About Neil Franklin

Neil Franklin is Insight's news editor

Posts by Neil Franklin:

Offices in the post lockdown era will focus on what they are good at

Offices in the post lockdown era will focus on what they are good at

Office spaces will become a hive of activity in the future as more businesses embrace office designs which promote innovation, creativity and team collaboration, predicts commercial real estate advisors Colliers International. The EMEA Workplace Advisory team has published its latest report, Exploring the post-COVID-19 Workplace, which evaluates feedback from its global Work from Home survey to discuss future workplace trends. More →

Workplace technology enters new `golden age`

Workplace technology enters new `golden age`

A ‘golden age’ of workplace technology could be coming, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic according to a new report, co-authored by Professor Michael Dickmann from Cranfield University which investigated the Global Mobility response to COVID-19. The report claims that some multinational companies were completely lacking crisis response plans when the pandemic hit, and many are now adjusting their goals because of movement restrictions and employee wellbeing. 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 →

Wellbeing at work was falling even before the lockdown

Wellbeing at work was falling even before the lockdown

Wellbeing at workWork has made our wellbeing worse over the last two years, according to new research from the CIPD. A survey of more than 6,000 workers found the number of people saying work has a positive impact on their mental health has fallen from 44 per cent to 35 per cent. Not only does this highlight that employers haven’t done enough to tackle the issue to date, according to the CIPD,  it raises concerns about the further impact COVID-19 could have on people’s wellbeing, given many are worried about contracting the virus at work, losing their job or bearing the brunt of other cutbacks by their employer. More →

Working life set to become more precarious and unequal

Working life set to become more precarious and unequal

precarious working lifeThe future of work is likely to be even more precarious and unequal, according to a new research review from academics at Durham University Business School, Kings College Business School and University Paris-Dauphine. Dr. Jeremy Aroles, Assistant Professor in Organisation Studies at Durham University Business School, alongside colleagues, Dr. Nathalie Mitev (King’s College) and Professor François?Xavier de Vaujany (University Paris-Dauphine), reviewed a wide range of research related to working life new work practices and summarised this into a number of predictions for the future of work. This research review paper was published in the journal ‘New Technology, Work and Employment’, which is open access throughout June. 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 →

Organisations still adjusting to reality of `gig economy`

Organisations still adjusting to reality of `gig economy`

gig economyA new report from Aon claims that the so-called gig economy will continue to flourish but many employers are still adjusting to its realities. Using research from HR and gig workers across Europe, the report, Gig Economy: Financial Security or Greater Control, claims that 26 percent of European HR directors believe their workforces will have 51-75 percent of gig workers in five years’ time, while 18 percent of UK HRDs believe 75 percent or more of their workforce will be made up of contractors in 5 years’ time. Nearly all HRDs believe providing health and benefits packages would improve gig worker recruitment (94 percent), engagement (93 percent), productivity (88 percent) and retention (95 percent). More →

Working from home opens up new data security threat

Working from home opens up new data security threat

working from home securityA new report from Tessian claims that nearly half of employees (48 percent) are less likely to follow safe data practices when working from home. The State of Data Loss Prevention 2020 report suggests that the global shift to remote working poses new security challenges for businesses and why traditional security solutions are failing to curb the problem of the insider threat and accidental data loss. More →

Demand for London office space plummets, but will bounce back (to an extent)

Demand for London office space plummets, but will bounce back (to an extent)

London office spaceThe impact of the measures taken to curtail the spread of COVID-19 have dramatically changed the working landscape, not least of all for the commercial property market, claims a new report from property consultancy DeVono Cresa. Commercial occupier demand for London office space fell by 30 percent across Q1 of 2020, according to the report. However, it also suggests that the market fundamentals at the end of March remain relevant and will dictate heavily on future real estate decisions. More →

Corporate wellbeing is too focused on sick workers

Corporate wellbeing is too focused on sick workers

corporate wellbeingCorporate wellbeing initiatives are often too focused on sick individuals, and firms should be addressing the root causes of physical and mental health by building healthy organisations instead. That is the main claim of a new report from the Corporate Research Forum (CRF) report, supported by Lane 4 and Mercer.  The report is based on interviews with 150 HR leaders from FTSE 100 and similar sized businesses. More →

Wellbeing benefits of time in nature endure for months

Wellbeing benefits of time in nature endure for months

Mental healthThe wellbeing benefits from simple daily contact with nature can last for months, once initiated, according to a new review from The Wildlife Trusts. The review is based on surveys completed by people taking part in 30 Days Wild, a study based on three peer-reviewed papers. Researchers at the University of Derby evaluated survey responses from more than 1,000 people over five years and discovered the enduring effects on wellbeing from participation in 30 Days Wild – the positive effects are still felt two months after the challenge is over. More →

Most British workers reluctant to work mainly from home, BCO poll claims

Most British workers reluctant to work mainly from home, BCO poll claims

Rumours of the demise of the office are much exaggerated, according to new independent polling commissioned by the British Council for Offices (BCO), the representative body for the UK’s office sector. Just one in five (20 percent) UK adults plans primarily to work from home in the future, while only 16 percent hope that working from home replaces the office. Last week, Twitter, the social media company, announced that staff could ‘forever work from home’ if they wanted to. However, that offer would only be partially taken up by British workers, with many instead opting for ‘mixed working’, balancing time between the office and home. More →