Search Results for: happiness

People need to feel comfortable about being themselves at work

People need to feel comfortable about being themselves at work

feeling comfortable at workOver a quarter of people (28 percent) in the workplace suffer bullying and/or discrimination on issues such as gender, age or sexual orientation, according to a new study. The Workplace Wellbeing Census, conducted by leading healthcare provider Bupa, found that such actions are the most harmful factors influencing workplace wellbeing at work. Women in the workplace face significant challenges with over a third (34 percent) experiencing bullying or discrimination, compared to 22 per cent of men. Women are also more than four times as likely to suffer negatively from workplace gender discrimination than men (13 percent vs 3 percent). More →

Firms not meeting the needs of a growing flexible workforce

Firms not meeting the needs of a growing flexible workforce

flexible workforceA new report claims that US based businesses are not addressing the needs of an increasingly “deskless workforce” which thinks flexible working is a right that should be valued more than other benefits. The Future is Flexible: A New Workforce Paradigm Evolving From the Gig Economy (registration) from Quinyx compiles publicly available data alongside a survey of more than 4,000 employed Americans over the age of 18. It claims that, behind wages, flexibility is one of the most important factors of happiness at work for this growing flexible workforce, higher than health benefits, culture, and employee discounts. More →

Making flippy floppy with the meaning of work

Making flippy floppy with the meaning of work

Great news! No, not the Brexit deal but the reports that the US has replaced the floppy disks it uses to store the information about its nuclear arsenal with something a bit less Nineties. If nothing else, a useful reminder that even the people responsible for a potential Armageddon might not be quite on board for the Fourth Industrial Revolution just yet, and are still coming to terms with the Third. More →

People switch their focus to work life balance at age 45

People switch their focus to work life balance at age 45

work life balanceMore than three in five UK adults (61 percent) favour work life balance over a high salary, according to a new study from Hitachi Personal Finance. The report also claims that it is those aged 45 and upwards who are most likely to seek out a better overall quality of life at the expense of other job priorities, with 82 percent of workers aged over 45 saying they would always opt for a better life balance over a high salary, given the choice, compared with 49 percent of under 45s. More →

Workplace interruptions are not all bad

Workplace interruptions are not all bad

An email pops up on your screen. It’s a client sharing a project update. A Slack message appears. It’s your boss asking a question. A text alert beeps. A colleague wants to know if you will be attending a meeting. Sound familiar? People are increasingly besieged at work by workplace interruptions through email, messaging apps, social media and in-person encounters. More →

Workplaces should change to entice people back into them

Workplaces should change to entice people back into them

A n example of the new generation of great workplacesA new report published jointly by Instant Group and Area addresses the issue of how ensure workplaces address the physical, technological and personal needs of the growing number of people who have a choice about where they work. The report explores what employers can do to ensure that the workplace is still a place where people want to be.

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Office design alone cannot motivate us or make us happy at work

Office design alone cannot motivate us or make us happy at work

Office design and happinessThere’s a good reason why we find it hard to establish the causal links between our working lives, office design and our personal happiness. It’s because it’s all very complicated. So complicated in fact that you can sidetrack any discussion on the subject by asking elementary questions such as: ‘what do you mean by happy?’ or ‘should it be the role of work to make us happy?’ More →

Flexible working now routine for two thirds of US workers

Flexible working now routine for two thirds of US workers

flexible working owl labsA new report from Owl Labs claims that although two-thirds of US workers now work away from their main place of work some of the time, there are still many people and organisations that are unaware of the benefits, processes and challenges involved in flexible working. The new report explores the effect flexible working has on personal happiness, recruitment, retention and skills as well as exploring the attitudes of people who are based in a fixed place of work.

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Recognition is a more powerful motivator than pay, survey concludes

Recognition is a more powerful motivator than pay, survey concludes

Data from Engaging Works claims that recognition is a more powerful motivator than pay for employees. The data also suggests that a third of people feel they aren’t trusted to make decisions and have a poor relationship with their line manager. More →

Flexible working needs not met by employers

Flexible working needs not met by employers

Fewer than a third (32 percent) of UK workers are allowed to work remotely whenever they want, according to research from Capita which explores employee attitudes to remote/flexible working and the challenge employers face meeting their expectations of IT to do so.  ‘The State of IT – The Employee Verdict’ report (registration)  claims that almost three quarters of workers (71 percent) would like the option to work remotely, citing a better work-life balance (60 percent), reducing their transport costs (47 percent), and carbon footprint (35 percent) as their biggest drivers for doing so. More →

Workplace experience to be main theme of CoreNet Global

Workplace experience to be main theme of CoreNet Global

Corenet Global to explore human workplace experience Optimising the human workplace experience to achieve greater productivity and creativity will be explored in depth at the CoreNet Global Summit in Amsterdam this September. Over a dozen diverse sessions will examine multidisciplinary approaches to achieving gains in health, productivity and creativity alongside both academic and commercial research showing measurable benefits. More →

Wellbeing depends on workplace basics more than trivial features

Wellbeing depends on workplace basics more than trivial features

Workplace design and wellbeingA new report supports the idea that when it comes to the workplace and the effect it has on personal wellbeing and productivity, employees want the basics first. According to the Workplace Wellness Study published by Future Workplace, a New York-based research firm, and office technology provider View, the most highly prized features of an office are good air quality, access to natural light, and an ability to personalise immediate workspace. More →