December 17, 2021
December 15, 2021
Majority of UK workers would consider quitting their job if hybrid working was axed
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives
More than half (51 percent) of UK workers who currently have the choice to mix remote and office working would consider leaving their company if this hybrid option was removed, according to new research released by Microsoft in conjunction with YouGov (fieldwork undertaken 7th – 15th October 2021).
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December 10, 2021
Full time remote working doesn’t allow employees to connect with company culture
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture
The majority of U.K workers (83 percent) believe that those who work remotely full time cannot meaningfully connect with workplace culture. Just 17 percent feel that time in the office is unnecessary for fostering company culture. These are the findings from O.C. Tanner’s 2022 Global Culture Report which analysed the perspectives of over 38,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners and executives from 21 countries around the world, including over 2,500 from the U.K. (more…)
December 8, 2021
Working from home can increase work-family conflict for women in traditional gender roles
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives
New research by the University of Kent claims that working from home can increase feelings that family responsibilities hinder work responsibilities, but only for women in traditional gender roles. Despite its advantages, such as less commuting and more flexibility, the study published in the journal Community, Work and Family discovered that working from home can increase rather than decrease feelings that work and family demands conflict with one another. (more…)
December 8, 2021
Nearly half of UK employees are ready for a workplace metaverse
December 6, 2021
Hybrid working success relies on three key factors
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News
Organisations must focus on equipping people managers, who are the stewards of sustainable performance, with the right skillsets to ensure they and their teams succeed in the hybrid working world, according to Gartner, Inc. To achieve this, Gartner recommends organisations pursue three tactics to ensure managers are prepared to lead their teams in this setting. (more…)
December 2, 2021
Majority of employers agree flexible working requests should be a day-one right
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives
The majority (57 percent) of employers agree that the right to request flexible working should be a day-one right, claims research from the CIPD. Agreement is highest from those in the public sector (69 percent) compared to those in the private sector (54 percent). In addition, larger organisations of 250+ employees were more likely to agree than SMEs (62 percent compared to 51 percent). (more…)
December 2, 2021
Seven in ten HR managers support greater flexible working in their workplace
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace
Seven in 10 (70 percent) of UK HR managers now say flexible working could work for their business – claims a new TUC poll. Half (49 percent) of UK HR managers polled said that greater flexible working could work for their business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, building on the one in five (21 percent) who say that their business already enabled significant flexible working before the pandemic. (more…)
December 1, 2021
There are thirty-eight ways to win an argument, but this ain’t one
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working
There are 38 ways to win an argument. That is according to the 19th Century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer who laid them out in an essay called The Art of Being Right. We’ve probably added a few more since it was published in 1896, but whatever we’ve come up with since probably works on the same basis. Despite the essay’s title, the stratagems are not actually about being right at all, but about winning an argument. (more…)
November 30, 2021
Pandemic-driven shifts have made the workforce smaller, younger and more female
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives
The pandemic has not led to mass unemployment as many feared, but has instead driven wider shifts that have increased employment among younger women, but pushed many men and older workers out of the labour market altogether, according to new research. (more…)






More than a third (37 percent) of legal professionals have considered leaving their role due to poor mental health and wellbeing, according to the latest research from 



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December 3, 2021
Menopause may amount to a disability under law in some cases
by Kathryn Clapp • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing