Two-thirds of UK employees (66 percent) feel that work life balance is crucial in their decision to apply for a job, yet a third (31 percent) do not currently achieve it, according to new research from Lenovo and Cebr. With over 2,000 UK employees surveyed, Lenovo’s “Future of You” report claims to shed light on the priorities for workers, tracking how these have changed in recent years as well as looking ahead to the future. It found that the offer of remote work is important to over half (54 percent) of workers today, compared to one-fifth (21 percent) ten years ago. Of those who are not currently offered remote work, most (83 percent) feel that their employer is not on track to deliver this in the next two years.  More →

Flexible working has become the norm for many workers since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but it can actually lead many to work longer and harder, with work encroaching on family life. A new book by Professor Heejung Chung from the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research explores how workers’ wellbeing and gender equality may in fact be jeopardised by flexible work, rather than providing a better work-life balance. More →

Working outside traditional hours, and checking in at all hours of the day, night, weekends, and holidays, is not necessarily beneficial for the 21st-century workforce, according to new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Cornell University. The researchers address the issue of working ‘out of hours’ in the paper, “Working During Non-Standard Work Time Undermines Intrinsic Motivation,” published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. They set out to examine the motivational consequences of studying and working outside of traditional hours, such as weekends and holidays, among employees and college students. More →