HR should play a more strategic role in business resilience

HR should play a more strategic role in business resilience

HR and resilienceAlmost every organisation now knows it must become more resilient as the economy emerges from the pandemic. As well as coping with crises and global events, organisations must excel in the face of the many less high-profile disruptions that hit an organisation – from supply chain bottlenecks to shifts in demand and sudden skills shortages. HR departments have a major role to play in this but to do so successfully requires a change of mindset, taking a step back from traditional administrative functions and reviewing the entire business as if they were an outsider. More →

Research claims ’emerging class divide’ in who gets flexible working

Research claims ’emerging class divide’ in who gets flexible working

class divideNew polling in a report published by the TUC claims an emerging class divide as some workers opt to keep working from home whereas those who can’t work from home have little access to any forms of flexible working. More →

Is it time to ban out-of-hours emails?

Is it time to ban out-of-hours emails?

The global pandemic has blurred the lines between home and work for millions of people around the world. Where once there was a clear distinction between being on and off duty, the demands of remote working and ever-presence of smartphones has created an ‘always on’ culture in many organisations. The trend has led to a number organisations in the UK to now call for a ban on out-of-hours emails in order to alleviate pressures on employees mental health. But is this really necessary, or even logistically possible, for the new world of work? We asked four leading experts for their thoughts. More →

Cities could be more important post-pandemic, not less, suggests report

Cities could be more important post-pandemic, not less, suggests report

Manchester, one of the UK's great citiesParadoxically, more in-person work environments and the concentration of jobs in cities could be a medium- to long-term impact of the pandemic’s shift to remote working, suggests Citi GPS Technology at Work: The Coming of the Post-Production Society, a report produced by Citi and the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. The report cites the automation of manufacturing and clerical tasks alongside the potential for professional services jobs that can be done remotely to be done cheaper overseas as the start of a foundational shift in developed economies. The future of work in these countries, it suggests, could be based largely on innovation, exploration and creative thinking which require face-to-face interaction and geographic proximity. More →

Working from home has increased UK working hours, but at what cost?

Working from home has increased UK working hours, but at what cost?

hoursResearch from Ezra claims that UK employees are working longer hours than ever thanks to remote working. However, the lack of structured office hours is having a detrimental effect on employee work-life balance and wellbeing and, therefore, the quality of their work. More →

Suburban commercial property markets outperform City Centres for first time in a decade

Suburban commercial property markets outperform City Centres for first time in a decade

suburbanResearch from The Instant Group claims that suburban commercial property markets are outperforming City Centres for the first time in over ten years. The increased demand is largely being driven by those who no longer want to work from home, but don’t want to be back in larger cities. More →

UK working parents concern about future linked to final restrictions lifting

UK working parents concern about future linked to final restrictions lifting

parentsNew research from Working Families claims nearly a third of working parents (29 percent) are concerned their caring responsibilities will make them more vulnerable to redundancy when furlough ends, after juggling work and childcare through the pandemic. More →

People have picked up bad cybersecurity habits while working from home

People have picked up bad cybersecurity habits while working from home

cybersecurityA new report from Tessian claims that most IT leaders (56 percent) believe their employees have picked up bad cybersecurity behaviours since working from home. As organisations make plans for the post-pandemic hybrid workforce, Tessian’s Back to Work Security Behaviours report highlights how security behaviours have shifted during the past year. More →

Seminar will explore the route to a great workplace culture

Seminar will explore the route to a great workplace culture

The events of the past 16 months have focussed attention on how we best bring people together to work, collaborate and learn from each other. That is why workplace occupancy and collaboration technology specialist Jooxter has curated a new webinar to help firms understand the challenges and opportunities they have in the new era of dispersed collaborative work. The webinar will explore how they can best bring people together, offer them a world class workplace experience and achieve great results. A panel of experts will discuss the evolution of hybrid working and how to create a team culture for better collaboration.

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UK workforce determined to keep hybrid working

UK workforce determined to keep hybrid working

hybridWhile we remain eager to safely leave coronavirus restrictions behind us and return to normal, there are several changes brought about by the pandemic which UK employees hope will stick around. The most important one being hybrid working, according to new research from Slack. More →

Hybrid working will impact younger people in very specific ways

Hybrid working will impact younger people in very specific ways

When considering a hybrid working method for your organisation, it’s far too easy to try think of what will work for all employees as a whole, rather than breaking this down and thinking about the different needs from certain groups of people. One example of this is age and experience. Employees from different age groups and at different levels of experience within in an organisation may have very different needs when it comes to hybrid working. Those who have been with the business, or in a similar work environment, for some time may be perfectly comfortable to work from home the majority of the week, with little help or supervision. However, this probably isn’t going to work as well for younger employees with less experience. More →

Returning to the office may see a rise in family separation anxiety

Returning to the office may see a rise in family separation anxiety

officeResearch from Love Energy Savings claims that nearly half of parents (46 percent) are concerned about missing key moments in their child’s development when they return to working in the office. More →