What was Stratford like before the Olympics?

The second half of the 20th century was not kind to Stratford. De-industrialisation led to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs for Stratford inhabitants, thanks in no small part to the closure of the London Docks in the 1960s.

A particularly iconic symbol of Stratford’s industrially unloved reputation was the so-called ‘Fridge Mountain’. The 20-foot tall collection of discarded white goods on the riverbank was thought to be the biggest of its kind in Europe! 

The construction of the Stratford Olympic Park itself was a colossal undertaking. It took 46,000 workers to construct the Olympic Stadium and grounds, which had a total capacity of 80,000. Renovation even included the removal of 2,000 newts from the Olympic Park building site – along with 4 human skeletons, dating back 3000 years to the Iron Age!

The promise of Olympic prosperity was therefore a very exciting one for Stratford. The project set the stage for over 46,000 new jobs in the district, a 30% increase in rail capacity through Stratford station and over 20,000 new homes. There were also plans for three new secondary schools, 23 new GP clinics and – unsurprisingly – world-class sports and leisure facilities.

And yes, clearing ‘Fridge Mountain’ was one of the first things ticked off Stratford’s to-do list.

What was Stratford like during the Olympics?

Stratford was home to the athletes’ Olympic Village and several key sporting venues: the London Stadium, London Aquatics Centre and the Lee Valley VeloPark.The ArcelorMittal Orbit was constructed to overlook the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, an observation tower and Britain’s largest piece of public art.

During the Games fortnight, it is estimated that as many as 370,000 visitors came to the Olympic Park every single day. 10,500 athletes from 204 nations participated across 26 sports, supported by 70,000 volunteers or ‘Games Makers’. At peak hours, over 200 trains travelled into Stratford Regional Station.   

What is Stratford like now?

7 years on from the Games, post-Olympic Stratford is nearly unrecognisable compared to Stratford at the turn of the millennium. 

The Queen Elizabeth Park has been transformed into a bustling hub and great destination for tourists looking to explore the legacy of the London Olympics. The area’s population sits healthily at 51,000 and Stratford Train Station is now the 6th busiest station in Britain.

The Westfield Stratford City Shopping Centre, which opened in 2011, is one of the largest urban shopping centres in Europe. Westfield attracts 50 million yearly visitors and has so-far generated retail sales of more than £7.4 billion.

Outside of retail, there is also a thriving network of global heavy-weight companies setting up Stratford bases. Transport for London, Cancer Research, the Financial Conduct Authority, Unicef and the British Council all have a sizeable presence in the area. 

Higher education establishments like Loughborough University and University College London have invested heavily in Stratford campuses. As a result, there is a rich pool of potential talent ready to be utilised by established brands and start-ups/SMEs alike.

In a word, the Stratford business scene is thriving.

Expectations for future growth in Stratford are extremely high. 

One especially exciting area of development is the upcoming Elizabeth Line/Crossrail, which will extend as far as Reading in the West and Shenfield in the East. This will enhance Stratford’s connection to both central London and key commuter towns in Berkshire and Essex. 

The Elizabeth Line will reduce direct journeys from/to Stratford Station to:

What Are The Advantages Of Stand-Up Meetings?

1. The health benefits of standing meetings

It is hopefully no surprise that remaining seated for extended periods of time is highly problematic for your general health.

Spending too high a proportion of your working day sat down increases your chances of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and even dementia. Office-chair-potatoes also face a high risk of suffering from Deep Vein Thrombosis, a clot that forms in your leg, often the result of sitting still for too long.

And then there are the problems of posture. Days spent almost entirely at your desk or seated around a meeting table are a dangerous recipe for slumping, inevitably leading to back issues. So widespread is this, in fact, that a survey of 250 doctors ranked musculoskeletal disorders as the most common type of work-related illness.

Stand-up meetings therefore offer a well-needed respite from sitting. They allow you to stretch your legs, recharge your batteries and get your blood flowing.

2. Standing meetings are much more efficient and short

Standing meetings are a phenomenally effective way of ensuring that meetings stay short and on topic. The reason for this is because of the comparative discomfort of standing for long periods over sitting. When you are sat comfortably, it is much easier to waste time with drifting conversation. In fact, the efficiency of standing meetings is so great that studies show they last, on average, 34% less time than seated meetings.

So, if you find your meetings drifting off topic or going round in circles, getting up on your feet may be the answer.

3. Stand-up meetings encourage productivity & dynamism

Standing up during a meeting boosts the attention span and ability to provide a creative, productive contribution.

Researchers from Washington University performed a study on this phenomenon. They asked volunteers to take 30 minutes to plan a short university recruitment video. Some volunteers worked in rooms with chairs arranged around a table and some with no chairs at all.

The researchers found that volunteers who were standing during the session were more likely to share their ideas. Through recordings from sensors worn on participants wrists, the study also found that the standing volunteers were more physiologically excited during the process.

How To Run A Productive Stand-Up Meeting

Many of these benefits of a stand-up meeting are only actually advantageous if you do them right. To help you ensure that you do this, we have therefore outlined our top tips for running a productive stand-up meeting:

1. Keep it short

An hour-long stand-up meeting defeats the whole point. Not only does it mean that you’ve failed to leverage the main benefit of stand-up meetings (the way they encourage concise, productive conversations), but you’ve likely lost the attention of your participants. Whose mind wouldn’t wander after 45 minutes + on their feet? Aiming for approximately 20 minutes is ideal to get the most out of a standing meeting.

It is estimated that there are currently almost 15,000 co-working spaces around the world, as of the beginning of 2019. In the US, this equates to 2.5 million square metres. In London, arguably the co-working capital of the world, 994,000 square metres are dedicated to co-working.

What Are The Most Popular Co-Working Industries?

Co-working sees people come from all walks of life and a vast variety of industries. However, some of the most popular industries that co-workers work in are:

2. Designed To Impress

Whether you’re a start-up company or a flourishing brand, every business needs to host and impress on occasion. Sometimes it’s investors, clients, partners or potential new team-members, but it is always crucial to set the right impression.

This is something you are much more likely to achieve with pro-working rather than co-working. Pro-working spaces are often designed with sleek and sophisticated decoration, high quality furniture and with a focus on productivity and professionalism.

What’s more, pro-working meeting rooms are often of excellent quality, providing much more than the bare-minimum simple table and chairs. You can impress your attendees with high-tech ‘plug-in & play’ presentation set-ups, whiteboards, lots of natural light and even sound-reducing devices for added privacy.

3. On-Site Management

Much like how 5-star hotels provide concierge service, a helpful reception desk and a team of behind-the-scenes cleaners, caterers and operations staff, you can expect a similar level of dedicated on-site service from pro-working centres.

Co-working centres are often quite autonomous, without the regular presence of the provider. By contrast, pro-working work spaces are likely to have team members on-site most days of the week.

Us&Co members and guests, for example, are greeted by our friendly receptionist. There are then always team-members on-hand for any questions or concerns. You will often find us enjoying the facilities ourselves, relaxing in the break-out spaces or working from a hot desk.

4. Set-up For Long Term Partnerships

Pro-working companies don’t just see their members as desks to be filled or names on a database, they really care about forming lasting partnerships and relationships with the people that come through their door.

Here at Us&Co, we are personally invested in the success of our members, and thrive on seeing businesses grow and flourish within our own walls. We therefore design our entire pro-working ethos around providing our members with the active support, facilities and partnership that will help brands achieve their goals.

Whether it’s networking assistance, introducing you to other members that we know will compliment your objectives, or simply checking in over Friday drinks, the pro-working approach allows us to feel as though we are part of your extended team. Your wins are our wins.

1. How office layout ensures privacy

From the spacing of desks to the selection of furniture, a lot of thought and planning goes into the layout of a co-working space. Panels on the side of desks ensure that every individual worker can work on confidential projects without being overlooked. Break-out spaces are also typically kept very separate to working stations, with dedicated areas or rooms for breaks and lunches. This means that the coffee-break chatter doesn’t distract fellow co-workers who are sat at their desks.

2. Secure workspace buildings

Despite a misguided perception to the contrary, co-working spaces don’t allow just anybody to  ‘come-and-go’ as they please. Shared offices often adopt fob-card entry systems, door codes or networked entry key cards. This means that only paying members can gain entrance to the co-working space.

Similarly important is the efforts put in place to protect co-workers’ personal belongings. From dedicated bike storage space to personal lockable cabinets, co-working doesn’t have to mean the hassle of taking everything with you every time you leave the office.

3. Secure internet connection

Privacy and security are no longer essential in just a physical sense, but are also crucial from a digital perspective. Compared to consumer and retail online fraud, which have been declining in recent years, cybercrime against businesses in the UK has grown by a worrying 63% since early 2017.

It is therefore a growing priority for co-working spaces and shared offices to provide their members with secure, fast internet connection. For example, all At Us & Co members have access to our super fast and highly secure WiFi, the cost of which is fully included in the up-front membership fees. We have a 1gb resilient internet line that allows for an average upload/download speed of 70mbs per second, meaning that members can surf with confidence.

4. Private meetings rooms

Privacy in co-working spaces doesn’t end with the work you do while sat at your desk. Many co-working brands offer private bookable meeting rooms, specially designed to keep your discussions among your team only. Sound-proofing panels are often installed on the walls of meeting rooms to stop your conversation spilling out. Similarly, frosted glass doors and windows are a great addition to a private meeting room, preventing anyone from seeing in whilst still allowing for the essential flow of natural light.

A thriving, populous city at the heart of global finance, technology and entrepreneurship, London is one of the most popular locations for start-ups in the world. There are currently an estimated 205,000 start-ups in the city, and that number is expected to continue growing from year to year.

1. Go Somewhere New

One of the best way to energise your team ahead of a big meeting is to offer them a new experience. Give them a break away from the office that they work in every day and meeting rooms that they have already spent many hours in.

This works because the human brain naturally seeks out novelty. In a phenomenon known as the ‘coffee shop effect’, changing scenery has been shown to make workers more motivated, productive and creative, through increasing their levels of dopamine.

We therefore recommend booking external meeting rooms, especially for long meetings. This will offer your team a welcome change from the everyday and help you lead a more productive and impactful session.

2. Take Regular Breaks

When you have a lot to cover, it is tempting to try and do so in one long session. However, doing this can significantly impact how useful the overall meeting will be. For both those running a long meeting and those participating, not having regular breaks will naturally reduce an individual’s productivity and ability to contribute.

According to the International Institute for Facilitation and Change, multi-hour meetings should have a break scheduled at least every 90 minutes. Short breaks of just 5 to 10 minutes will make a huge difference to the concentration levels of your team, allowing members to stretch their legs, use the bathroom and drink water. So long as you are clear when participants are expected to return to the meeting room, they will do so re-energised and better equipped to make the most of the session.

3. Use A Variety of Mediums

Not everyone in a meeting responds to the same methods. Some people prefer simply listening to a speaker, so they can make their own notes. Others prefer brainstorming on a whiteboard or receiving hand-outs, so they can focus on participation rather than writing. It is therefore essential that a long meeting doesn’t confine itself to a single method of presentation. Otherwise, there will inevitably be some participants who are less likely to get the most of the session. Also, switching up the mediums you use will add variety to the long meeting, helping to keep your team engaged and interested by offering them something new.

There are a great number of mediums that we recommend you take advantage of when running a long meeting. As mentioned, whiteboard brainstorming is a fantastic way to encourage the participation of the whole room. Likewise, easy-to-follow hand-out notes are a hugely effective method of ensuring everyone in the meeting takes away the key points and actions. Other opportunities include: screen presentations, videos, quizzes, worksheets and role-play scenarios.

4. Have A Clear Meeting Agenda In Advance

If you are clear from the beginning what a long meeting will entail, you are much more likely to get what you want out of that meeting.

Pre-agreed upon meeting agendas are important because they establish the tone of the meeting. They ensure that everyone involved understands the purpose of the meeting, what needs to be achieved and what they should take away from it. Also, they frame the conversation, helping keep topic points to their allotted time-frames and reducing the possibility of distractions or irrelevant questions derailing the conversation.

Prior to the meeting, contact the participants with your proposed agenda of the topics you want to address. If anyone has any additional topics to add, it is best that you learn this ahead of time so that you can work it into the timeline of the meeting.

1. How Plenty Of Daylight Helps You Sleep Better At Night

Neuroscience researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago concluded that there is a strong relationship between workplace daylight exposure and a worker’s sleep quality. They found that workers in offices with windows slept an average of 46 more minutes per night. They also showed signs of much higher overall sleep quality – with more time typically spent in deep sleep – as well as being less likely to experience sleep talking, sleep walking or snoring.

The reason for this connection comes down to the impact of lighting on a human’s circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm dictates the body’s release of hormones (especially melatonin), natural sleep-wake cycle, body temperature and a whole range of other crucial bodily functions. Not receiving enough natural daylight during the working day causes major disruption to this rhythm.

2. The Impact Of Natural Light On Mental Health

Working for lengthy periods of time without daylight directly increases an individual’s risk of developing mental health issues. Depression, bipolar disorder and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) are all linked to disruption to the circadian rhythm. Research also shows that natural light helps people to be generally much happier, calmer and less susceptible to the impact of stress.

Mental health problems currently cost the UK economy an estimated £70-100 billion per year, thanks to loss of productivity and earnings, as well as the burden on our health service. With the average UK adult spending approximately 90% of their waking hours indoors, it is becoming more important than ever that employers prioritise staff wellbeing when selecting office space and consider natural lighting in their decision.

3. The Impact Of Natural Light On Physical Health

Another damaging side-effect of not receiving enough natural light is Vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is essential for a number of core bodily functions, including regulating the immune system, maintaining body weight and ensuring healthy cognitive function. Deficiencies in the mineral have been conclusively linked to flu, asthma, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. A workplace study conducted by Cohere found that workers in offices without windows took 6.5% more sick leave each year.

Artificial light also contributes to eye problems and migraines. Dim lighting forces the eyes to work much harder in order to see, leading to eye strain and headaches. Overly harsh lighting – florescent lighting in particular – makes it more difficult to focus your vision, and is also a known trigger for eye strain and migraines.

4. How Daylight Makes Workers More Productive

It is inarguably easier for workers to learn, think creatively and be productive when they are working somewhere with lots of daylight. Research published by Eco Business showed that workplaces with sufficient daylight saw an uplift of between 5 and 40% in productivity and sales. Studies in schools have similarly shown that pupils retain information far better if regularly taught in classrooms with plenty of windows.

Playwright and Nobel Prize winner George Bernard Shaw was a strong advocate of the value of natural light for boosting his creativity and productivity. He worked for over 20 years in a specially-built writer’s hut that he designed to stand on a mechanical turntable, allowing him to move the whole studio on its axis to follow the sunlight.

1. Roof Terrace, Sea Containers Events

The Sea Containers building on London’s South Bank is a hugely iconic space, with its illuminated letters forming a hugely memorable part of the riverside skyline. Although the building is not normally accessible to the public, the Roof Terrace has been opened as a spectacular alfresco event venue that can cater up to 200 guests. Close to the Tate Modern, London Eye and the Southbank Centre, this exclusive space offers a fantastic view of bustling central London.

2. Shoreditch Sky Terrace

Shoreditch has a strong reputation as one of the trendiest spots in London, with a plethora of bars, restaurants and clubs. But, if you’re looking to host a summer party somewhere a bit more exclusive and away from all that, the Shoreditch Sky Terrace is an excellent option. Complete with a BBQ kitchen, comfortable seating and a cutting-edge music system, to help you keep your guests fully entertained. Like the Sea Containers Roof Terrace, this venue is ideally suited for larger groups – as it can comfortably host up to 200 guests.

3. East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf

One of the most enticing aspects of Canary Wharf is how the modern financial district and the historic dockland sit side-by-side, making it a hugely memorable location for hosting an event, especially in the summer. East Wintergarden is a luxury occasion venue, sitting at the heart of the area, nestled in between the iconic skyscrapers and right on the bank of the river – perfect for impressing your guests.

4. The Corinthian Roof Terrace, Kia Oval

This bright, open event venue is the perfect spot for a summer party with a difference, as it based at the top of the OCS Stand, overlooking the stunning Kia Oval international cricket ground, home of Surrey Cricket Club. Close to Vauxhall and Kennington, this space is considered somewhat of a hidden London gem. With views of the cricket pitch on one side and iconic London landmarks (including the London Eye) on the other, hosting your party at the Corinthian Roof Terrace is a fantastic way to enjoy the best that London has to offer.