August 14, 2019

The endless hunt for the office of the future ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design

Lewis Carroll’s second best known work The Hunting of the Snark is a long nonsense poem that describes the pursuit by a group of adventurers of an elusive creature called a Snark. This turns out to be a much more dangerous Boojum when it is finally seen, causing one of the crew members to vanish. The poem may or may not be an allegory for the pursuit of happiness but it could easily be about our pursuit of anything elusive, imaginary or ephemeral.

August 9, 2019

Helsinki tops global rankings for work-life balance

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Wellbeing

Helsinki is the world’s best city for work-life balance according to a new study from technology business Kisi which compares data on a range of factors such as “livability”, work intensity, institutional support, equality and legislation to rank cities. Helsinki, Munich, and Oslo are the three best ranked cities while the cities deemed as having the worst work-life balance were Tokyo, Singapore, and Washington DC. Using data relating to work intensity, social wellbeing, and livability to analyse the interplay between work and life, the index claims to assess how successful residents are at achieving a healthy work-life balance in 40 cities around the world. More →

July 26, 2019

Self-employment might be good for mental health

by Mark Stabile • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The general picture of self-employment, the gig economy work and mental wellbeing is not a pretty one. Around the world, Uber drivers face wage and security worries. Deliveroo workers have too much competition. Airbnb owners face legal problems in Paris and other cities. But while these headlines suggest a dark cloud over the heads of gig economy workers, recent data I’ve looked at unexpectedly shows that they are about 33 percent more likely to self-report positive mental health traits.
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July 21, 2019

Sleeping on the job is now acceptable behaviour

by Colette Wade • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Recently, Cornerstone OnDemand tested which learning and training courses are of most interest and truly matter to employees to help them navigate the world of work. Among the top five most popular courses, there was a resounding demand for those that centred around wellbeing. And the training that claimed the top spot was ‘The Science of Sleep: Sleep hygiene’. More →

July 16, 2019

The workplace of tomorrow redefined by learning and AI

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

Unily has released a report analysing the trends and issues shaping the workplace of tomorrow. The report, ‘Future of the Workplace 2030+’, has been co-created with the futurist Anne Lise Kjaer, a regular on the TED Talks circuit best known for the book The Trend Management Toolkit. Looking at the transformation of our working lives over the next 10 years and beyond, the report explores both the challenges and the opportunities as companies prepare for a new wave of technological advances and a new generation of workers. It sets out specific challenges including how to incorporate Generation Z in the workplace, integrate new technology and face greater scrutiny of organisational values. It also suggests that new jobs will emerge such as ‘Vice President of No’, ‘Professional Rebel’ and ‘Ideas Broker’. More →

July 3, 2019

Getting a sense of productivity and motivation

by Jeff Revoy • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

When business operators are planning their company’s office, price is often chief among their priorities. Keeping the fixed cost of real estate low helps companies project—and increase—their expected income. Price is not just a consideration when it comes to rent; assets such as office furniture are often purchased en masse and for purely utilitarian reasons. Sure, a business is saving money by designing a no-frills, utilitarian office, which some Feng Shui experts would agree with, but what they are ignoring is how space affects productivity, motivation and enjoyment. More →

June 25, 2019

Leesman and Delos launch wellbeing benchmark

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Wellbeing

Leesman, the workplace experience analysts, and Delos, a wellness real estate and technology firm, have announced a new collaboration to investigate how real estate strategy can better support wellbeing at work. With a variety of strategies being promoted as a secret to ‘wellness at work’, this collaboration aims to test and validate the impact of real estate strategies on worker wellbeing on an ongoing basis, and not only when an office is new.

June 20, 2019

The case for a shorter working week

by Shainaz Firfiray • Comment, Wellbeing

UK employees have the longest working week compared to other workers in the European Union. But, despite the long hours, recent studies have shown this does not make the UK a more productive nation. An analysis by the Trade Union Congress on working hours and productivity found that, while UK full-time staff worked almost two hours more than the EU average, they were not as productive as staff in Denmark who worked fewer hours in the average week. More →

June 11, 2019

Moving the wellbeing debate beyond a fixation on stress

by Matt Weston • Comment, Wellbeing

The world of work is evolving. Geopolitical change, digitalisation of the workplace and increased regulation are just some of the changes that businesses and their employees have to navigate. This disruption can feed into employee stress levels, impacting their happiness at work. Maintaining good mental health in the workplace is vital for employee wellbeing – it’s a key factor in employee retention and in turn, business success. However, it has been reported that between 2017 and 2018, 15.4 million working days were lost to work-related stress.

May 30, 2019

Relationships with coworkers matter most for wellbeing

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A third of your life is spent at work, but what determines your workplace well-being? That’s the question that Dr. Martin Boult, Senior Director Professional Services & International Training, The Myers-Briggs Company, asked before starting a three-year international study on workplace wellbeing. His new report, titled “Wellbeing in the Workplace” from The Myers-Briggs Company explores the most effective activities for enhancing well-being and its benefits for both people and organisations. More →

May 29, 2019

Biophilia in the corporate HQ: an historical perspective

by Guzman de Yarza Blache • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

In recent years, the concept of biophilia and the inclusion of greenery in the working environment has captured the media’s attention, which has depicted it as an important aspect of wellbeing in the workplace, seemingly the crucial indicator of a great office. For this reason, and beyond the superficial or cosmetic use of plants in the office, I would like to analyse the relationship between nature and the corporate world from a historical perspective in an effort to understand the role of greenery within the architecture of the corporate headquarters.

May 24, 2019

One in eight people are unhappy at work

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The UK workforce is increasingly held back by mental health problems such as stress, depression and anxiety. According to a study of 23,000 full and part time workers by Robert Half UK, more than one in eight (13 percent) UK employees are unhappy at work, accounting for more than 4.3 million people. The UK has the highest rate of unhappiness in the workplace among the countries surveyed, including Canada, Australia, Germany and 4 percent higher than in the US. The research claims that one in three (31 percent) UK respondents admitted to finding their work stressful, while one in 10 (12 percent) employees report being dissatisfied with their work–life balance. More →