Between 21^st June and 14^th July FirstClients and the Prime Time Marketing Ltd. conducted a research amongst enterprises located in Pest-county. Beside the measurement of the preferences on the office market the aim of the research was to survey the tenants’ openness to new office solutions. As an outcome of the survey it can be said that almost half of the Hungarian enterprises know about the instant office, and 90% of the respondents consider it as a real option.

The research was conducted with on-line queries available on the internet and with telephone data collection, with the participation of 100 enterprises from Pest-county. In the sample there were 78 Hungarian and 11 foreign companies while 11 were under nixed ownership. The distribution of the sample by size of the enterprises was following the Hungarian characteristics – the SME’s are dominant: 11 were individual entrepreneurs, 45 had 2-9, 18 had 10-19 employees, 13 had 20-49, 4 had 50-249 and 2 had more, than 250 employees.

In the survey we got information from the respondents in three different categories: about their problems in connection with the actual office situation, about their ideal office and preferences, and about the instant office which can be the solution to their problems.

Situation on the office market

By 53% of the surveyed decision makers the own office or seat is the most preferred form of an office, but the research pointed out too, that often the enterprises’ need different solutions during different stages of their life-cycles. From the data it can be seen, that while all the companies would like to have an office, 1 from every 5 does not have any.

By choosing an office, almost all of the decision makers (96%) count with the price per square meter, 90% count with the overhead costs, but most of them do not take into consideration expenses like costs of moving in and maintenance or the cost of a long term contract. Only 14% of the respondents count the whole monthly fee of an office-rental. On the ground of incorrect cost calculation the instant office often seems to be more expensive than other possibilities: the rental fee contains all the expenses not just some of them. For example the main problem of a meeting room is that by a normal renting construction it increases the number of square meters, and the rental fee. So the expenses of a not used meeting room are mainly unnecessary. Contrary to this, the on-demand usage of the meeting rooms in the instant office increases extraordinary the efficiency.

Preferences of the Hungarian enterprises

The enterprises often choose the services of office buildings, because they can create an office suitable for their demands: the representative environment contributes to the success of the company and increases its reputation. The parking possibilities, the central location and the existence of the IT and communication systems were the most important mentioned factors by choosing an office.

Openness to new office solutions

Measuring the recognition and the knowledge about the instant office it can be said that almost half of the respondents (45%) knew or heard about this new solution.

The service was evaluated partly and altogether. 50% of the respondents found the flexible size of the office for advantageous or particularly advantageous, 55% the additional secretary services included in the price, 65% the vacant possession and the furniture of high-standards and 71% appreciated the prestigious location.  

70% of the respondents – if they had to choose a new office – would weight this opportunity up, and 20% would decide at that specific situation. So 90% of the respondents is opened to the new solutions and consider the instant office as a real option.

Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) leads to better health, reduced absenteeism, enhanced motivation, and improved productivity: that is the message behind the Workplace Health Promotion project of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). Employers have an important role to play in encouraging workers to adopt healthy lifestyles. In addition to  the health benefits for workers, every Euro invested in WHP leads to a Return on Investment (ROI) of between 2,5 – 4,8 Euros due to reduced absenteeism costs.

According to EU-OSHA Director Jukka Takala, 'supporting a healthy lifestyle pays off for everyone. It benefits employees themselves and their employers, but it also helps the wider society, by reducing the burden on healthcare systems. And with an ageing working population, the importance of Workplace Health Promotion schemes is only going to increase – we need to help people stay healthier for longer, and to achieve this we need employers and employees to work together, to create a healthy working culture.'

Companies and associations from the private and public sector, including some of Europe’s most well known companies, have joined forces with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in the new Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010/11 on safe maintenance.

A wide range of pan-European and international organisations1 have come together for EU-OSHA’s Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010/2011 on safe maintenance in a bid to reduce work-related accidents. The campaign, which builds on the achievements of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2008/09 on risk assessment, aims to raise awareness of proper workplace maintenance. Good practices in safe maintenance will be promoted through a variety of campaign activities including conferences, seminars and training sessions for workers, employees and other stakeholders involved in maintenance work.

Tomorrow’s architects, engineers, health professionals and business administrators will all need to be aware of occupational safety and health (OSH) and incorporate risk management into their daily working lives, if they are to keep themselves (and those around them) safe while they are at work. But how do we ensure that OSH training is an integral part of university education, rather than something that young people encounter only when they enter the world of employment?
A new report looks at the challenges of ‘mainstreaming’ or integrating OSH into university courses, as well as providing examples of imaginative ways in which these challenges can be overcome.

As Jukka Takala, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), points out, the new report is just the latest in an ongoing EU-OSHA initiative to support the 'mainstreaming' of OSH into education at all levels. ‘Education is key if we are to develop a culture of risk prevention’, he says. ‘But it is not just about teaching children and young adults to live and work safely. If OSH is truly to become an integral part of business management and operations, all future managers and professionals need risk education about their role and responsibilities.’

FirstClients has opened its second instant office in Budapest two weeks ago int he Allee Corner. After the successfull expansion a press roundtable was held where also Kenneth Ohlendorff - CEO of FirstClients – participated.

The main message of the roundtable was that the instant office is a new, successfully running development which can be profitable also in recession. The benefits of this special renting possibility were also introduced and it was highlighted that this kind of solution provides success and could be profitable for the company (FirstClients) and for the tenants also by customizing the offers to the needs of enquirer.

New EU rules on organic food labelling including the requirement to display the new EU organic logo, enter into force on 1 July, 2010. The so-called “Euro-Leaf” will now be obligatory on pre-packaged organic food products that have been produced in any of EU Member States and meet the necessary standards. Other private, regional or national logos will continue to appear alongside the EU label. The logo stays optional for non-packed and imported organic products. In addition to the logo, the new labelling rules also include the compulsory indications of place of farming of the products' ingredients and code number of the body that had been in charge of the controls. Operators have a two-year transition period to comply with these new labeling rules. Another change is the introduction of EU rules for organic aquaculture for the first time.

“Our hope is that the new EU logo can develop into a widely recognised symbol of organic food production across the EU, providing consumers with confidence that the goods are produced entirely in-line with the strict EU organic farming regulations”, according to EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development Dacian Cioloş. “I hope that these changes will give a boost to the organic farming sector, but also further enhance consumer protection”.

The "Euro-leaf” design shows the EU stars in the shape of a leaf against a green background passing two clear messages for consumers: Nature and Europe. The design has been registered by the Commission as a collective trade mark. Designed by German student Dušan Milenković, the logo emerged as the clear winner of an on-line poll, following a competition aimed at EU art students. The winner and the runners-up in this competition will be honoured at an official award ceremony in Brussels on 19 July 2010, organised to coincide with the July 19/20 Conference on the future of the Common Agriculture Policy.

New Organic aquaculture conditions

The new rules also cover organic aquaculture production of fish, shellfish and seaweed. The rules set EU-wide conditions for the aquatic production environment, the separation of organic and non-organic units and specify animal welfare conditions including maximum stocking densities, a measurable indicator for welfare. The rules specify that biodiversity should be respected, and do not allow the use of induced spawning by artificial hormones. Organic feeds should be used supplemented by fish feeds derived from sustainably managed fisheries. Special provisions are made for bivalve mollusc production and for seaweed.

Commenting on the new rules, Fisheries & Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki said: "Europe-wide rules for organic aquaculture have become a reality. They will give consumers a better choice and are a boost for sound and environmentally acceptable production and a viable alternative to the more traditional intensive approach. The EU is the biggest market in the world for seafood and it is fitting that Europe should play a leading role in establishing comprehensive rules in this domain. Among the priorities for my term are sustainability and social cohesion for the fishing and aquaculture sectors. These new rules for organic aquaculture are a milestone by integrating these priorities into aquaculture".

In 2008 an estimated 123 certified organic aquaculture operations were in operation in Europe, out of a total of 225 such farms worldwide.  These accounted for almost half world production of 50,000 tonnes in 2008.  The top five Member States in production terms are the UK, Ireland, Hungary, Greece and France. The top species is salmon.

Further details on the new rules can be found and the EU organic logo can be downloaded on the EU Organic Farming website: www.organic-farming.europa.eu

For the Conference on the future of the Common Agriculture Policy see http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-post-2013/conference/index_en.htm

A radio interview on how traditional folk dancing has built a bridge between Belgium and Bulgaria, a glimpse at the impact of Poland’s EU accession on Europe’s labour market and a portrait of Kosovo* as an emerging European hub of culture were the  European Young Journalist Award 2010 reports that caught the European jury’s attention and took the award’s flagship Special Prizes.

After months of anticipation, the three winners of the Special Prizes in the 2010 competition were announced in Istanbul last night. Vladisav Velev from Bulgaria for the Most Original Report, Prune Antoine from France for Best Research, and Verena Ringler from Austria for Best Journalistic Style, were selected from among the 35 national winners.

Hungary was represented by Viktória Iván, the journalist of FigyelőNet (http://www.fn.hu/kultura/20100228/europa_tranzit/), who won the Hungarian National Award with her Europe Transit titled article.

On the 28th April, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has launched its new Healthy Workplaces Campaign for 2010/11, promoting safe maintenance across Europe. In some European countries as much as 20% of all workplace accidents are connected with maintenance and in a number of sectors over half of all accidents are maintenance-related.