Immortalised in stone, frozen mid-conundrum; the unknown workplace strategist, slouched beneath the flags on the lawn of yet another anonymous behemoth shortlisted for the award for corporate workplace over 100,000 square feet, but not a winner. Notebook in hand, words struck through in frustration, it’s clear that amidst numerous small…

It’s fair to say we’ve learned a lot about workspace design since an interest started to be taken in the possibilities it offered in the late 1950s. Yet while acknowledging fantastic contributions from many people over the last seven decades in shaping an industry for the benefit of millions of…

Deciding whether a ruler should be loved or feared, Niccolò Machiavelli opted for the latter in his most famous tract, The Prince (1513). He was, of course, at the time shamelessly sucking up to Lorenzo de Medici, the ruler of Florence, in the hope of favour. He had just been…

Useful analogies are in short supply in Workplace. But here’s one that may resonate. It relates to how we might think about the operation of our workspace. It’s especially relevant considering the reports that organisations are looking to reduce their workspace by 10–20% — something that, as Mark Eltringham rightly…

I first published this in July 2012 — it’s here on World FM Day without any edits. Over a decade later, it’s still entirely relevant. * * * * * Dear Graduate You are probably not thanking us at this time for creating one of the most barren career opportunity…

Equal opportunities. A badge many organisations wear with pride. Yet about which, perhaps, they ought to feel a little uncomfortable. In case anyone thinks it through and realises it’s an impossibility. While the phrase has two parts — equality and opportunity — the focus here will primarily be on equality…

The hybrid working debate has stalled. Advocates and sceptics alike continue to search for and share information that appears to support their position, even though in most instances it’s a matter of interpretation. For most, those actually living it rather than just talking about it, hybrid working still boils down…

To say that Peter Drucker is revered as an organisational and management thinker rather underplays his legacy. Like saying Alan Turing dabbled with computers. He gave us “knowledge worker” and lots of us are just the thing, so we have an almost personal association. We see ourselves in his mirror…

This article began as a monologue about resolving long-standing sustainability issues facing the Workplace industry. But really, who needs another monologue? And so it became an exchange of views between Ana Rita Martins, of the generation inheriting the planet and myself, of the generation that arguably has done more than…