Slma Bahuwayrith Dissertation

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Slma Bahuwayrith 2012-2022

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Proposition

Introduction

Statistics on Freelancing and Design in UK

The UK freelancing industry has steadily grown over the years and in 2020, there were over 2 million freelancers who contributed £125 billion to the UK economy (Gration, 2020). It is important to acknowledge the role that design plays in the UK economy as the industry contributes over £200 billion to the UK economy and employs over 2.5 million workers (Dawood, 2017). One of the major reasons why freelancing is growing in the UK is technological revolution, where individuals have access to software, video technology and Wi-Fi, which enables them to work conveniently from home. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has also significantly contributed to growth in the freelancing industry since people were encouraged to work from home as a means of containing the disease (Gration, 2020). Additionally, many people who lost jobs during the pandemic have sought new opportunities in freelancing on the internet.

Freelancing is one of the most important economic sectors to the UK, and in 2017, design ranked as the second most popular freelance sector which employed 20% of all freelancers, after business support, which accounted to 22% of all freelance jobs in the UK (Dawood, 2017). Other major freelancing occupations include artistic, media and literary occupations, educational and teaching professionals, functional directors and managers, and IT and telecommunications professionals (IPSE, 2020).

In terms of the workforce, 1.9 million freelancers work fulltime and approximately 239,000 freelancers work part time to generate a second income stream (IPSE, 2020).

It is important to note that the freelance industry is one of the fastest growing in the UK, and between 2008 and 2017, freelancers grew by 46% (Dawood, 2017). Moreover, there skills gaps in this profession which cost the economy £5.9 billion annually, and this is evidence that there are tremendous opportunities in freelancing (Gration, 2020).

However, freelancing is often viewed as a lonely job where individuals work in isolation, and there are many challenges associated with this profession. Some of these include time management and meeting deadlines, trust issues with clients, lack of job security, achieving work/life balance and attracting clients among others (Ainley, 2018).

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Introduction

Introduction Workplace designs are changing rapidly in today’s highly competitive business world.

Workplace designs are evolving rapidly with the aim of improving employee engagement and collaboration. The modern office design trends are shifting from emphasizing aesthetics to blending functionality with beauty (Kohll 2019). The focus of many modern workplace designs is to better the productivity and engagement of occupants by optimizing focus, efficiency, and collaboration in order to match the changing demands (Oseland, Catchlove & Miller 2012). The era that cubicles dominated workplace designs is coming to an end.

Talented employees simply reject the constraints associated with congested cubicles (Bernstein & Turban 2018). In today’s marketplace, marked by shrinking labour force, office designs are becoming a dominant competitive issue as it is critical towards attracting talents. The desire to attract the most talent employees is generating a rapid evolution in the workplace designs (Oseland et al. 2012). It is critical to understand that the modern workplace design is important driver of employee engagement and collaboration. Office designs are focusing on the changing needs of a techno-savvy and youthful workforce.

RESEARCH PAPER HOW CAN VARIETY OF SPACES IN WORKPLACE IMPACT PRODUCTIVITY AND COLLABORATION OF THE OCCUPANTS?

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The modern workplace design promises to better retention, collaboration as well as engagement of employees. The changes in the current workplace design are a consequence of various factors. These factors include, but not restricted to, the current shortage of talent, financial restrictions, changing workplace demographics, technological influences, and data about the impact of workplace design on the performance of employees (Kohll 2019).

Companies are harnessing this information in order to improve their workplace designs.

Collectively, the whirlwind changes in the workplace designs are rapidly influencing the workplace environment. New workplace designs are impacting aspects such as furnishing, layout, and finishing (Oseland et al. 2012). The workplace environments that employ the latest office design trends integrate aspects such as flexibility, activity-based designs, wellbeing designs, employee appeal designs, and integrating technology (Haynes, Suckley & Nunnington, 2017). Today’s workspace designs are integrating various factors such as technological changes, demographical shifts, matters pertaining to shortage of talent as well as design influences, in order to build attractive workplaces that helps to retain and attract new talents.