Columnists
May 5, 2020
From the archive: We shouldn’t rely on narrow ideas to define flexible working
by Luke Munro • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing
This piece was originally published five years ago. While we now read it with different eyes, what is interesting is how the ideas have stood up. Some better than others perhaps but a welcome reminder that the conversations we are now having about life after lockdown began some time ago. One of the particular and often […]
May 4, 2020
An opportunity to take business relationships with charities to a new level
by Michael Hilton • Comment
COVID-19 can be a catalyst for transforming how businesses and charities collaborate, with significant benefits for both. Companies and charities working together is nothing new. For many years Corporate Social Responsibility has had a place on the business agenda, as a means of doing some good while boosting companies’ reputations in the process.
April 30, 2020
We need to talk more about how we get to work in the first place
by Andrew Brown • Comment
More and more politicians and business leaders are keen to see the UK ease lockdown and begin a move towards returning to work. Is it’s too early to plan the exit from lockdown? Maybe. But either way, the general chatter about what a post COVID19 will look has predictably fanned the debate about how workplace […]
April 30, 2020
The lockdown gives us a chance to reconsider business ethics
by Mark Strassman • Comment
April 29, 2020
We should be addressing the why of the return to work as much as the how
by Judy Gavan • Comment
As we anticipate a return to relative normality post lockdown (whenever that may be), workplace strategy is a hot topic. In considering how we respond to new challenges let’s make sure we keep sight of the big picture. We need to address immediate issues whilst exploiting new opportunities to reinforce and expedite our established strategic […]
April 27, 2020
The new ways of work in our lives after lockdown
by Ben Capper • Comment, Workplace design
And so our timelines flit from 5G conspiracy theorists, to 10 tips for your home office, Zoom group selfies, right back to where we started: the worn out topic of ‘the future of workplace‘. We’re in something of a collective thought process, excluding Donald Trump that is, who is clearly on his own individual trajectory.
April 22, 2020
An optimistic take on the future of work
by Chris Hood • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design
Setting aside the drastic personal tragedies, the financial devastation and the strain the virus has placed on government infrastructure, business, finance, and healthcare systems worldwide, the coronavirus has been able to achieve what legions of workplace strategists and change managers have been unable to do: encourage middle managers to give remote working a try.
April 20, 2020
The return from isolation presents us with an opportunity to rethink work
by Dr David Rock • Comment, Wellbeing
It all seems like it was years ago. The calm mornings, the deep breaths of fresh air, the din of a happy, productive office. In fact, it’s been just a few short months since the COVID-19 pandemic upended just about every aspect of life: our schedules, our roles as parents, our certainty about the future. […]
April 14, 2020
Picking through the workplace chatter
by Mark Eltringham • Comment
The Universe is a noisy place. Countless bodies chatter to each other against the backdrop of distant echoes from the Big Bang. Because we are curious, we have developed the technology to listen in and record the din and convert it from the electromagnetic vibration it really is into something we can sense with our […]
April 10, 2020
When it comes to the future of work, we only know what we don’t know
by David Clements • Comment, Workplace design
As the threat and reality of COVID-19 simultaneously sweep the earth, the only certainty is the uncertainty, which is the least favourable place for businesses and individuals. The complexities of this situation cannot be underplayed, with multiple layers to consider, from human health both physical and mental to world economies. Whilst COVID-19 may be a […]
May 9, 2020
The language barrier to wellbeing in the workplace
by James Geekie • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
In a recent piece for the Architects Journal, incoming BCO President Paul Patenall extolled the virtues of a Danish idea called Arbejdsglaede, (almost) literally the joy of work. There is no equivalent word in English, of course, but it also taps into our assumption that we can learn a thing or two from our Scandinavian […]