February 11, 2022

Wellbeing strategies often fail to align with business objectives

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employers feel far more responsibility for employee health and wellbeing than ever, yet formalised strategic action often remains unchanged, claims Aon’s UK Benefits and Trends Survey 2022. The report suggests there has been a significant increase over the last year in the number of employers that strongly agree they have a responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their employees, rising from 20 percent in 2021 to just over half of all respondents (51 percent) in 2022. Forty-four percent agree they have a responsibility, and just 5 percent disagree or have no view. More →

February 4, 2022

Want people to return to the office? Then create the best office in the world

by Mike Hills • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

More obituaries have been written for the office in the past two years than at any time in history. It has often seemed like even the best office in the world couldn’t preserve the idea of the office. And it’s not like the obituaries were all that rare even before the pandemic forced us to reappraise our relationship with work and the times and places we do it. While all these death notices were being served, one particularly well-informed organisation was making some more interesting observations about it all. In particular, it constantly raised the most fundamental question of all. More →

February 2, 2022

Business ethics boosted by pandemic

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Entering the third year of a pandemic, more professionals responsible for business ethics and compliance worldwide say that their ethical culture is more potent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest annual Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report from LRN. But, while values and ethics helped sustain companies during the pandemic, new areas of concern have emerged. And, there is a significant gap between companies with high-impact ethics and compliance (E&C) programs and those with low-impact ones. The top-ranked programs were proactive, utilised available resources, and made their programs more accessible to employees. High performing organisations also scored 27 percentage points higher than low-performing ones when it came to weathering COVID. More →

February 1, 2022

Indoor air quality and hygiene of greater concern to older workers

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

Older workers are much more concerned than their younger colleagues about the health risks of returning to office based working, a survey claims. The study commissioned by manufacturing firm Airdri, suggests that just 16 percent of under 24s are worried about indoor air quality and picking up germs from colleagues/communal areas on returning to work. In comparison, 43 percent of over 25s, around a third of 35–44-year-olds (34 percent), 35 percent of 45–54-year-olds, and 41 percent of over 55s agreed, showing a big disparity in the opinions of the younger age groups. More →

February 1, 2022

Half of business leaders now paralysed by decision making

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Half (48 percent) of UK C-suite leaders now feel less confident making business-critical decisions compared to before the pandemic, according to a report (registration / promotion) commissioned by Treasure Data. The survey of 500 business leaders in the UK the impact the pandemic has had on leadership decision-making, and reviews whether these decision making processes are fit for purpose in a new era of unpredictability. More →

January 26, 2022

Hybrid working is now the dominant business model for knowledge workers

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Future Forum, a consortium launched by Slack with founding partners Boston Consulting Group, MillerKnoll and MLT has released the latest findings from its Pulse study, which shows that hybrid working has become the dominant work model for knowledge workers around the world. The report claims that the percentage of people working in hybrid arrangements has increased to 58 percent (from 46 percent in May 2021), as the share of workers who say their teams work exclusively either from home or from the office has declined sharply. More →

January 25, 2022

Third of people crave a return to the office for their mental health

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property, Wellbeing

A new study from smart building platform Infogrid claims that nearly a third of working Brits (32 percent) want to return to their offices in January because they feel it would improve their mental health, which has been impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The top reasons UK employees cite for wanting to return to the office include working in a positive social environment (35 percent), having a reason to leave the house (26 percent), not having to worry about being cold at home (25 percent), and the daily commute providing time to transition between home and work life (23 percent). More →

January 18, 2022

Firms need to do more to engage, attract and retain staff

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Over 40 percent of employers are finding it more difficult to retain and recruit staff, according to Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2022 (registration). The report claims that many employers have adjusted their benefits strategies to address an intense labour market, in which employee work motivations have shifted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-one percent of employers said they have found it more difficult to retain staff in the last year, while 44 percent have found it more difficult to recruit new staff. Many employers anecdotally expressed in the survey that they need to pay higher salaries or sign-on bonuses to entice new recruits. More →

January 17, 2022

Working from home isolation felt more keenly by younger workers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new poll from RingCentral, a provider of cloud communications claims that younger workers are more likely to report feelings of isolation and anxiety when working from home. The firm claims that the results of the survey highlight the need for employers and others to ensure they stay connected and engaged with those working from home alone. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that around 1 in 6 (17 percent) adults experienced depression during the latter half of 2021 – almost double the rate before the pandemic (1 in 10). More →

January 13, 2022

Flexible workspace users express confidence in future

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Flexible working, Property

Members of flexible workspace provider LABS have expressed confidence over their businesses’ prospects heading into 2022, with 92 percent of respondents to a survey, conducted by LABS, expecting their companies to grow over the next three years. More →

January 11, 2022

Great Resignation offers firms a chance to create the Great Retention

by Erin Eatough • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Working culture

The last 18 months have seen unprecedented change. Covid-19 has forced people to re-evaluate every aspect of their lives, including their career. As a result, we’ve seen a surge in workers taking charge of their careers and leaving their jobs as part of the so-called Great Resignation. Recent data from the ONS shows that there were nearly 1.2 million job vacancies in the UK this quarter, with 15 of 18 sectors reporting record numbers. More →

January 10, 2022

Risk of job losses has been falling for years, but at a price

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Decades of declining change in the UK labour market has reduced the risk of damaging job losses, but also limited opportunities for pay-enhancing job moves, according to new research published by the Resolution Foundation for The Economy 2030 Inquiry. More →