November 12, 2020
The past year has been something of a game-changer in many ways and perhaps one of the most unexpected has been how people have had to embrace the idea of working from home. More →
November 11, 2020
This has been a tough year all round, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to cause seismic shifts in how we live and work. Surveys across various countries indicate that employees are experiencing more feelings of burnout, stress and disconnection as the pandemic is taking a toll on people’s mental health. What’s causing this and what can we do to combat it? More →
November 11, 2020
The word ‘office’, based on the Latin term officium, wasn’t originally used to describing a building, or a space: instead it was used primarily as a term for a position: a role that was occupied by a person. So it seems only right with this etymology to take inspiration from Europe. And when considering office design, use that inspiration to build workspaces that reflect the needs of the people working within them. More →
November 10, 2020
Unbelievably for those of us who saw him as a personal hero, yesterday marked the 24th anniversary of the death of Carl Sagan. At the time of his death in 1996, the Internet was very much in its infancy but Sagan could see what was coming, including how we need to filter what is valuable from the deluge of information we now bob around in. Sagan put it like this: “all of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American city in a single year. Not all bits have equal value.” More →
November 10, 2020
A vast majority of managers (75 percent) faced challenges with employees when working remotely, causing concerns within businesses preparing for the second UK lockdown. More →
November 9, 2020
For years, we have been promised a work-from-home revolution, and it seems that the pandemic has finally brought it to pass. In April this year, at the height of the first wave of coronavirus, 47 percent of people in the UK were working from home, the vast majority of them doing so because of the pandemic. In a sense this is overdue: the work-from-home potential for UK employees is 32 percent; in France, Germany and Italy between 24 percent and 28 percent. More →
November 9, 2020
As COVID-19 has forced businesses to change where and how they work this year, the learning disability charity Mencap is now calling on employers to think differently about WHO they employ. The pandemic has highlighted the invaluable contribution people with a learning disability and/ or autism can make as hardworking and valued employees. More →
November 6, 2020
A third of flexible workspace providers reported that occupancy rates have remained relatively stable through the global lockdown, only falling by 10 percent. On average, operators reported demand for flex space at 52 percent of pre-Covid levels, but some suburban markets have seen significant growth and pricing in those areas has increased. More →
November 6, 2020
New research conducted on behalf of eFax by independent research organisation Vanson Bourne, claims that the majority, more than three quarters (76 percent) of UK IT decision-makers believe their organisations could have made the transition to a hybrid workforce sooner, if they were aware of the pros and cons of moving to a hybrid working model, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic began. More →
November 6, 2020
80 percent of companies say that an increased cybersecurity risk caused by human factors has posed a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in times of heightened stress. This is according to Cyberchology: The Human Element, a new report that explores the role employees and their personality play in keeping organisations safe from cyber threats. More →
November 5, 2020
We are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work. The pandemic has forced organisations to go virtual. New government guidelines, including a tiered alert system, suggest that this will be the norm for the foreseeable future. But step back from the noise and it is easy to see how the current crisis is simply accelerating the inevitable. A confluence of forces, including advancements in technology and infrastructure, increasing globalisation, shifting demographics and COVID-19, has enabled greater connectivity and mobility, making obvious to organisations, their leadership and individuals the wisdom of adopting flexible work models. More →
November 12, 2020
Stepping back into the workplace arena
by Rachel Houghton • Comment