May 2, 2022

Why the over 50s are leaving the workforce in huge numbers

by Carlos Carillo-Tudela et al • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace

The UK economy has a problem with its over 50s: following the COVID pandemic, they have been leaving the labour force en masse, causing headaches for businesses and the government. Roughly 300,000 more workers aged between 50 and 65 are now “economically inactive” than before the pandemic, leading a tabloid paper to dub the problem the “silver exodus”. Being economically inactive means that these older workers are neither employed nor looking for a job. Of course, it could simply be that workers saved more during the pandemic and can now afford to retire in comfort earlier than planned. More →

April 20, 2022

Issue 10 of IN Magazine is now online

by Mark Eltringham • Features, News, Premium Content

IN10 is now available to view online here. Print issues will be sent out next week. In this issue of IN Magazine, amongst other things: we cast an eye over three of the most talked about issues in the post pandemic era of work – the four day week, universal basic income and the metaverse; we visit the new offices of BT in Birmingham and see how the design has evolved over the two years since they were first announced; we meet Simone Fenton-Jarvis to discuss her new book and views on where we are; we explore the power of weak ties at work; ask why colour psychology seems to work, but not in the ways most commonly touted; ponder the effects of prolonged periods of isolation; wonder what we’ve done to our dogs; and look at the changing face of workplace art. All back issues of IN Magazine are available here.

March 29, 2022

Making sense of an uncertain but energetic return to some sort of normal

by Eugenia Anastassiou • Features, Flexible working

The first Omnirama event on the 23rd of March launched the series exploring different factors challenging the world of work in a time of prevailing uncertainty. Underlying Ominirama’s raison d’etre is that recent events have turned the status quo on its head with some major structural and systemic changes taking place. Nobody seems to have any clear idea of how to deal with this enormous transformation in the ways we work All the playbooks and all the guidance that we have all relied upon for so many years have now gone out the window. More →

March 29, 2022

The Great Resignation and what is really happening

by Carlos Carillo-Tudela et al • Features, Workplace

The ‘Great Resignation’ is a buzzphrase that first appeared in May 2021, and has struck fear into the hearts of employers ever since. Coined in the US, the term refers to the unprecedented rise in the number of workers resigning from their jobs following the pandemic. There has since been a huge amount of research trying to work out why this has happened. Are workers quitting work entirely, as the pandemic makes us re-evaluate our priorities? Or are they quitting to pursue their dreams in a different career? More →

March 25, 2022

The compadre of teleworking, with Jack Nilles

by Freddie Steele • Features, Flexible working, Podcasts

In episode four of Workplace Geeks, Chris and Ian cross seven time zones to learn from the father of teleworking and environmental activist, Jack Nilles, about the multi-disciplinary research project that led to his 1976 book ‘The Telecommunications-Transportation Trade-off: Options for Tomorrow’. Teleworking has been proven to be an effective and valued part of hybrid working solutions since the 1970s. The barriers to implementation are rarely, if ever, technological or economic: they are cultural, often specifically managerial, and always have been. Despite this, tried and tested change methodologies can overcome these challenges. Now, more than ever, we need to embrace the many benefits of teleworking, not just for organizational and personal gain, but also as part of our strategies to address the climate emergency. More →

March 18, 2022

Flexible working and wellbeing? We already know how that all works

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Podcasts, Premium Content, Wellbeing, Wellbeing Matters

If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Woody Allen’s wise observation could have been made for this year. But it’s not just true for plans that go awry, but also those that go right in unexpected ways. For example, what better time to publish a book about the links between flexible working and wellbeing than in April 2020 as large swathes of the population were adjusting to completely remote work, many of them for the first time? More →

March 9, 2022

Workplace Geeks podcast: Space for thought, with Jeremy Myerson

by Neil Franklin • Features, Flexible working, Workplace design

In this new episode of Workplace Geeks, Chris and Ian talk to WORKTECH Academy director, author and activist, professor emeritus Jeremy Myerson, about his award-winning research, ‘Space for thought: designing for knowledge workers’. The paper was co-authored with lead-researcher Catherine Greene back in 2011, and the findings are arguably even more relevant now in the aftermath of the pandemic, as many organisations grapple to unlock suitable alternative working arrangements for their diverse knowledge workers’ needs. More →

March 2, 2022

Sustainability doesn’t have to depend on high-tech solutions

by Chris McMahon • Architecture, Environment, Features, Technology

It’s a popular idea that the path to sustainability lies in high-tech solutions. By making everyday items like cars electric, and installing smart systems to monitor and reduce energy use, it seems we’ll still be able to enjoy the comforts to which we’ve become accustomed while doing our bit for the planet – a state known as “green growth”. But the risks of this approach are becoming ever clearer. Many modern technologies use materials like copper, cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements. These metals are in devices like cell phones, televisions and motors. Not only is their supply finite, but large amounts of energy are required for their extraction and processing – producing significant emissions. More →

February 24, 2022

Building workplace resilience in a changing environment

by Jennifer Bryan • Business, Features, Flexible working, JB, Workplace

For decades, it has been agreed that change is a constant. So, doesn’t it stand to reason that before a change or crisis happens, an organization should have the ability and resilience to transform? In the McKinsey report, The resilience imperative: Succeeding in uncertain times, resilience is defined as, “the ability to withstand unpredictable threat or change and then to emerge stronger.” In other words, it is the ability to sustain and endure. And it applies just as much to workplace resilience as any other element of the organisation. More →

February 7, 2022

New issue of IN Magazine is now online

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Premium Content

The January 2022 issue of IN Magazine is now online. In this issue we: visit what is claimed to be the best office in the world; consider whether the experience of our daily lives is shaped more by maintenance than design; challenge the idea of people as blank slates; look at a new generation of datacentre design; explore the regional flex office market; ask how rising energy costs will impact remote workers; talk to manufacturers using waste and unwanted materials to create new products; hear from Robert Bolton of KPMG on a new era for HR; and learn about how intentional design applies to the workplace. All back issues of IN Magazine are available here.

February 4, 2022

Want people to return to the office? Then create the best office in the world

by Mike Hills • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

More obituaries have been written for the office in the past two years than at any time in history. It has often seemed like even the best office in the world couldn’t preserve the idea of the office. And it’s not like the obituaries were all that rare even before the pandemic forced us to reappraise our relationship with work and the times and places we do it. While all these death notices were being served, one particularly well-informed organisation was making some more interesting observations about it all. In particular, it constantly raised the most fundamental question of all. More →

February 3, 2022

Working from home fuels concerns for energy consumption

by Sara Bean • Environment, Features, Flexible working

Back in February 2020, consulting firm WSP UK published some interesting research that revealed those working from home during the summer saved around 400kg of carbon emissions, the equivalent of 5 percent of a typical British commuter’s annual carbon footprint. The catch was that it was just a seasonal benefit. If an average employee worked at home all year round, they would produce 2.5 tonnes of carbon per year – around 80 percent more than an office worker. This is because, during the winter, most heating systems in Britain heat the whole house, which produces far more carbon emissions than would be produced from the commute. More →