The hybrid working era will introduce a range of new team building activities

The hybrid working era will introduce a range of new team building activities

The future of work is neither here (at home) nor there (at the office). The hybrid post-pandemic model for the workplace is quickly coming into play, whereby employees work in the office for part of the week and log in from home for the rest, with staff rotating in and out, connecting virtually and in real life, all from various spots on the globe.  Even as restrictions ease, it’s clear that work as we know it may never be the same. Full-time 9-5 commuting schedules are a thing of the past, but the practice of having the entire team conference together on Zoom from their couches is quickly ending as well. More →

Expect to see a growing number of people with the job title Head of Remote

Expect to see a growing number of people with the job title Head of Remote

Over the past year we’ve all become accustomed to working from home and now, the number of businesses setting permanent remote working strategies is growing. Consequently, this affects HR departments and their ways of working. The office is losing its status as the daily workplace and communication between colleagues has shifted to virtual channels. In order to manage remote workers appropriately and effectively, a manager who specialises in remote work could become more and more relevant in HR departments across the world. More →

Face-time pressure may force us back to the office

Face-time pressure may force us back to the office

officeEmployees feel they need to go back into the office in order to be promoted according to new research conducted within the “Reinventing Work” chair at ESCP Business School. More →

Flexible working practices vary widely across organisations

Flexible working practices vary widely across organisations

Picture of clock to depict flexible workingThe British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has released new figures suggesting that over two thirds (66 percent) of businesses surveyed now offer flexible working to employees. The data, from a survey of over 900 businesses conducted in April 2021, also shows nearly three quarters of businesses expect to have at least one employee working remotely over the coming year, with the average expectation among those firms being just over half of their employees working remotely. More →

Helsinki, Oslo and Zurich are cities with the best work-life balance

Helsinki, Oslo and Zurich are cities with the best work-life balance

work-lifeMobile access company Kisi has released their annual study examining which cities around the world promote the most holistic work-life balance. With the goal of enhancing an individual’s personal and professional life through technological innovation, Kisi has endeavored to find out which coveted metropolises worldwide are meeting their residents’ lifestyle demands to make their city a more attractive place overall to work and live. More →

For a workplace culture to flourish, sometimes you have to let go

For a workplace culture to flourish, sometimes you have to let go

Great workplace cultureTen years ago, the day after I left my full-time job at FM World magazine* to set up Magenta I wrote a blog called In Defence of the Office about how people feel when they’re asked to work flexibly. I talked about how many people struggle, finding that without the structure of day-to-day office life, they can’t manage their time properly, can’t discipline themselves to work and get distracted by domestic life. And they find, because perhaps they haven’t got to grips with the new technology, that they can’t locate important files or connect to that key person. They find that without the workplace they can’t work – or at least not as well. More →

A warning to employers that hybrid working will disproportionately impact their younger workforce

A warning to employers that hybrid working will disproportionately impact their younger workforce

hybrid workingAs the UK lockdown eases and the nation slowly returns to the office, energyhelpline.com has conducted research into the cost of hybrid working. With the nation settling into a mix between office and home-based working, workers are expecting to pay out £890 a month on various work-related expenditure, with outgoings such as travel, after work socialising and rising energy bills set to ramp up monthly expenses. More →

Hybrid working most likely preferred by older, wealthier, and married people

Hybrid working most likely preferred by older, wealthier, and married people

hybrid workingResearch from Totem, an employee engagement and culture app, claims there is a hybrid working gap, suggesting older workers are more likely to prefer hybrid working models than younger people. More →

Remote work is creating inclusive work experiences

Remote work is creating inclusive work experiences

remote workAccording to new data from Glint, which looked at aggregated data from millions of employee-engagement survey responses from over 600 companies around the world, employers that have committed to supporting remote work appear to be creating more inclusive work experiences. More →

The pandemic will transform the way we commute

The pandemic will transform the way we commute

Man on a bike on his commute to workOrganisations and businesses have a lot to contend with as they begin to reopen their offices. From social distancing, working from home policies, office layouts, hand gel stations and more. But there also remains one key issue when it comes to welcoming employees back to the office. And that’s how they will get to work in the first place. That’s because the daily commute is going to look a lot different than it did pre-COVID. Firstly, while many employers and workers see the benefit of meeting in person, the hybrid world we now live in will see workers commuting to the office far less frequently. And, if they do travel to the office, there is an element of hesitancy about how they will get there; a recent study revealed 60 percent that ‘post pandemic’ commuting say hybrid working has reduced stress from not having to commute daily. More →

Flexible and hybrid working policies undervalued by UK Gen Zers

Flexible and hybrid working policies undervalued by UK Gen Zers

Gen ZersOnly 3.7 percent of UK Gen Zers value flexible and hybrid working policies as most important to them in their future company, claims a poll of over 4000 UK Gen Zers from Yubo. Despite the current discussion regarding maintaining flexible working from home policies as the UK restrictions begin to ease, Gen Zers do not value this as highly as other aspects of work. More →

Majority of employers looking to shift to flexible work arrangements

Majority of employers looking to shift to flexible work arrangements

workThe COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition away from traditional workforce models, and 56 percent of companies are expecting to shift more of their roles to contingent, project or contract work as a result, according to a new report by Randstad Sourceright. More →