace space has shrunk from 100 sq. ft. per desk to 50-60 sq. ft. per desk. This figure is nearly half that of Europe and the US, where density norms are around 150-200 sq. ft. per desk. Elsewhere, in Australia and New Zealand, standards remain more generous at around 90-150 sq. ft. per desk. CBRE’s recent report, Space Utilization: The Next Frontier, looks at how organizations across the region are now under pressure to drive down costs by increasing their workplace ‘static density’ and suggests ways in which companies can use workplace density and utilization data to drive efficiency and business performance.

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October 12, 2015

How workplace design is more closely reflecting how we actually work ⁰

by Adrian Campbell • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

In years gone by, a ‘one size fits all’ approach to office design might have been the norm, but as the decades have progressed, so too have the options available to businesses designing ‘homes from home’ for their office-based workforces. As new interpretations of the office environment proliferated, so the open plan model came to into being and eventually evolved into the default office design model. This initially brought greater variety than ever before but, ultimately, a one size fits all mentality in workplace design ultimately prevailed – every worker was expected to work in certain ways, utilising the equipment and furniture supplied and designed for them. From inception through to occupancy, the average new office involves a six-year period of design and construction involving varying teams of people discussing the best and most attractive solution for the actual end user.

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October 10, 2015

UK’s best workplace? + Apple’s new office + Design and happiness ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Newsletter, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; Mark Eltringham says Jeremy Hunt’s views on the UK’s need to work longer hours does not make practical sense and explains why workplace design isn’t the only way to engage people. The Civic Centre & One Stop Shop in Keynsham, near Bath wins ‘Best of the Best workplace in the country’ in the BCO awards; Apple plans to add another tech palace alongside its Norman Foster designed campus in California; and a new survey finds that companies are rethinking the tools they use to keep employees loyal. Employers admit to an ad hoc approach to flexible working practices; millennials prefer value accelerated career paths and diversity over job security; and we preview a new Technology and Trends event. Visit our new events page, subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and weekly news here. And follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

October 9, 2015

Civic centre named best workplace in the UK by the BCO ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Public Sector, Workplace design

Keynsham Civic Centre & One Stop Shop in Keynsham, near Bath, has been named the Best of the Best workplace in the country at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) annual Awards. The office was recognised as the Best Corporate Workplace in the UK, topping a list of six other award winners recognised for excellence in office space. The building provides an environmentally sustainable, low maintenance and flexible workspace, whilst acting as a catalyst for the regeneration of the town. As a workplace for the local council, the judges praised the building’s impressive use of natural light to create an ‘uplifting workspace’ as well as the design of the office floors which lend themselves toward flexibility and encourage collaborative working. The team behind the building was also commended for conducting a thorough and impressive stakeholder engagement process, from the inception of the project through to completion.

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September 22, 2015

The worldwide demographic timebomb is transforming the workplace ⁰

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

There are a number of reasons why we shouldn’t be drawn into blindly accepting the narrative about Generation Y’s impact on the workplace. It seems the most important is also the least talked about. It is that the workforce is actually ageing in the world’s leading economies. While it may be true that 27 is middle -aged for employees at technology companies, for pretty much everybody else, shifting demographics, longer lives, improving health, falling pensions and changing personal preferences are likely to mean they stay in the workforce for longer. This is true in both the UK and US, where Millennials may make up the largest demographic grouping in the workplace but are still in a minority within an increasingly diverse workforce. The dynamics of these changes are playing out in different ways in different countries, but the forces are essentially universal.

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September 18, 2015

Majority of workers go into the workplace when they should be off sick ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Debates around presenteeism tend to revolve around staff checking their emails while on holiday, but another potentially more destructive behaviour is that of the worker who reckons they’re so indispensable they insist on coming into the workplace when they’re ill. In a recent survey, 89 percent of workers said they had gone into work when they were not well, which is why it is hardly surprising that almost three quarters (71 percent) of employees have reported catching an illness from a sick colleague. According to the research by Canada Life, almost a third (32 percent) said their workload was too great for them to take time off for illness, and 80 percent would not take time off for stress-related illnesses. Employees were also worried about being perceived as lazy (13 percent), inconsiderate (10 percent) and weak (10 percent) if they took time off for a short-term illness.

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September 18, 2015

What Robert Frost can teach us about the changing workplace

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Technology

The great Twentieth Century American poet Robert Frost is arguably best known these days for two quotations that have – usually in bastardised versions – entered into common usage. The first is the final verse of his poem The Road Not Taken, and especially the final three lines: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I /I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.” The second is a quotation: “The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office”; which should be pinned up in every reception area and is usually rendered as something like ‘when you get to work, don’t leave your brain at the door.’ Both come to mind when you read something like the report entitled ‘Next Generation Working Life’ from Ericsson’s Networked Society Lab.