April 6, 2020

Working parents still not getting enough support to deal with pandemic

A new report from work-life balance charity Working Families claims that there remains a pressing need for increased support for working parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report is informed by queries to the charity’s free legal advice helpline, which the charity says have quadrupled since the start of the pandemic. Since mid-March, over 36,000 people have accessed the charity’s coronavirus-focused legal advice web pages. More →

April 3, 2020

People lose half an hour a week to poor acoustics

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace design

According to new research by market researchers IPSOS and EPOS, 95 percent of audio end-users and decision makers experience problems relating to sound that affect their concentration or efficiency at work. Common complaints include being disturbed by loud colleagues (50 percent), overall noise levels in working environments (48 percent) and interruptions from colleagues (46 percent). More →

April 3, 2020

Two thirds of SMEs confident of prospects after restructuring

by Neil Franklin • News

Nearly two thirds (62 percent) of UK small business owners remain confident about their business prospects despite the coronavirus crisis, according to a study from Bionic. The government’s response to the pandemic has forced many SMEs, particularly in the retail, hospitality and leisure space, to close their doors to customers. Responding to the lockdown, 78 percent of small businesses have pivoted the way their business operates to continue trading through the crisis.

April 1, 2020

Humanscale offers new service of online ergonomic consultations

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Insight promotion

Humanscale, the designer and manufacturer of high performance ergonomic products, has built its business by focusing on the health and wellbeing of workers around the world. In these unprecedented times, where employers and employees are unexpectedly working from home full time, Humanscale’s team of board certified ergonomists is offering a new digital service that provides online ergonomic consultations, to ensure a healthy and comfortable home arrangement. ErgoIQ LIVE is a first-of-its-kind online ergonomic consultation tool that provides online, on-demand access to Humanscale’s skilled network of certified ergonomists. More →

March 31, 2020

Most workers not productive while working from home, report claims

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

No more than 15 percent of healthy workers confined to their homes will work productively, argues new research from right leaning think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs. Government restrictions on social interaction designed to slow the spread of coronavirus have led to a rapid increase in the number of people working from home. But a new briefing paper from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) suggests this is unlikely to be maintained in the long term. More →

March 30, 2020

Home working initiative to tackle worldwide pandemic response

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) collaboration are to throw their weight behind an emergency initiative by Leesman, building a global pan-industry response group to the threat posed to the real estate and facilities management industries by Covid-19 and addressing the huge uptake in home working. More →

March 27, 2020

Third of workforce expect role to vanish within three years

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

A new study by Mercer claims the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent uncertainty are accelerating changes in the way organisations around the world are working and will continue to work into the future. Particularly in challenging times, employers are focusing on their workforce, specifically fostering healthy lifestyles, supporting financial wellness and providing skills and training as careers change due to AI and technology developments. More →

March 27, 2020

Tech purchases surge as Brits prepare to work from home

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

Research of product popularity and customer click out data by product comparison service, PriceSpy, claims that home office tech purchases of desktops, tablets and laptops – surged by an average 46 percent as Brits prepared to work from home during the Coronavirus pandemic. More →

March 26, 2020

Now is a great time to talk about staff absence in the NHS

by Ian Caminsky • Comment, Wellbeing

The NHS lost nearly ten days per employee to absence last year, the highest level recorded in the last five years. Data is crucial to the decision-making and success of every business, and yet many NHS Executives will be unaware of this statistic. More →

March 25, 2020

Loneliness has always been a workplace issue

by Nigel Oseland • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives, Workplace design

Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a serious issue in modern society. In the UK, the Office of National Statistics reported that 5 percent of adults feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘always’, with further 16 percent of adults reporting feeling lonely ‘sometimes’, equivalent to approximately 9 million adults suffering from loneliness to some degree. More →

March 25, 2020

The good, the bad and the ugly of workplace wellbeing

by Chris Pinner • Comment, Wellbeing

FTSE companies that prioritise wellbeing and engagement outperform others by 10 percent according to a study from SOMA Analytics. Similar results are apparent across a range of related studies. With such a significant impact, it’s surprising that businesses are still not measuring the impact of wellbeing activities to optimise their offering. More →

March 25, 2020

Does remote working mean lack of belonging?

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

New research from Globalization Partners Inc., claims more than 90 percent of employees who work for a global organisation describe their companies as diverse. However, a lack of understanding by the organisations themselves around how to manage this growing disparate and diverse workforce means that three out of ten respondents don’t feel a sense of inclusion or belonging due to remote working. This negatively impacts employee engagement, trust, happiness, as well as staff turnover. More →