Friday, February 18, 2022
The move ties in with an increasing focus on employee health and wellbeing after the pandemic led many people to reevaluate their lifestyle and work expectations.
“There’s been a shift in power towards employees, while their mindsets have changed. People want more flexibility and time for family priorities,” says Lee Daniels, Head of Workforce EMEA and Workplace UK at JLL.
“If businesses give back a day of the workweek to employees, this can add significant value for current and future talent and help to revitalise the post-pandemic workplace.”
According to JLL’s Regenerative Workplace research, 60 percent of employees now expect employers to support work-life balance and 71 percent want help managing their workloads. Companies that fail to live up to changing expectations risk losing out; record numbers of people in the U.S. and UK continue to resign from their roles, many in order to take positions that better align with their values.
For now, the four-day workweek is more of an idea than a reality in most companies – but many are watching closely to see how pilot schemes go.
“Businesses want to see whether their productivity can increase, because reports from those already doing the four-day week do indicate this,” says Daniels.
“There’s been a shift in power towards employees, while their mindsets have changed. People want more flexibility and time for family priorities,” says Lee Daniels, Head of Workforce EMEA and Workplace UK at JLL.
“If businesses give back a day of the workweek to employees, this can add significant value for current and future talent and help to revitalise the post-pandemic workplace.”
According to JLL’s Regenerative Workplace research, 60 percent of employees now expect employers to support work-life balance and 71 percent want help managing their workloads. Companies that fail to live up to changing expectations risk losing out; record numbers of people in the U.S. and UK continue to resign from their roles, many in order to take positions that better align with their values.
For now, the four-day workweek is more of an idea than a reality in most companies – but many are watching closely to see how pilot schemes go.
“Businesses want to see whether their productivity can increase, because reports from those already doing the four-day week do indicate this,” says Daniels.
News
From New York to California, an increasing number of states are lifting statewide mask mandates as the Omicron wave recedes. Federal public-health officials, meanwhile, continue to recommend mask-wearing in public indoor settings in much of the country. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Americans are dining again in restaurants, attending sporting events, and flying throughout the country. But most are still steering clear of their office building, a sign that more than health concerns are keeping workers away.
Millions of office employees who fled business districts in December after the Omicron variant surged continue to work at home, despite the plummeting rate of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations. Remote work remains the more popular option even as a number of states have announced plans to roll back mask requirements at indoor venues, businesses, and schools as the spread of the Omicron variant fades.
Americans are dining again in restaurants, attending sporting events, and flying throughout the country. But most are still steering clear of their office building, a sign that more than health concerns are keeping workers away.
Millions of office employees who fled business districts in December after the Omicron variant surged continue to work at home, despite the plummeting rate of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations. Remote work remains the more popular option even as a number of states have announced plans to roll back mask requirements at indoor venues, businesses, and schools as the spread of the Omicron variant fades.
Despite office landlords' insistence on the sector's continued relevance, in-person work hasn't returned at the same pace as other pre-pandemic behaviors as the omicron variant recedes. The implications could be long-term, if not permanent.
In-person office worker occupancy sat at 33% of pre-pandemic levels in the first week of February, according to card swipe data from 10 major U.S. cities served by building security firm Kastle Systems. Though a marked improvement from most of January, it is far behind the rates at which Americans have resumed air travel, restaurant dining and attendance at professional sporting events, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In-person office worker occupancy sat at 33% of pre-pandemic levels in the first week of February, according to card swipe data from 10 major U.S. cities served by building security firm Kastle Systems. Though a marked improvement from most of January, it is far behind the rates at which Americans have resumed air travel, restaurant dining and attendance at professional sporting events, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The average duration of the design phase of a bank branch project has increased by 22% and the construction phase by 14%.
Individual bank branches are increasingly important as the number of bank locations in the US continues a decade-long decline. And while the way in which consumers interact with their banks has changed, bank branch design and construction has only become more critical.
“Fewer remaining branches means that the impression and experience consumers have with each individual branch is more important. Rather than a branch on every corner, consumers may now have easy access to only a single branch,” researchers from JLL write in a new report on the sector. “This raises the stakes for the impression that each branch leaves and for how it represents the bank’s brand overall, and it increases the number of consumer and business use cases a single branch needs to address.”
“Fewer remaining branches means that the impression and experience consumers have with each individual branch is more important. Rather than a branch on every corner, consumers may now have easy access to only a single branch,” researchers from JLL write in a new report on the sector. “This raises the stakes for the impression that each branch leaves and for how it represents the bank’s brand overall, and it increases the number of consumer and business use cases a single branch needs to address.”
Finally it happened: The crossover moment has occurred. Some signs of the old normal are back.
One of the most conspicuous Covid winners — videoconferencing group Zoom — has now fallen to parity with one of the pandemic’s most conspicuous sufferers, hotel group Hilton.
One of the most conspicuous Covid winners — videoconferencing group Zoom — has now fallen to parity with one of the pandemic’s most conspicuous sufferers, hotel group Hilton.
The business of buying and selling in the home furnishings industry has always been a moving target as shows and markets grew or receded, often suddenly. Last year’s “must-attend” event can quickly become this year’s “Nah, I’ll skip it” show.
But never before have so many shows—in so many cities, and in so many sectors of the industry—been the subject of massive upheaval as they have during the past two pandemic years. Major events around the globe were canceled, postponed, merged, downsized and otherwise turned upside down in ways we’ve never seen before. As we start to come out of what everyone hopes is the last terrible wave of COVID, some industry benchmark events are returning to some semblance of what they used to be. But for many others, the changes are dramatic, and the shows’ schedulings remain in suspense pending industry acceptance of new formats, timing and configurations.
This stress is happening to both domestic shows in the U.S. as well as overseas events in Europe and elsewhere. For many shows, such as Maison&Objet in France, Heimtextil in Germany and Salone del Mobile in Italy, cancellations and postponements have created havoc, even as all of these events insist that they will return to their previous schedules and formats in 2023. Perennial events stateside, such as High Point Market, the gift shows in Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas and New York, and the housewares show in Chicago, are all starting to get back to some semblance of normalcy this year, but for the entire show and market sector of home, it's a brave new world.
But never before have so many shows—in so many cities, and in so many sectors of the industry—been the subject of massive upheaval as they have during the past two pandemic years. Major events around the globe were canceled, postponed, merged, downsized and otherwise turned upside down in ways we’ve never seen before. As we start to come out of what everyone hopes is the last terrible wave of COVID, some industry benchmark events are returning to some semblance of what they used to be. But for many others, the changes are dramatic, and the shows’ schedulings remain in suspense pending industry acceptance of new formats, timing and configurations.
This stress is happening to both domestic shows in the U.S. as well as overseas events in Europe and elsewhere. For many shows, such as Maison&Objet in France, Heimtextil in Germany and Salone del Mobile in Italy, cancellations and postponements have created havoc, even as all of these events insist that they will return to their previous schedules and formats in 2023. Perennial events stateside, such as High Point Market, the gift shows in Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas and New York, and the housewares show in Chicago, are all starting to get back to some semblance of normalcy this year, but for the entire show and market sector of home, it's a brave new world.
The Workplace
The physical office remains vital for nurturing friendships, and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce, according to O.C. Tanner’s 2022 Global Culture Report which analyzed the perspectives of over 38,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners and executives from 21 countries around the world, including over 2,500 from the U.K. Around two thirds (63 percent) of U.K. workers admit that it’s more challenging to form new friendships with colleagues when working remotely, and 58 percent of workers state that the office is where most of their new friendships are formed.
Nurturing a diverse and inclusive workforce is also easier when people are face-to-face rather than remote working, with 71 percent of U.K. workers admitting that it’s easier to make personal connections with other generations when in the office. The same number state that they’re more able to make friendships with people of different backgrounds and beliefs when working in an office environment.
Nurturing a diverse and inclusive workforce is also easier when people are face-to-face rather than remote working, with 71 percent of U.K. workers admitting that it’s easier to make personal connections with other generations when in the office. The same number state that they’re more able to make friendships with people of different backgrounds and beliefs when working in an office environment.
What employees value in terms of perks has evolved, particularly across different generations of workers, and employers are scrambling to meet the new demands.
Bosses are rethinking the perks they provide their employees, as a pandemic-weary workforce demands them.
Perks are still important. In fact, in a poll of nearly 600 full-time employees in the U.S. by the Boston-based hybrid workforce platform Robin, 85% of respondents said they are as important or more important now than they were before the pandemic struck. Millennials in particular say they are among the top things they look for when taking a job — even though what they expect from their bosses has changed.
Perks are still important. In fact, in a poll of nearly 600 full-time employees in the U.S. by the Boston-based hybrid workforce platform Robin, 85% of respondents said they are as important or more important now than they were before the pandemic struck. Millennials in particular say they are among the top things they look for when taking a job — even though what they expect from their bosses has changed.
As office tenants look to entice employees back to the office, they’re looking to do so with attractive office spaces with quick move-ins.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many office workers have developed flexible working arrangements, to avoid too much time spent in crowded offices, according to an article published in MIT News.
An MIT-supported survey project reveals a twist on this now-familiar scenario: Many workers with location flexibility are not necessarily working from home. Instead, they are taking their work to a “third place,” including cafés, libraries, and co-working spaces. About one-third of nonoffice work hours are spent in such places, the data show, even if those locations put people in closer proximity to others than working at home might.
An MIT-supported survey project reveals a twist on this now-familiar scenario: Many workers with location flexibility are not necessarily working from home. Instead, they are taking their work to a “third place,” including cafés, libraries, and co-working spaces. About one-third of nonoffice work hours are spent in such places, the data show, even if those locations put people in closer proximity to others than working at home might.
Despite concerns the pandemic would drive companies to slash or eliminate their office spaces, few companies actually have, according to new labor data.
CITIES HAVE often bounced back from crises. From pandemics and earthquakes to floods and fires, the world’s urban powerhouses have emerged stronger when faced with adversity. After the Great Fire of London destroyed most of the city in 1666 a raft of fire safety regulations were ushered in. Builders swapped timber for brick or stone. Walls were made thicker. Streets became wider. When cholera tore through America in the 1850s New York and other cities introduced sewage systems and public parks.
Today’s urban areas face a challenge of a different sort. With the mass return to office work still uncertain, the pandemic has sharpened debate about what the future holds for their commercial hubs. Key business districts like Manhattan, the City of London, Tokyo’s Marunouchi and La Défense in Paris have borne the brunt of the office exodus. Before lockdowns the 21 largest business districts in the world housed 4.5m workers and around a fifth of the headquarters of Fortune Global 500 companies, according to EY and the Urban Land Institute. When covid-19 emptied offices around the world, most professional work shifted to home offices or kitchen tables. As the pandemic stretches into a third year, the fate of business districts remains unclear. Can they continue to attract investment and talent or will new work patterns jeopardize their commercial dominance?
Today’s urban areas face a challenge of a different sort. With the mass return to office work still uncertain, the pandemic has sharpened debate about what the future holds for their commercial hubs. Key business districts like Manhattan, the City of London, Tokyo’s Marunouchi and La Défense in Paris have borne the brunt of the office exodus. Before lockdowns the 21 largest business districts in the world housed 4.5m workers and around a fifth of the headquarters of Fortune Global 500 companies, according to EY and the Urban Land Institute. When covid-19 emptied offices around the world, most professional work shifted to home offices or kitchen tables. As the pandemic stretches into a third year, the fate of business districts remains unclear. Can they continue to attract investment and talent or will new work patterns jeopardize their commercial dominance?
Remote Work
Admittedly, population metrics aren’t the most riveting topics of conversation. But they are important. Understanding the population size of an area is critical when it comes to everything from public policy to real estate value. How you define geographies is crucial as well, two wildly different areas could actually be the same, that’s because how we usually calculate population is wrong. This is crucial for the property industry to understand because so much of the value of a piece of real estate relies on how many people are close enough to be able to use it.
Many of us understand population density as the average amount of people within a given square mile. It’s an easy concept to comprehend, and even easier to calculate. Take the total population of a municipality and divide that number by the total land area, and boom, you got the magic number. But this oversimplified approach paints a woefully inaccurate picture.
Many of us understand population density as the average amount of people within a given square mile. It’s an easy concept to comprehend, and even easier to calculate. Take the total population of a municipality and divide that number by the total land area, and boom, you got the magic number. But this oversimplified approach paints a woefully inaccurate picture.
Design
Cooper Carry’s Brian Parker shares a few things to keep in mind when designing a workplace to help attract and retain employees.
Sandi Rudy and James Foster of Cushing Terrell share how to incorporate elements from higher education facilities into the workplace.
Having a physical location as a workspace has many inherent benefits, such as bringing employees together in a collaborative environment and giving companies the opportunity to create culture and identity. But when hybrid and remote work began to rise in the early stages of the pandemic, many wondered it this meant the end of the physical office. However, now that two years have passed, the pattern has been clear: instead of being completely replaced by remote methods, many companies have adapted to new employee needs and conditions by opting for team-based, comfortable and flexible spaces that foster creativity, collaboration, and productivity.
How can businesses tackle this looming crisis? The answer lies with people. It’s time to start listening to what employees want, both in their working lives and when it comes to what their workplace can
Metaverse
Wondering what to wear to work in the metaverse? Start with virtual clothes and digital fashion.
Stow those shapeless sad-sack sweatpants. Meh to normcore avatars on Microsoft Mesh. Imagine showing up to your next virtual meeting, in a kinetic, digitally-rendered top that conveys your mood and personality?
What sounds like zany science fiction is, in fact, already happening. Fashion-forward social media influencers are snapping up ready-to-wear virtual pants and tops (price range: $30 to $700) to augment their on-screen avatars. As more companies follow Microsoft and Meta into the metaverse, fashion designers like Gala Marija Vrbanic are getting in on the enormous possibilities for self-expression.
“Digital fashion is not an alternative but an evolutionary step,” Vrbanic said at the TEDWomen conference in November. “We are currently at the beginning of this new era—an era where digital garments could become an added layer to our reality, where you will be able to instantly choose to whom you want to present yourself wearing multiple different outfits at the same time using the most advanced technology, like AR or VR. Not only does it allow for self-expression in totally different contexts, but digital fashion can be zero-waste and inclusive, available to users, regardless of their gender, size or race.”
What sounds like zany science fiction is, in fact, already happening. Fashion-forward social media influencers are snapping up ready-to-wear virtual pants and tops (price range: $30 to $700) to augment their on-screen avatars. As more companies follow Microsoft and Meta into the metaverse, fashion designers like Gala Marija Vrbanic are getting in on the enormous possibilities for self-expression.
“Digital fashion is not an alternative but an evolutionary step,” Vrbanic said at the TEDWomen conference in November. “We are currently at the beginning of this new era—an era where digital garments could become an added layer to our reality, where you will be able to instantly choose to whom you want to present yourself wearing multiple different outfits at the same time using the most advanced technology, like AR or VR. Not only does it allow for self-expression in totally different contexts, but digital fashion can be zero-waste and inclusive, available to users, regardless of their gender, size or race.”
After acquiring two plots in Decentraland, architect Pallavi Dean is envisioning the future of virtual architecture and development.
Real Estate
A new CoreNet Global survey finds that companies are currently using less real estate, but many expect growth over the next one to five years.
This episode of Bisnow Reports examines how landlords are trying everything from signature scents to velvet upholstery to make people want their offices back.
Makers
Luckily for furniture-maker Herman Miller, the mass appeal of 1950s-era style endures.
Design Within Reach, Inc., a part of the MillerKnoll collective, announces an exclusive retail partnership with leading Australian designer and interior stylist, Sarah Ellison.
Ultrafabrics and TENCEL announce brand partnership, setting an industry benchmark in sustainability and transparency
Ultrafabrics, the global leader in animal-free performance fabric, announcd its partnership with Lenzing AG, an industry leader in the production of sustainable wood-based fibers. The partnership will see Ultrafabrics as the first and only polyurethane material to incorporate LENZING AG’s TENCEL™ Modal fibers as a backcloth in its collections with 100% reinforced rayon.
Ultrafabrics is on a mission towards sustainability in all aspects of its business. By 2030, it aims to have 100% of its entire product portfolio across 11 markets made of 50% rapidly renewable and/or recycled materials. It’s a bold target that will support the brand's larger goal of creating materials for the future through a more circular design process.
Ultrafabrics chooses to work with TENCEL™ branded fibers to help us reach our ambitious sustainability goals. TENCEL™ Modal fibers are mainly manufactured from beech wood, sourced from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and/ or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certified sustainable forests in Austria and neighboring countries. Numerous Lenzing innovations have been integrated in the production of TENCEL™ Modal fibers, to make the process environmentally responsible. Lenzing strives to safeguard resources for future generations by the use of renewable energy and by the recovery of process chemicals. This partnership supports our use of renewable resources.
Jennifer Hendren, Senior Director of Product Development with Ultrafabrics, says of the partnership, “We are pleased to be aligned with the TENCEL™ brand and the Lenzing AG family, a bold company with equally ambitious sustainability goals. They share our focus on bringing our sustainability journey to the forefront, without sacrificing quality or product integrity. We partner with big thinkers and take pride in bringing trust in both our brands to our global audience.”
Lenzing AG’s Head of Global Business Development for Home, Ebru Bayramoglu, adds: “We are very happy to see our fibers on different textile products. Ultrafabrics developed a selection of products by using our TENCEL™ fibers as a very good alternative to industry-standard solutions. The journey to sustainability is a long marathon, not a sprint, and evolutionary change should always begin with actionable steps toward the goal of reducing a brand’s environmental impact.”
Transparency is key
Ultrafabrics continues to invest in transparent partnerships, processes and ingredients to ensure its customers can continue to build trust in the brand. The partnership with Lenzing AG and TENCEL™ fibers is one built on more than quality and performance. As a company, Lenzing AG furthers its ethical credibility with its transparency, which aligns with where Ultrafabrics is going with all its partners.
WFH
The home, for most of us, is the backdrop of our personal experience with the coronavirus pandemic and will remain connected with it in our memories. The understanding of the function and meaning of our residential environments has been changed as a result.
One of the first needs we had to respond to during the lockdown was how to successfully integrate an office into our homes. Working and learning from home brings with it a cognitive challenge: finding focus in chaos. Rooms and daily routines have to be rethought to maximize productivity.
Is my workspace soundproof for online meetings? Does my chair enable ergonomic sitting for hours on end? Can I vary my working position during the day with a height-adjustable table or by relocating to different settings within the home? Below are five tips on how to rethink your workspace.
One of the first needs we had to respond to during the lockdown was how to successfully integrate an office into our homes. Working and learning from home brings with it a cognitive challenge: finding focus in chaos. Rooms and daily routines have to be rethought to maximize productivity.
Is my workspace soundproof for online meetings? Does my chair enable ergonomic sitting for hours on end? Can I vary my working position during the day with a height-adjustable table or by relocating to different settings within the home? Below are five tips on how to rethink your workspace.
Products
The Cozy Collection is inspired by aerial views of weathered fields, coastal beaches, and desert landscapes, to create a balanced collection that fuses warmth and comfort by blending various yarn combinations and textures.
Unika Vaev’s Design Director, Courtney Brooks says, “This collection effortlessly blurs the lines of design between Residential, Hospitality, and Contract market segments, to create a refreshingly modern aesthetic."
As an alternative to workstations or small meeting rooms, Chatham Cove Work Lounge offers flexibility and economic benefits to organizations supporting new hybrid work strategies.
Inspired by the natural bends in the human form, Rang has an organic feel while showcasing its strength and stability in its stance.
Trost. Inspired by the Swedish word for ‘comforting’, the Trost chair has been designed to envelope and wrap you in its soft, reassuring form. Take a minute to unwind and de-stress in this statement chair for modern Scandinavian-inspired environments.
Flokk’s HÅG Tion chair can sit effortlessly in any type of workplace, whether that’s a kitchen-table hotdesk or dedicated workstation.
This is the age of distributed working. Today’s workforce operates from dedicated home workspaces, dynamic office environments and, in many cases, both, navigating different settings depending on the needs of their task, team and timetable.
The Aston Club Low Back is as thoughtful on the inside as it appears on the outside.
Raffia expresses the natural essence of its namesake through subtle striations and tonal duality.
Workolution introduces their fully-integrated treadmill workstation that’s motor-free with zero power consumption and a fully modern look. Don't get too excited, it's $6,000.
Projects
Well before the Los Angeles Rams secured a spot in Superbowl LVI and then proceeded to win against the Cincinnati Bengals, the NFL was ramping up for an exciting announcement - the opening of a brand-new headquarters. Located in Hollywood Park, CA, the 450,000 square foot facility features state-of-the-art spaces custom-made to support the wide variety of needs of the NFL organization, including broadcasting and production support, lounges, meeting rooms, offices, and a fleet of updated studios for the NFL’s top show segments.
A fast-growing Chicago countertop cocktail maker that’s catching on with celebrities is opening a new headquarters in Fulton Market. Check it out.
The colours and craft techniques of the Bauhaus were the inspiration behind Laszlo, a century-old warehouse building transformed into workspaces by London studio Henley Halebrown.
Noted
Starting March 1, China’s largest flight and hotel booking platform Trip.com will let employees work two days a week from home upon permission, it announced Tuesday. The company, founded in 1999 and rebranded from Ctrip to Trip.com in 2019, made the move after seeing “improved wellness” in 75% of its 1,600 staff who worked remotely during a six-month trial in 2021. As many as 93% of the participants felt they used their time “more efficiently,” and the firm’s turnover rate dropped by roughly one-third in the period.
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