March 1, 2021
Zoom fatigue is real and has four basic causes
The much discussed idea of Zoom fatigue turns out to be a real phenomenon according to new peer reviewed research from Stanford academics. The study published in the American Psychological Association’s journal Technology, Mind, and Behaviour found that meetings conducted via video calls leave participants feeling more exhausted and emotionally drained than those held face to face. The study found the four most important factors that make video calls so exhausting; the constant need for eye contact, the ability to see one’s own face constantly during meetings, the need to sit still for long periods and difficulties in interpreting or communicating via body language. (more…)
More than half of financial institutions say they expect to have more ‘gig economy’ based employees over the next three to five years, according to PwC’s report, 
Almost two million workers were unemployed or fully furloughed in January – and had been for at least six months – highlighting the scale of lasting damage to the UK’s labour force that will need to be addressed in the Budget, according to major new research published today by the Resolution Foundation. 
Research from the 
Generating £27.8 billion gross value added annually, and employing more than 360,000 people, the West Midlands is the UK’s largest centre for business, professional and financial services (BPFS) outside London. Now, business leaders from Shoosmiths, Wesleyan, Bruntwood CBRE amongst others, are working with the region’s just under 12,500 leading tech and digital companies to see how they can integrate AI and advanced technology into their everyday activities. 
Take-up of office space in the cities outside of Central London during Q4 2020 totalled 1.1m sq ft, an increase of 138 percent compared to Q3 2020. However, the overall take-up for 2020 reached 3.9m sq ft, a decline of 40 percent on the five-year average, according to research from real estate advisor 
Amazon has submitted plans for its new $2.5 billion headquarters campus, known as HQ2, in Arlington County. Virginia. The NBBJ designed proposal for the PenPlace campus includes a 350 ft glass tower, three 22-story towers offering 2.8 million sq. ft of office space, a 250-seat outdoor amphitheatre, public green space, and several other buildings. The centre piece tower, officially dubbed The Helix, is a plant covered structure to emphasize the firm’s commitment to the environment and biophilic design. 
The EU Parliament has 
New research from 
With six weeks still to go until the Chancellor’s Budget, the CIPD is urging the Government to act early to extend the furlough scheme to protect jobs, support incomes and enhance skills development. Its calls are outlined in a report called 
