June 7, 2021
The bullshit jobs theory may turn out to be, well…
The so-called ‘bullshit jobs theory’ – which argues that a large and rapidly increasing number of workers are undertaking jobs that they themselves recognise as being useless and of no social value – contains several major flaws, argue researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Birmingham. Even so, writing in Work, Employment and Society, the academics applaud its proponent, American anthropologist David Graeber, who died in September 2020, for highlighting the link between a sense of purpose in one’s job and psychological wellbeing.
Every day, after a leisurely breakfast in bed and the opening of his post, Roald Dahl would wander down his garden to the grubby little hut crammed with personal paraphernalia he had created there. There he would sharpen the six yellow pencils that were always by his side while he worked, settle into an armchair, put his feet up on an old suitcase filled with logs, place an American yellow legal pad of paper onto a makeshift board on his lap and work for two hours. 
Half of workers in the UK (50 percent) say their employers have provided support for their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, while two-thirds of employees globally reported the same (65 percent). This may illustrate a growing awareness and concern from businesses about the potential psychological impact on staff, according to a new study 
HR leaders, heads of real estate and IT decision-makers have not always spent huge amounts of time working together – their roles and responsibilities have often been siloed. But in the new world of work, that’s all changing. These three groups of senior leaders are being asked to collaborate on one of the biggest challenges corporate occupiers, as they try to figure out when and how to return to office-based working and shape the future of work. Failure to collaborate will increase the probability of workplaces having low occupancy rates, low employee engagement and decreased productivity. 
Ten years ago, the day after I left my full-time job at FM World magazine* to set up Magenta I wrote a blog called 
As the UK lockdown eases and the nation slowly returns to the office, 
Research from 
When it comes to conversations about work and workplaces, the past year has offered a fully immersive experience. Everybody now has an opinion. Inevitably some of them are better informed and more rooted in experience than others. So, after a full year of talk and as we return to some form of routine working life, the time has come to take stock. Few organisations and people will remain untouched by the sudden shift in attitudes towards working life, so we asked four workplace experts for their views on the current state of play. 
When the global pandemic struck last year, many companies were forced to close offices and enable employees to work remotely – bringing forward their digital transformation roadmap by a good few year. A year on, and while it seems that the Covid-19 restrictions are reducing, there is unlikely to be a complete shift back to the office. Instead, most companies are now planning to adopt a hybrid work model; with employees working a mix of in-office or remotely. 
June 4, 2021
Expect to see a growing number of people with the job title Head of Remote
by Jo Deal • Comment, Flexible working