Reshaping ourselves to fit in a new era for work

Reshaping ourselves to fit in a new era for work

Making a splash at workThe ethical, practical and philosophical implications of how we live alongside new forms of technology is something we will have to address very soon. It is a point well made in this conversation between Kate Darling of MIT and the neuroscientist Sam Harris. But we’ve had parts of this conversation before. For example, while most people will not have read the book from which it came, those with an interest in work, workplaces and their links with our happiness (or perceived lack of it) will know that the British philosopher Bertrand Russell once famously said that “one of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important”.

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Team building exercises have never been more important

Team building exercises have never been more important

team building These days, almost every company implements team building exercises — and rightly so, as decades of research have shown how beneficial they can be. Indeed, in a Forbes article O2E Brands CEO Brian Scudamore argues that team building activities are the most significant investment companies can make. More →

Intense pressure on HR teams to cope with new demands

Intense pressure on HR teams to cope with new demands

HR professionals are now moving beyond the immediate crisis stage in dealing with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic as home-working, furloughing and heightened workplace health and safety measures bed in, research by XpertHR suggests. More →

To many major firms, work is becoming just a game

To many major firms, work is becoming just a game

Corporate gamification is a growing trend in the business world. This trend uses all of the techniques that make video games so entertaining and engaging to improve day-to-day business functions. From incorporating point awards to leveling up, gamification hacks the most effective qualities of gaming to deliver educational programs and training courses. Because of the success of these methods, gamification has been growing in popularity and is a good policy for businesses to adopt. More →

Too afraid to raise a workplace issue?

Too afraid to raise a workplace issue?

Over half of American workers feel they have no one to turn to with a workplace issue, claims new research. The survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Bambee asked 2,000 employed Americans about their thoughts toward human resources departments and who they would go to if they had an issue in the workplace. Thirty-two percent of those surveyed without a human resources department or representative said they don’t know who they would go to with questions or concerns — or wouldn’t go to anyone at all. More →

Acas publishes advice on handling coronavirus at work

Acas publishes advice on handling coronavirus at work

coronavirusIn response to the coronavirus outbreak, Acas has published new advice to help employers understand their workers’ rights and how to handle the impact of the virus. The guidance includes tips on how to deal with sick pay, staff in quarantine and staff who do not want to come into work due to fears over catching the coronavirus. It also looks at what to do if the virus spreads widely in the UK or if a business needs to shut temporarily. More →

More women on boards but progress remains slow

More women on boards but progress remains slow

women on boardsSlow progress is being made towards more women on boards across Europe and less gender pay disparity, a study has suggested. According to Korn Ferry’s latest ‘Non-Executive Directors in Europe’ report, the proportion of women on boards increased to 34 percent in 2019, up from 32 percent in 2018 and 30 percent in 2017. The number of committees without any female directors fell, with 19 percent of audit committees (down from 24 percent) and 25 percent of remuneration committees (down from 29 percent) being all male. More →

What performance culture can teach us about motivating employees in the workplace

What performance culture can teach us about motivating employees in the workplace

motivating employeesFrom start-ups to well-established companies, organisations thrive or fail on motivating employees. It’s mission-critical. Motivated employees are easy to spot – they tend to align their purpose to that of the company, are more innovative with their problem-solving and have a greater impact. Organisations must actively work to motivate and engage employees, giving them a sense of purpose. Otherwise, there’s a real risk of the company falling behind the competition and staying there. More →

Take-up of shared parental leave set to boom

Take-up of shared parental leave set to boom

shared parental leaveEmployers should prepare themselves for a dramatic rise in staff taking shared parental leave, a new research report into shifting attitudes to flexible working and childcare for working parents has claimed. While only 7 percent of employees with children have taken up the opportunity of shared parental leave so far, 38 percent of those planning to have further children intend to do so when they have their next child, YouGov polling of 1,000 employees and 500 HR decision makers suggests. More →

Workplace leaders must adapt to a new technological reality

Workplace leaders must adapt to a new technological reality

workplaceI speak with senior workplace leaders daily and those conversations, coupled with our research and that of other people, offer us a striking perspective on the trends and changing nature of the workplace and in particular the impact of technology. Some themes are cropping up time and time again in these conversations and research and point to a new technology-led reality that we must all address. More →

Bridging the gap between the reality and perception of engagement

Bridging the gap between the reality and perception of engagement

engagementOrganisations are currently operating against a backdrop of environmental, social, political and technological upheaval. Changes in the way people work, buy, communicate and live their lives abound while the communications narratives become ever more complex. The zeitgeist dictates how an organisation’s purpose and communications should match the growing expectations placed on it by its identity and need to address its engagement with staff and the outside world. More →

Blundering blindly towards the truth about work and workplaces

Blundering blindly towards the truth about work and workplaces

If you don’t like some of the stories we publish on Insight, you should see the ones we reject.  It’s something I catch myself saying a lot and underlying it is an awareness that bullshit can be appealing. We should apply the smell test to stories and go in search of what might best be described as the facts, contradictions and nuances that are characteristic elements of some sort of truth. More →