A summary of some articles and stories that have made me think, stop & pause or simply gaze in amazement! Some culture, development and future of work stories

In culture news: A new survey of WFH (work-from-home) employees suggests that many are not yet ready to return to the office. In fact, they may never be ready. The survey found that 34% of WFH (work from home) workers say they’d rather quit than return to full-time office work. Seems drastic but employees have more power now and with global organisations having “work from anywhere” policies, that talent pool has more options. 

Or how about taking an “untouchable day”? Over the last few years I have calved personal time into my calendar – time for me to focus on me. My development or sometimes just family time. Pre-lockdown I finished early on a Friday so that school pick up was the start of the weekend for us all. This article explains more about an untouchable day and how it could help improve your productivity – best thing is to try it for yourself. 

In development news: Exciting news this week is that HB Reavis received planning consent for One Waterloo (Make way for One Waterloo) creating 123,000 sq m of multi purpose real estate that looks stunning and incorporates three acres of outdoor space, a garden promenade and an urban skyfarm. There is also an ambition of net zero for ongoing operation.

And with large changes on our high streets we will see more conversions. In Leeds, a former Debenhams store is to be redeveloped into flexible commercial space and student accommodation. Repurposing assets can not only prolong life BUT bring a revival to our flagging high streets. 

In future of work news: Imagine if there was a building already built that could cater as a working space? Ever stayed in a hotel and wondered why do I have such a large desk, view of the city and access to hot/cold drinks? Sounds like your office does it not! The conversion of some hotel space into rentable private office spaces could be replicated across the globe. Access to other hotel amenities like pools, gyms, saunas and restaurants. Hotels could really make great coworking space.

Or imagine an office that you pay by the minute for? Pay by the minute booths created in Singapore are frankly horrific! I mean with the vast (and I mean vast) array of alternative places to work is a small booth really the way forward for working and our wellbeing. As a twitter follower commented, you could rent out student accommodation of a similar size to these! 

A week can bring many new stories and just shows how fascinating and continually evolving everything is