Search Results for: people

Four-day working week can improve wellbeing and reduce social inequality

Four-day working week can improve wellbeing and reduce social inequality

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

four day working weekResearch from the University of Kent has shown how a national four-day working week can positively impact workers and their families’ wellbeing, improve social cohesion and reduce social inequality. In a paper published by the Journal of Social Policy, Professor Heejung Chung from Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research discusses how a shorter working week can help tackle issues by giving workers the ‘right to time’, shifting a balance between work and non-work activities in daily life. More →

The cargo cult of modern office design

The cargo cult of modern office design

by • Comment, Workplace design

The cargo cult of modern office designThe idea of the cargo cult derives from anthropological observations made about the behaviour of societies that encounter more technologically advanced societies. In particular it is rooted in those rituals and objects created by Pacific islanders in an attempt to attract modern goods and technology and generally earn favour with people who they thought could prevent terrible events. More →

Experimentation is the name of the game

Experimentation is the name of the game

by • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design

Uncertain times call for different measures and approaches, the old rules and playbooks are no longer applicable – so what are you going to do? Sit around, stagnate, hanker after old solutions trying to manipulate and squeeze them into new, unknowable, untried paradigms? No! One thing human beings are fairly good at is evolving and adapting to new and unknown situations and as we all know, being flexible and  accepting change creates resilience and ensures survival. More →

The colour of magic in office design

The colour of magic in office design

by • Comment, Workplace design

In the Discworld series of novels, the author Terry Pratchett introduces us to the colour of magic. He calls it octarine, a sort of greenish purple, described as ‘the undisputed pigment of the imagination’. It’s all fanciful but, in fact, such unseeable colours exist for the human eye. They are seemingly invisible to us most of the time because of the limitations of our vision and not just because they exist outside of the usual visible spectrum. More →

Facilities Managers should be seen as stewards of corporate culture

Facilities Managers should be seen as stewards of corporate culture

by • Comment, Facilities management

hybrid working facilities managersThe pandemic has irrevocably changed the way we work. Once considered a place simply to do business, the office is fast becoming a ‘lifestyle choice’ among young people who value more than just a desk. Instead, they want an engaging, healthy, and resilient working environment where they can socialise, make friends, and build connections to help their career and wellbeing thrive. In fact, an EY study found that 90 percent of Generation-Z value the human connection in the workplace above salary when it comes to their at-work communication. A recent Gallup survey even found a tangible link between having a best friend at work and productivity: those who have a best friend in the office are twice as likely to be engaged in their role and company. More →

Research casts doubt on environmental benefits of hybrid working

Research casts doubt on environmental benefits of hybrid working

by • Flexible working, News

commuters and hybrid workingA permanent post-pandemic switch to hybrid working may do little to reduce carbon emissions as the majority of remote workers travel further each week than their office-based counterparts, new research from the University of Sussex Business School reveals. The newly published study finds that, prior to the pandemic, most remote workers in England travelled further each week than office-based workers – despite taking fewer trips. This was partly because remote workers tended to live further from their workplace than non-teleworkers, so had longer, if less frequent, commutes. In addition, remote workers engaged in more travel on the days when they worked from home – for example, by making extra trips to shops and cafes. More →

The Metaverse in the workplace: Meta’s wobble may affect how we use emerging technologies

The Metaverse in the workplace: Meta’s wobble may affect how we use emerging technologies

by • Comment, Technology

metaverse at workThere has been much talk over the past two years of the adoption of hybrid working for elephant-in-the-room reasons and it is now the case that the practice is being widely adopted by many organisations. Knocking at our office doors now is the next big talking point in terms of technology: the Metaverse. There has been much speculation recently on how this collective, virtual open space, which incorporates environments including those in which to shop, learn, be entertained and, of course, work, will evolve. It has been described as the ‘next chapter of the Internet’ and is created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. More →

Structural and cultural change are what we need to escape the wellbeing rut

Structural and cultural change are what we need to escape the wellbeing rut

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

wellbeing at workWellbeing has been one of the largest challenges to the UK workforce over the last several years. A recent study by the Mental Health Foundation and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), states that mental health problems cost the UK economy at least £117.9 billion every year – around 5 percent of the UK’s GDP. Companies recognise the urgency to help: British employers planned to increase spending on employee mental health and wellbeing by 18 percent from 2021 to 2022. But the long and short of the issue is that this progress is being outpaced by accelerating burnout rates among workers. More →

Women don’t network as much because they undervalue themselves

Women don’t network as much because they undervalue themselves

by • News

women undervalue themselvesWomen hesitate to build networks because they underestimate their ability, according to research by Aalto University School of Business. The study, conducted by Marjo-Riitta Diehl and her research co-authors, investigated the motivational aspects of networking. They found that women don’t believe that they will add value to other members of their networks and as a result feel that they derive more benefits from the networks, leading to a fear that they owe a debt of gratitude to others. More →

Wellbeing and mental health drop down business agenda, despite COVID fallout

Wellbeing and mental health drop down business agenda, despite COVID fallout

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

wellbeing at workWellbeing and mental health are beginning to slip down the business agenda, a new report from the CIPD and Simplyhealth claims, despite the fact that organisations are still dealing with the fallout from COVID-19 and it remains an on-going concern for workers.  The Health and Wellbeing at Work 2022 report suggests that the number of HR professionals who think that wellbeing is on the agenda of senior leaders has fallen from 75 percent to 70 percent in the past year. There has also been a drop in the proportion of HR professionals who think senior leaders encourage a focus on mental wellbeing through their actions and behaviours, falling from 48 percent in 2021 to 42 percent in 2022. More →

UK tech talent shifts from London to other cities

UK tech talent shifts from London to other cities

by • Cities, News, Workplace

The number of professionals with technology skills is expanding at a faster pace in the North of England than in London and the South of England, as demand for technology talent increases around the country, according to the latest U.K. Tech Talent Tracker from Accenture. The tracker, which analyses LinkedIn’s Professional Network data, finds that the pool of technology talent in cities in the North of England has grown on average by 15 percent in the last year, outpacing southern cities that grew on average at 9 percent. Technology talent in cities across Scotland and Wales has grown on average by 5 percent and 9 percent respectively.  More →

Firms must do more to earn the commute of hybrid workers

Firms must do more to earn the commute of hybrid workers

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

hybrid work office designSteelcase has released a new global research report which reveals that outdated offices are no longer conducive to employees’ shifting needs for greater control, comfort, and privacy. The study found that if a workplace was made more in tune with shifting expectations, staff were more engaged, productive, connected to their organisation’s culture and less likely to leave.  The Steelcase report, The New Era of Hybrid Work, surveyed nearly 5,000 workers in 11 countries. The findings reveal that whilst 87 percent of respondents now spend at least some of their time working from the office as the threat of the pandemic recedes, six in ten (58 percent) prefer working from home. One of the most appealing attributes of a home for two-thirds (65 percent) of UK employees is that they have a dedicated space for work. Whereas in the office, the majority (59 percent) have desks in open areas, with minimal privacy. More →

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