June 15, 2022

Two thirds of SME staff ‘less likely’ to go off sick when working from home

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Two thirds of people working for small and medium sized businesses say they are are less likely to take sick leave when working from home and nearly half say they feel more pressure to justify their productivity when working remotely. The poll [registration] of around 1,300 people from Breathe suggests that the pressure people when working from home can lead to counterproductive forms of digital presenteeism. More →

June 15, 2022

Poor mental wellbeing costs UK contact centres almost £1 billion each year

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

People working in contact centre roles say that work-related poor mental wellbeing is making them less productive, including answering fewer calls and taking more sick days – costing the industry over £990m in lost productivity every year. That’s according to a new study, Duty of Care Gap [registration] from MaxContact. The contact centres industry is a huge contributor to the UK economy, employing over 800,000 people across the country. Yet the industry is facing a mental health crisis, with 83 percent workers saying their work is taking a toll on their mental wellbeing, with staff reporting high stress levels (62 percent), anxiety (48 percent) and feeling overwhelmed (46 percent). More →

June 14, 2022

BCO announces overhaul of specification guide

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

The British Council for Offices (BCO), has released a position paper proposing updated key design criteria, as part of its most recognised publication, the BCO Guide to Specification. The guide, which is normally published every 4 or 5 years, provides expert best practice advice on how to specify office space, helping industry practitioners provide space that meets the needs of occupiers, helping them to conduct their business in safe, healthy, comfortable, and productive workspaces. More →

June 14, 2022

London Tech Week kicks off with new Government announcements on future of tech

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The Government’s review into the future of computing and its new UK Digital Strategy were unveiled at the start of London Tech Week as the world’s technology leaders, founders and next generation of tech superstars gather in the capital to collaborate on the future of the industry. Opening day speakers included Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson, Darren Hardman, VP & General Manager, AWS, Theo Blackwell MBE in conversation with New York City’s CTO Matt Fraser, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemi?tkowski and The Body Coach CEO & Creative Director Nikki Wicks. More →

June 13, 2022

To provide people with better indoor air quality, we need a major upgrade of buildings

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Government must seize the post-pandemic opportunity to mandate long-term improvements to infection control in commercial, public and residential buildings to improve indoor air quality, reduce the transmission of future waves of COVID-19, new pandemics, seasonal influenza and other infectious diseases, according to a report published by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC). Infection control must also be coordinated with efforts to improve energy efficiency and fire safety, to support the three goals of safe, healthy and sustainable buildings. More →

June 13, 2022

Workplace health and wellbeing needs a radical rethink

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Health and wellbeing lobby group ukactive has called for a radical rethink of health incentivisation in the workplace, including expanding the Cycle to Work scheme to cover gym memberships and equipment as more people work from home, in a new report called The Active Workforce. A study [registration] conducted by the ukactive Research Institute, informed by Sport England and business organisations including the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB), examined the state of workplace health and wellbeing for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) following the Covid-19 pandemic. More →

June 9, 2022

Cycling to work uptake held back by significant obstacles

by Neil Franklin • News

A new poll from Direct Line Cycling Insurance claims that commuters are being increasingly discouraged from cycling to work by a number of factors, and those who do ride in face a dilemma on where to store their bike. While an estimated £1 billion worth of bikes are used to commute every day across the UK, the research suggests that as many as 1.5 million cyclists are deterred by the lack of bike storage facilities at their workplace. More →

June 9, 2022

EU issues mandate on standard charging port. The UK and Apple moan about it

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

By autumn 2024, USB Type-C will become the common charging port for all mobile phones, tablets and cameras in the EU, Parliament and Council negotiators have agreed. The provisional agreement on the amended Radio Equipment Directive, establishes a single charging solution for certain electronic devices. This law is a part of a broader EU effort to make products in the bloc more sustainable, to reduce electronic waste, and make consumers’ lives easier. More →

June 8, 2022

Strategic workforce planning blocked by lack of data and defined employee responsibilities

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Poor data quality and a lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities within the organisation are amongst the key challenges management faces when implementing vital strategic workforce planning (SWP), according to new academic research. The researchers also claim that a lack of methodology to execute a strategic workforce plan and the lack of support across all organisational units of the firm were contributing to a slower and less efficient strategic workforce planning. More →

June 7, 2022

Recruitment challenges are rooted in geopolitical unrest

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

According to a new poll from SumTotal Systems 60 percent of learning and development professionals think the current wave of recruitment challenges have their roots in wider political and economic upheavals. The report also claims that 65 percent of L&D professionals are concerned about their organisation’s ability to meet skills demand over the next 24 months, given the current UK economic outlook. More →

June 7, 2022

Are these the best countries in Europe for work-life balance?

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

A new study from recruitment firm Remote claims to analyse how European countries are looking after the work-life balance of their employees. The report sets out to take an ‘holistic’ view on work-life balance taking into account of factors such as minimum wage, maternity leave, statutory annual leave, sick pay, the country’s healthcare system and the country’s overall happiness level to help workers determine the best locations for life-work balance. The UK comes in a lowly 28th place, in case you didn’t want to click on the report link. More →

June 5, 2022

Employers must do more to encourage active travel and cycling to work, says charity

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Wellbeing

New research carried out by YouGov on behalf of Cycling UK claims that 43 percent of young people (18-24-year-olds) are considering changing their method of travel to include more public transport and cycling to work due to expected increases in transport costs. The findings are published as the reduction in disposable income forces households to tighten budgets and workers are forking out a greater proportion of their income simply to get to work. More →