Columnists
July 8, 2022
Four day week should be about people, not productivity
by Mick Jordan • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
You may well have seen the announcement that more than 3,300 workers at 70 UK companies, ranging from a chippy and a distillery to leading financial institutions, have started working a four day week, with no loss of pay, in what is described as ‘the world’s biggest trial of the new working pattern’. The pilot […]
July 6, 2022
Hybrid working can help graduates succeed
by Lindsey Rowe • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace
The pandemic has transformed how we think about and approach the workplace, with the majority of employees having alternated between remote and hybrid working over the last two years. While this experience has been almost universal, many have found this transition challenging – even for the established professionals used to adapting to change. But what […]
June 29, 2022
Workplace green flags to look out for
by Samantha Losey • Comment, Wellbeing
Culturally, and most definitely post-lock down, I think we have all moved to a different level of understanding and involvement when it comes to the value and meaning of workplace wellbeing. We’ve all worked in those organisations that pay lip service to a great culture, amazing benefits, a fun working environment (was that a bean […]
June 27, 2022
The raging truth about burnout
by Stephanie Fitzgerald • Comment, SF, Wellbeing, Workplace
We’re probably all familiar with an image of burnout. People sitting head in hands, or lying in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to get up and get going in the morning. Burnout is once again a topic of the moment as workplaces are left reeling by the “Great Resignation”, and those that are left […]
June 23, 2022
We need to stop misusing the term ergonomic
by Guy Osmond • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design, Works Magazine
You don’t have to search for long to find the word ergonomic; it pops up everywhere, in connection with every sort of product and device for the workplace (and elsewhere). You can – so the marketeers will tell you – buy an ‘ergonomic’ chair, desk, keyboard or mouse. What’s wrong with that? An awful lot […]
June 22, 2022
Did you hear the one about offices and creativity?
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design
There is a famous episode of Seinfeld in which the character George is insulted in a business meeting and only thinks of a perfect retort while driving away from the office. This being George, he decides that he doesn’t want to waste his ‘killer line’ so engineers a second meeting so he can use it […]
June 21, 2022
Flexible working options can support women in the workplace
by Dr Gabriella Rosen Kellerman • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
As of May 2022, more than one hundred years after the passage of the Sex Disqualification Removal Act – legislation which opened the workplace equally to women – more than half of the UK’s female professionals are at risk of leaving their jobs. As a recent study showed, 52 percent of women in the UK […]
June 14, 2022
Loneliness might hold back hybrid working productivity gains
by Gosia Bowling • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
Loneliness is defined as the difficult emotion we experience when our need for meaningful social contact and relationships is not met, and it’s something we’ve all had experience of. Nearly half of the UK population have reported feeling lonely at times, with other research showing that 39 percent say their wellbeing was negatively impacted because […]
June 13, 2022
Is hybrid working the final cure for workplace woes or the beginning of something better?
by Jo Sutherland • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
This year’s World Workplace Europe saw 2022 hailed as the year of the worker. A worthwhile focus considering negative emotions are on the rise, with more depression, anxiety and loneliness plaguing society despite the claimed benefits of hybrid working. The pandemic robbed us of many things. It restricted our freedom for two years and forced […]
July 14, 2022
There are now fewer taboo workplace subjects, and we should talk about that
by Peter Nagle • Comment, Wellbeing
Rewind even a few years and issues like mental health were not really talked about in the workplace. Now we’ve seen dramatic improvements around certain topics, we should ask what other areas of employees’ lives could employers help with? There’s been a lot of discussion around what employers can do to support women going through […]