June 19, 2020
A majority of the public believe it is safer for younger people to return to work than their older counterparts, according to a nationwide survey by Populus Data Solutions. The survey, carried out on behalf of student employer Stint, claims that 73 percent of respondents felt it was not safe for over 65s to return to work, while 52 percent said they believed it wasn’t safe for workers over 55. More →
June 18, 2020
Productivity has increased due to the current lockdown situation, according to around half of UK workers. The majority (56 percent) of workers who don’t usually work from home feel more productive than in the office. Despite this, 50 percent of those currently working from home are looking forward to their workplace reopening, although 70 percent hope their employer lets them work from home more often in future. Nearly half (45 percent) of workers would therefore welcome a flexible office arrangement that allows them to split working time between the office and home. More →
June 18, 2020
Kincentric today announced the results of a survey representing over 130,000 employees across 100 companies globally. The findings suggest a strong positive employee experience, however, Kincentric believes these are artificially high due to the extraordinary circumstances and will likely erode within nine months, which is consistent with how most people process change or loss, claims Global Culture & Engagement Practice Leader, Ken Oehler.
June 17, 2020
So far, 2020 has not gone to plan. For businesses, and the people they employ, the next few months may be just as bumpy, as each country, state and city takes its own approach to a phased return to work after lockdown. Today, in Houston, offices are limited to 25 percent capacity, in London, the underground is capped at 13-15 percent capacity, while in New Zealand and other countries hospitality and retail are returning with heightened hygiene measures and social distancing in place. More →
June 16, 2020
Trust, social cohesion and information sharing are the most potentially vulnerable to damage when people work virtually, according to a study of around 750 academic papers conducted on behalf of the Advanced Workplace Institute (AWI), a global workplace management body. As organisations rapidly embrace home working and virtual work in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the study warns that without active management to respond to changes in working, team dynamics are under risk with a knock on effect on both employee happiness and performance. More →
June 11, 2020
Over a third (36 percent) of UK businesses believe that implementing new health and safety measures in accordance with the Government’s recently published guidelines are the biggest challenge they face as lockdown eases and they attempt to return to the workplace, according to new research conducted by the UK law firm, Winckworth Sherwood. More →
June 11, 2020
The easing of lockdown restrictions and a return to offices is raising the stress levels of over a quarter of UK tech professionals (26 percent) at a time when over 1 in 3 (36 percent) report that their mental health has deteriorated during Covid-19, according to a new Harvey Nash Study. The relaxing of restrictions has left tech professionals worrying most about bringing Covid-19 back into the home, and the health risk of their daily commute. More →
June 10, 2020
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has annouced the launch of the WELL Health-Safety Rating for all building and facility types, an “evidence-based, third-party verified rating focusing on operational policies, maintenance protocols and design strategies to address a post COVID-19 environment”. The new health and safety rating is one of the earliest outcomes of IWBI’s Task Force on COVID-19, a group of nearly 600 public health officials, virologists, government officials, academics, business leaders, architects, designers, building scientists and real estate professionals, which was established in late March to help guide a response to the pandemic. More →
June 5, 2020
New research
from Quinyx, claims to reveal the impact coronavirus is having on the mental health of the UK’s “deskless workers.” The research indicates that a pre-existing mental health issue among workers is being made worse as a result of the lockdown. Prior to the outbreak, 38 percent of remote workers said that their job had negatively impacted their mental health in the last twelve months. Since the outbreak, more than half of respondents (52 percent) say that coronavirus has made this worse.
June 4, 2020
Work has made our wellbeing worse over the last two years, according to new research from the CIPD. A survey of more than 6,000 workers found the number of people saying work has a positive impact on their mental health has fallen from 44 per cent to 35 per cent. Not only does this highlight that employers haven’t done enough to tackle the issue to date, according to the CIPD, it raises concerns about the further impact COVID-19 could have on people’s wellbeing, given many are worried about contracting the virus at work, losing their job or bearing the brunt of other cutbacks by their employer. More →
June 4, 2020
If there has been an underlying driver of workplace thinking over the past several decades, it has been a rejection of the principles of scientific management. These begat the idea of the office as a factory, subject to the same rigid times and places of work and the same culture of process, efficiency and productivity. This made a pantomime villain of its key figure Frederick Taylor. The worst adjective you could use to describe a working culture was Taylorist. More →
June 15, 2020
Wellbeing for remote workers should not be lost in translation
by Brendan Street • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing