October 13, 2021
Shift to hybrid working highlights the value of weak ties
Something we can expect to hear a lot about in the near future is the power of weak ties. It’s a well-established idea in sociology, anthropology, and social network analysis theory. But it’s about to be invigorated as a way of thinking about workplaces in the wake of two major peer-reviewed studies into the effects of remote work and hybrid working on people and the way they work with each other. According to the most widely cited paper on the subject of relationships, Mark Granovetter’s The Power of Weak Ties, The relationships between people can be categorised as strong, weak or absent. The latter is self-explanatory. Strong ties exist between people who are related, friend or who interact on a day to day basis. (more…)
At this time of year, with events such as Happiness at Work Week and 
The debate about the workplace and the future of work gets more interesting by the week. In the last few days alone, I’ve listened in on three great speakers talking about the opportunities, challenges, nuances and complexities of it all in a way that has been all but impossible in the past 18 months. In addition, Nigel Oseland has published 
Since offices reopened, there has naturally been a much greater focus on health and safety. Office managers everywhere have deployed one-way corridors, anti-viral disinfectant wipes, and daily temperature checks in order to ensure that those who have returned to the office feel safe. Globally, businesses have learned to cope with these adverse circumstances, but there are other lessons from the past year that we should use to refresh the workplace as well. 
Predicting behaviours in the commercial property market is never an easy thing, yet we know that the pandemic has drastically altered this market. Whilst some players have advocated ‘the end is nigh’ for all office space, research shows a different picture emerging – namely the office space as we know it is evolving into something different. The impact of prolonged uncertainty has fuelled change. However, there are other forces at work shaping a brighter and more varied future for office space. 
Scotland is to become the latest nation to trial a 
Today, companies cannot shy away from their responsibilities towards the environment. With Extinction Rebellion keeping the climate crisis firmly on the news agenda, and COP26 in November gathering more international attention than ever, how businesses approach and champion sustainability is under significant scrutiny. At a local level, organisations are being set targets by the UK government to commit to 
I recently stumbled upon the phrase epistemic trespass, which describes the phenomenon of people making judgements in fields in which they have no expertise. I came across it as it was used to explain the sudden explosion of opinions about Afghanistan from a hitherto unknown horde of experts. Which may or may not be the same horde that has been so very certain about immunology and public health during the pandemic. It’s an old idea and one that needs to be treated with care, for reasons set out by Noah Smith 
I’m a Luddite. This is not a hesitant confession, but a proud proclamation. I’m also a social scientist who studies how new technologies affect politics, economics and society. For me, Luddism is not a naïve feeling, but a considered position. And once you know what Luddism actually stands for, I’m willing to bet you will be one too — or at least much more sympathetic to the Luddite cause than you think. 
We’ve all learnt a great deal about working from home over the past eighteen months. We’ve seen how for some, it can be incredibly beneficial to employees, enabling them to better balance their work and personal lives and can also benefit the company, enabling business as usual during the Covid-19 pandemic, even improving efficiency. It’s also prompted some important conversations about mental health that simply hadn’t been had, normalising the challenges that we all face, especially during lockdowns. 
October 19, 2021
So what’s happening to all the plexiglass we thought was a solution last year?
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Environment