Columnists
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 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 […]
June 9, 2022
How I learned to stop worrying and embrace uncertainty
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology
One of the ways I have found to inoculate myself against the hyperbolic certitude of the world’s futurologists is to watch YouTube clips of an old TV show called Rab C Nesbitt and observe the automated captioning as it struggles to cope with Glaswegians. And sometimes gives it up as a bad job. Works with […]
June 8, 2022
Burnout doesn’t have to be the inevitable outcome of proving your value at work
by Dr Sahar Yousef • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace
Research from Asana shows that three quarters (75 percent) of UK knowledge workers experienced burnout in 2021. Perhaps even more concerning is that over a third (36 percent) of workers believe burnout is inevitable to career success. This worrying and unsustainable trend shows that for many employees, constantly checking email, working weekends, and burning out […]
June 1, 2022
Not busy-ness as usual: how boredom may be one of the keys to creativity
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology
The modern world seems geared to help us avoid boredom. But there’s a problem. Artists have long recognised that boredom can drive creativity. The great Italian writer-philosopher Giacomo Leopardi described boredom as “the most sublime of all human emotions because it expresses the fact that the human spirit, in a certain sense, is greater than […]
May 26, 2022
Extraverts don’t always make the best leaders
by Blaine Landis • Comment, Workplace
The ‘extraverted leadership advantage’ is a well-recognised phrase among researchers which describes how the characteristics of an extraverted personality create an advantage in the workplace when it comes to leadership roles. Extraverts are typically outgoing, loud, assertive, and high energy, so if you’re in a meeting with them they tend to speak up often. They […]
May 23, 2022
The future of work isn’t what it used to be
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace design
At the 1983 International Design Conference in Aspen, Steve Jobs delivered a speech addressing the theme of the conference; The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be. In it he set out his thoughts on new technology, intuitive design, personal computing as well as the need for a constantly evolving idea of what the future […]
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 […]