January 20, 2021
Research by 
January 14, 2021
Lockdown forces one-in-three working parents to lie to bosses about home schooling
New research by MHR International, shows one-in-three working parents (33 percent) have lied to their boss about how they are coping with the balance between home schooling and work during the current lockdown. (more…)
January 14, 2021
Over two-thirds of British office workers currently suffer from imposter syndrome
Asana, the work management platform, has launched a new research study, which highlights the increased levels of imposter syndrome, anxiety and burnout now being felt by British office workers. At a time when many workers are now facing the reality of a new national lockdown, over two-thirds (69 percent) claim they are currently suffering from imposter syndrome, and nearly half (45 percent) say this has increased while operating in a remote working environment. (more…)
January 5, 2021
We shouldn’t become village idiots in our new ways of life
The idea of a Global Village comes loaded with a number of idyllic connotations. Most of them derive from the use of the word village itself, which triggers the idea of a community in our minds. Yet even the man who coined and popularised the term in the 1950s and 60s to describe a world contracted by new media understood that there are always complications whenever technology rubs up against human beings. (more…)
December 29, 2020
Self-employed sector undermined and diminished by events of 2020
New research from IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, claims that the number of solo self-employed people in the UK has fallen by 5 per cent compared to last year. The total number of solo self-employed (excluding those who have others working for them) has fallen from 4.6 million in 2019 to 4.4 million. Until now the sector had been growing continuously for 11 years – by a total of 40 per cent. (more…)
December 18, 2020
The shape of things to come for the world and the workplace
Originally published in March, right at the start of all this. Makes me wonder how far we’ve come in nine months. In Dorian Lynskey’s The Ministry of Truth, a “biography” of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the author describes how Orwell’s book was the end point of an obsession with utopian (and ultimately dystopian) fiction that characterised the first half of the Twentieth Century, and reflected the competing political, social and economic ideologies of the era. (more…)
December 18, 2020
Working from home stresses have had the greatest impact on women
A review of research in organisational and workplace psychology conducted by an international team of academics claims that working from home has been more disruptive for women than men. The review paper, entitled COVID-19 and the Workplace: Implications, Issues, and Insights for Future Research and Action and originally published in American Psychologist, features urgent insight from UCL School of Management Professor, Sunny Lee into the sex- and gender-related implications of changes in work practices that have taken place over the course of 2020. (more…)
December 11, 2020
Firms should be aware of the legal implications of employee monitoring
Employee monitoring is an emotive topic. Businesses may wish to monitor their staff for a variety of reasons. For instance, they may wish to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of confidential or sensitive information, or detect attempts to steal valuable intellectual property. In the current conditions, dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses have opted to use automated means to monitor staff productivity. However, from an employee’s perspective, the use of monitoring software may be intrusive if not distressing. Further, if it has been implemented without regard to data protection law, it is potentially illegal. (more…)
December 10, 2020
Remote working blocks path to success for mid-size businesses
Productivity, morale and the ability to serve customers are being hamstrung by technology issues at European mid-size businesses, accordingly to research commissioned by Ricoh Europe. The research explores the remote working experience of 632 European office workers during the Coronavirus pandemic, at firms with between 250 and 999 employees. It claims that these companies are failing to adapt to the challenges of remote working, setting them up poorly for future success. (more…)
December 9, 2020
Majority of employees struggling with ‘always on’ work culture
Heightened anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic has led to employees working longer hours and taking fewer sick days, all the while becoming less fulfilled by work and life, according to the latest analysis from 
December 4, 2020
Half of people say working from home has improved their relationships
A new study from Perkbox claims that the increased amount of time spent at home together under lockdown has actually strengthened many people’s personal relationships. Just under half (45 percent) of employees claim that their relationship with the people they live with has become stronger during their time working from home together. 51 percent say that their relationship is the same as before, with just 4 percent feeling that their relationship is now not as strong. (more…)
January 14, 2021
2021 presents the tech sector with once in a generation opportunities
by Uta Dresch • Comment, Flexible working, Technology