March 24, 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic had a serious impact on the home office furniture market in 2020, according to a new report, by AMA Research. Despite a move to homeworking, demand for home office furniture is expected to have declined by 8 percent in 2020; however this can be contrasted with the 17 percent fall in the total office furniture market. More →
July 26, 2019
With the summer holidays in full swing, Bella Italia researchers polled British parents around the pitfalls of keeping kids entertained and claims that hosting playdates and sleepovers is the thing we dread the most. Overall, 84 percent of parents claim having other people’s children over to play is an “extremely stressful” experience. In fact, playdates fill parents with so much dread and anxiety, that as many as 67 percent have told a lie to another parent to back out of having their child’s friend over. 43 percent said their biggest concern was their house getting trashed, while 41 percent worry about the kids being totally uncontrollable. More →
July 11, 2019
Although the percentage of women on boards at FTSE 100 firms is on track to reach 33 percent by 2020, a new report claims there are worrying signs that companies are appointing women for symbolic value. The Female FTSE Board Report, produced annually by Cranfield University’s School of Management, claims that women serve shorter tenures than men (on average, female non-executive directors serve 3.8 years – with men serving 5 years) and are less likely to get promoted into senior roles. More →
June 7, 2013
Earlier in the year, it was reported that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was investigating a number of the country’s most prominent companies including Panasonic, NEC, Sony and Sharp for the morally dubious practice of setting up euphemistic business units with the primary purpose of creating an office where they could send unwanted or poorly performing employees to demoralise them and drive them ultimately to resign. Last week the Japan Daily Press blog published more information about these so-called banishment rooms or oidashi-beya, claiming that workers are forced to spend ten hours a day performing tedious and menial tasks until they decide to leave.
March 11, 2013
Amidst all the controversy over flexible working raised by the infamous Yahoo homeworking ban comes US research revealing homeworking policies lead to happier employers and employees. 93 percent of employees surveyed by Staples Advantage agree that telecommuting programs are mutually beneficial, and more than half 53 percent of business decision makers said telecommuting leads to more productive employees. However, the survey also reveals that 48 per cent of telecommuters use furniture or technology that is not ergonomically adjusted for them, which can lead to discomfort, loss of productivity or injury. More →
