January 26, 2022

Hybrid working is now the dominant business model for knowledge workers

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Future Forum, a consortium launched by Slack with founding partners Boston Consulting Group, MillerKnoll and MLT has released the latest findings from its Pulse study, which shows that hybrid working has become the dominant work model for knowledge workers around the world. The report claims that the percentage of people working in hybrid arrangements has increased to 58 percent (from 46 percent in May 2021), as the share of workers who say their teams work exclusively either from home or from the office has declined sharply. More →

January 26, 2022

Remote workers struggle to make themselves heard in hybrid meetings

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

A new report claims that remote workers are growing more concerned about perceptions of an inequal and less productive meeting experience while apart from their colleagues, and many are going as far as to consider new opportunities at organisations where they believe they will be more included. The Barco ClickShare Hybrid Meeting Survey (includes promotion) claims that more than one-third (35 percent) of workers still have trouble fully engaging during hybrid meetings. More →

January 18, 2022

Employees are ready for work in the metaverse but sceptical about ability of firms to deliver

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

Just as businesses are starting to find their groove with hybrid working, the workplace has begun to evolve again with the emergence of the metaverse. New research from Lenovo claims that close to half of employees (44 percent) are willing to work in the metaverse and believe that it can deliver benefits like productivity to the workplace. The metaverse is primarily defined as a shared digital space with digital representations of people, places, and objects. In the future, the metaverse can be a highly immersive extension of the physical world, with its rich user interface. At the enterprise level, this opens up possibilities for businesses to create a more viable, interactive workplace. More →

January 13, 2022

Stress of pandemic has brought people closer, claims Microsoft

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing

Microsoft’s new Work Trend Index Special Report, entitled “Technology Can Help Unlock a New Future for Frontline Workers”, suggests that 78 percent of frontline workers in the UK claim to feel “very bonded” to co-workers because of shared stress brought on by the pandemic and the shift to new ways of working. More →

January 12, 2022

Are we witnessing the demise of the knowledge worker?

by Anthony Brown • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace

While the debate about working from home versus working in the office continues, should the real conversation focus on the implications for a typical knowledge worker? ‘Knowledge work’ is a term that dates back over sixty years. It’s said to be first coined by Peter Drucker in his 1958 book The Landmarks of Tomorrow. The business guru went on to talk about knowledge workers in a later book, The Effective Executive, in 1966. He defined them as ‘high-level workers who apply theoretical and analytical knowledge acquired through formal training, to develop products and services’. More →

January 5, 2022

‘Great Resignation’ offers a one off opportunity to rethink our relationship with work

by Pip White • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing

After nearly two turbulent years, which for many knowledge workers have been dominated by a ground-hog day like existence, people are looking for change. This is only natural as workers around the world are re-evaluating their priorities, reigniting their passions, or simply looking for something new. This has led to a mini-exodus from businesses, which is now being dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’. More →

December 16, 2021

Pandemic highlights the need for smarter, more adaptable offices and cities

by Cedrik Neike • Features, Technology

The coronavirus pandemic is a new experience for every one of us. It has changed life as we know it – at work, at home and for public interactions. As some countries start to ease restrictions on public life, how can we go back to ‘normal’ while still maintaining social distancing and feeling safe? How do we manage crowded public spaces like shopping malls, cinemas and restaurants? How do we optimize safety in our offices and factories? More importantly, how do we avoid shutting down entire cities and countries when the next pandemic hits? More →

December 10, 2021

Artificial Intelligence to guide organisations through new challenges

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

The World Economic Forum published the “Human-Centred AI for Human Resources: A Toolkit for Human Resources Professionals” to scale the responsible use of artificial intelligence in Human Resources (HR). The toolkit includes a guide covering key topics and steps in the responsible use of AI-based HR tools, and two checklists – one focused on strategic planning and the other on the adoption of a specific tool. More →

December 8, 2021

Nearly half of UK employees are ready for a workplace metaverse

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Technology

Research released by Owl Labs suggests that nearly half (47 percent) of the UK population want companies to adopt the metaverse – a highly immersive virtual world that recreates opportunities for work, socialising, entertainment, and education – in the workplace. More →

December 7, 2021

Negative digital experiences contributing to the Great Resignation

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Working lives

According to a new report findings unreliable IT service and equipment (in-office or remote) was the third most influential factor for employee turnover or burnout, behind poor salary and an unhealthy work culture. Almost 20 percent of all respondents would opt to leave their job because of a poor IT experience. The Digital Sabotage & The Great Resignation report from Nexthink claims that the digital employee experience has implications for productivity, talent referrals, employee retention and customer satisfaction. More →

December 7, 2021

What the 21st Century office of the future looked like in the 1960s

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Furniture, Technology, Workplace design

$refraction and the office of the future$ We’re used to hearing people predict what The Office of the Future will look like. It’s been going on for a very long time now and each new generation of commentators on the subject comes up with its own forms of wishful thinking, wild generalisations, distorted conclusions and failures to account for the inherent unknowability of future disruptive technology. The best way of reminding ourselves of these pitfalls is not to look forward, but back. Only then can we see how an image can be refracted and make allowances. More →

December 2, 2021

Learning and development disconnect between women in tech and employers

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Working culture

Skillsoft (NYSE: SKIL), has released new research exploring the current state of women in tech including the challenges and barriers to inclusion they face and how employers can better support them. Findings from Skillsoft’s 2021 Women in Tech Report claim that while female employees have gained hard-fought ground in the workplace, a large gap still exists when it comes to opportunities for professional development and career advancement. More →