New normal looking more and more like old normal, say facilities managers

New normal looking more and more like old normal, say facilities managers

Workers across the UK could return to offices faster than anticipated, according to a new RICS survey of facilities managers. According to the poll, a growing number of respondents say that up to 80 percent of employees will head back once the pandemic is resolved. This is up from less than 60 percent expected in the same poll from the previous quarter ending November 2020. As evidence suggests the UK vaccination programme is taking hold across the country, results to the RICS UK Facilities Management Survey show more respondents starting to believe employees could return to the office in greater numbers than many initially expected in the previous quarter. (more…)

Remote working one year on: three-quarters of employees feel worse

Remote working one year on: three-quarters of employees feel worse

remote workingRemote workers are still struggling with distracting working environments, stress and an ‘always-on’ culture after a year of working from home. Egress’ Remote working: one year on report claims that three-quarters of remote workers reported feeling worse as a result of long-term working from home, with almost over one-third (39 percent) feeling more stressed. (more…)

Do business leaders trust employees when they work outside the office?

Do business leaders trust employees when they work outside the office?

businessRemote work, rapidly accelerated by the pandemic, is now essential to business success and worker productivity. However, as parts of the world open up and hybrid work becomes a reality, research claims that companies must invest in establishing flexible work policies and programs, and address a sizeable disconnect in trust between decision makers and employees, according to a Forrester study commissioned by LogMeIn, Inc. (more…)

Business won’t be what we are used to, claims Microsoft trends report

Business won’t be what we are used to, claims Microsoft trends report

remote workMicrosoft. has announced its first-annual Work Trend Index. Titled “The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work — Are We Ready?” the report claims to set out seven hybrid work trends every business leader must know as we enter a new era of remote work. The report suggests that business leaders should resist the urge to see hybrid work as business as usual. It will require the rethinking of long-held assumptions. (more…)

Employees call for help to reduce cost and environmental impact of working from home

Employees call for help to reduce cost and environmental impact of working from home

environmentalNew research by environmental charity Hubbub suggests that workers want to almost double the time they work from home compared to life before COVID-19 arrived – from 35 percent to 63 percent of their working week. However, the increase in household energy use associated with working from home is a cause for concern. (more…)

Fifth of managers consider quitting as COVID burnout strikes

Fifth of managers consider quitting as COVID burnout strikes

burnoutMore than six in ten UK managers have experienced burnout at work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a fifth considering quitting their job as a result, according to new research from Benenden Health. (more…)

Hybrid working must be at heart of plans for regeneration and growth, claims new report

Hybrid working must be at heart of plans for regeneration and growth, claims new report

hybrid workingA new report from think tank Demos and Legal & General calls on the UK Government to back policy change that supports growth of hybrid working and local offices to drive forward its plans for regeneration and economic growth. The report, Post Pandemic Places, claims that huge increases in home working, coupled with a desire for continued flexibility, could support significant increases in local spending. On the back of the findings, the report calls on the government to incentivise the establishment of more local offices and hybrid working initiatives. (more…)

Job security and flexibility now more valuable than salary

Job security and flexibility now more valuable than salary

job securityAround a half (51 percent) of employees believe job security and flexibility (40 percent) are more important than salary (32 percent) when considering whether to remain at their current employer, according to a new report by UK law firm, Winckworth Sherwood. (more…)

Serfs up for the self-employed and gig economy workers (and the middle class)

Serfs up for the self-employed and gig economy workers (and the middle class)

One of the most significant consequences of the 2008 economic crash was a remarkable shift in the nature of employmentThe recession led to a surge in the number of people categorised as self-employed. The numbers have been increasing ever since, albeit at a lower rate. By the end of 2019, the number of self-employed people in the UK exceeded five million people for the first time. Fifteen percent of the workforce.  (more…)

Working from home experience boosts demands for hybrid working

Working from home experience boosts demands for hybrid working

working from homeNew data from Steelcase claims to highlight what the UK workforce is enjoying most about working from home, and which elements of work are suffering without access to the physical office. Nearly all (97 percent) of respondents want to return to the physical office for some or most of the time when possible, but nearly a year of working differently has altered expectations of the office, and businesses need to make vital changes to reflect this. (more…)

Working near home could save employees over £2,200 a year

Working near home could save employees over £2,200 a year

employeesEmployees could save over £2,200 a year and ‘get back’ 98 mins a day if companies adopted a ‘Work Near Home’ model for offices in the future, claims research from workspace company, The Instant Group and site location company, Hickey. For companies that adopt this approach, they could save upwards of 23 percent by utilising a “Hub and Spoke” model that removes reliance on city centres for office locations. (more…)

The workforce is exhausted from meeting on camera

The workforce is exhausted from meeting on camera

cameraAs employees continue to be forced home during the pandemic, nearly half of them are reporting high levels of exhaustion. A new study by Virtira Consulting claims 49 percent of employees experience a high degree of exhaustion from being required or pressured to be on camera during online meetings. (more…)