Columnists
June 26, 2020
Work from home advocates beckon us to a living hell
by James Woudhuysen • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
Look, I work from home. The liberal in me says: if you want to and can work from home, then why not? Yes, few of Britain’s cramped homes – especially those occupied by young people – are well equipped for home working, which can be stressful. But, as I say, I see no problem in working from home if you […]
June 18, 2020
Charles Handy was a true visionary about the modern workplace
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace
It’s incredibly hard not to be impressed by Charles Handy and even harder not to find him likeable. The scope of his intellect and humanity is evident on the page, in his interviews and in his broadcasts. He reeks of credibility and warmth. Do a Google image search of him and the pictures you find epitomise […]
June 15, 2020
Wellbeing for remote workers should not be lost in translation
by Brendan Street • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the world of work – seeing many businesses remote working – employers are learning more about the importance of effective communication. Diminished in-person contact can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness among employees. And managers are also facing new challenges in providing the level of social interaction […]
June 12, 2020
Building a culture of trust has never been more important
by Jonathan Richards • Comment, Workplace
Trust is a concept we often find hard to describe. It’s sticky, intangible and difficult to pinpoint but we know when trust is absent. When it’s missing from a workforce, a culture can unravel. According to the Culture Economy Report 2020, 43 percent of employees in UK SME’s don’t trust their employer to do the […]
June 9, 2020
A thank you for the bitter knowledge offered by the lockdown
by Adam Burtt-Jones • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design
With all challenges come opportunities. Covid-19 will most likely be the single largest challenge and disrupter of a generation. It has the potential to create the greatest significant shift in working behaviours and standards of the past hundred years. Workspace consultants, enlightened clients, designers, researchers and commentators have been hammering the agile / home/ remote […]
June 8, 2020
The paradox of how routines can help us be more productive and creative
by Nick Chater • Comment, Flexible working
Former US president Barack Obama famously had a wardrobe full of identical suits. As a world leader, life presents more than enough big decisions – Obama’s reasoning was that it made sense to minimise the complexity of the small decisions. Artists are often thought of as rather different. Francis Bacon, for example, had a tempestuous personal […]
June 4, 2020
Right, said Fred. Here I am again
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing
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. […]
June 3, 2020
Data is changing the role of the workplace and HR
by Shaun Guyver • Comment, Property, Workplace
Business leaders have been heavily dependent on HR, real estate, and technology functions working together to help their organisation adapts to this new world of work during the pandemic. Ensuring personal safety, promoting wellbeing, encouraging collaboration, and maintaining efficient service delivery will never be more important than in the coming months. The challenge facing CRE […]
June 2, 2020
Embracing emotion and empathy to drive us beyond this crisis
by Riccarda Zezza • Comment, Workplace
We’re currently living and working through some of the most intense, challenging conditions many of us will have had to endure – and we all will empathise that it can be particularly difficult to manage your working life. A recent study in Harvard Business Review found that tiredness, fear and panic all reduce our ability […]
June 1, 2020
Zoom fatigue and the new era of online meetings
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology
When it comes to that annual announcement the publishers of dictionaries like to make about their Word of the Year, 2020 will have only one candidate. But if there were a shortlist, you can bet that Zoom would be on it. The uptake of Zoom and other apps to help people connect during the lockdown […]
June 26, 2020
Talkin` about the quarantine generation
by Anthony Brown • Comment, Wellbeing
The year is 2045. It’s well over twenty years since the Covid 19 pandemic created chaos and fear throughout the world. But just like the ‘baby boomer’ generation who were born, celebrated and cherished in the wake of World War II, so the ‘quarantinis’ are starting to make their way in the world of work. […]