Half of workers feel more productive working from home

Half of workers feel more productive working from home

work from homeProductivity has increased due to the current lockdown situation, according to around half of  UK workers. The majority (56 percent) of workers who don’t usually work from home feel more productive than in the office. Despite this, 50 percent of those currently working from home are looking forward to their workplace reopening, although 70 percent hope their employer lets them work from home more often in future. Nearly half (45 percent) of workers would therefore welcome a flexible office arrangement that allows them to split working time between the office and home.  More →

Time to apply the lessons we learned during lockdown

Time to apply the lessons we learned during lockdown

Return to work after lockdownSo far, 2020 has not gone to plan. For businesses, and the people they employ, the next few months may be just as bumpy, as each country, state and city takes its own approach to a phased return to work after lockdown. Today, in Houston, offices are limited to 25 percent capacity, in London, the underground is capped at 13-15 percent capacity, while in New Zealand and other countries hospitality and retail are returning with heightened hygiene measures and social distancing in place. More →

Research predicts decline in business travel post-lockdown

Research predicts decline in business travel post-lockdown

business travelEnvironmental concerns and the changing work landscape could lead to a noticeable drop in both domestic and international business travel, as nearly half of UK workers (48 percent) are concerned about its negative environmental impact, according to new research from O2. More →

Virtual work has the potential to harm trust, social cohesion and knowledge sharing

Virtual work has the potential to harm trust, social cohesion and knowledge sharing

virtual workTrust, social cohesion and information sharing are the most potentially vulnerable to damage when people work virtually, according to a study of around 750 academic papers conducted on behalf of the Advanced Workplace Institute (AWI), a global workplace management body. As organisations rapidly embrace home working and virtual work in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the study warns that without active management to respond to changes in working, team dynamics are under risk with a knock on effect on both employee happiness and performance. More →

Wellbeing for remote workers should not be lost in translation

Wellbeing for remote workers should not be lost in translation

flexible workingAs the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the world of work – seeing many businesses remote working – employers are learning more about the importance of effective communication. Diminished in-person contact can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness among employees. And managers are also facing new challenges in providing the level of social interaction and support that is crucial in maintaining the mental health wellbeing of employees while away from the office. More →

Firms should adopt a hybrid model as they return to work

Firms should adopt a hybrid model as they return to work

As mandatory working from home lifts, managers should be aware that employee expectations around how they work have evolved significantly. In a report (registration) published by Soldo in collaboration with several UK universities, management experts advise that companies need to radically redesign their business processes. Employees who worked productively at home throughout the lockdown will strongly resist managers enforcing limitations on where and when they do their work. More →

A thank you for the bitter knowledge offered by the lockdown

A thank you for the bitter knowledge offered by the lockdown

With all challenges come opportunities. Covid-19 will most likely be the single largest challenge and disrupter of a generation. It has the potential to create the greatest significant shift in working behaviours and standards of the past hundred years. Workspace consultants, enlightened clients, designers, researchers and commentators have been hammering the agile / home/ remote working drum for the past twenty years or more, waiting patiently for this kind of opportunity. More →

The paradox of how routines can help us be more productive and creative

The paradox of how routines can help us be more productive and creative

Former US president Barack Obama famously had a wardrobe full of identical suits. As a world leader, life presents more than enough big decisions – Obama’s reasoning was that it made sense to minimise the complexity of the small decisions. Artists are often thought of as rather different. Francis Bacon, for example, had a tempestuous personal life, a notoriously chaotic studio, and a penchant for late nights at London’s seedier drinking clubs. Yet even Bacon’s working habits were surprisingly regular – usually starting work at first light with strong tea, before heading out around midday for his first glass of champagne.

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Vast majority neglecting breaks when working from home

Vast majority neglecting breaks when working from home

working from homeA new study claims that “microbreaks” have decreased for 95 percent of employees during home working, as lockdown sees people glued to our desks more ever before. The ‘Working from home’ study, conducted by Wildgoose, asked employees from 133 companies throughout the UK how their working day differs at home compared to in the office, whether they wanted to continue working from home after lockdown has finished, and how companies could improve home working practices. More →

Brits are among the most fervent remote workers during the coronavirus crisis

Brits are among the most fervent remote workers during the coronavirus crisis

remote workers A new survey by CASS Business School, IESE Business School and HR Service Provider SD Worx claims that two thirds (65 percent) of British employees are working remotely during the lockdown. Almost half (47 percent) of the new batch of remote workers had never worked remotely before the COVID-19 crisis. The research focussed on salaried white-collar workers and covered six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. More →

The new era of work will embrace an ecosystem of spaces

The new era of work will embrace an ecosystem of spaces

The results of a new survey on people’s experience of working from home during lockdown will accelerate the  shift from primarily office-based work to a “total workplace ecosystem”, based on offices, homes and other locations including digital space. That is the conclusion of a new report from  Cushman & Wakefield which analysed responses from more than 40,000 individuals from around thirty companies across nearly twenty sectors. More →

The role of workplace professionals in the new era of work

The role of workplace professionals in the new era of work

Epicenter Coworking Space in Stockholm workplaceMany consequences of the COVID-19 crisis are immediately apparent to workplace managers and users. Potentially less obvious, are the fundamental changes to the job roles involved in managing commercial property, both within occupier businesses and property management teams alike. More →