July 22, 2020

Employee anxiety and stress levels massively up on last year

Anxiety in employees has rocketed over the last year, according to a new report from Inpulse. The research, which includes the views of over 3,000 UK employees, claims that anxiety is the most dominant negative emotion at work and has risen 240 percent over the same period as last year – up from 5 percent to 17 percent. Stress is another high negative emotion for employees, at 11 percent, while Isolation rates stands at 7 percent. More →

July 21, 2020

Workplace design in a new age of reason

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

The enduring but changing struggle to improve the working conditions and performance of people through workplace design and management has more than a whiff of the Enlightenment of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries about it. The Enlightenment marked a new era in which the old superstitions and dogmas were to be overthrown by pure reason.

July 17, 2020

Your working day is never finished, merely abandoned

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

It’s been talked about for a number of years now but we can expect to be hearing a lot more about the four day week or six hour day soon. The modern conversation has its roots partly in a Swedish experiment designed to limit the hours people work in an attempt to improve their work-life balance and possibly even increase their productivity. Now a growing number of firms are looking to introduce a nominal four day working week or restrict the use of technology – meaning email – outside of certain hours. More →

July 17, 2020

Self-employment is great for wellbeing, not so great for the bank balance

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

In the week the ONS announced that the number of self-employed people in the UK had dropped by 178,000 over the last quarter, a new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Study suggests that the growing number of people who turn to self-employment do so despite a drop in their incomes. On average, they earn nearly £500 (30 percent) less a month than they did before falling out of traditional employment. More →

July 16, 2020

Flexible working set to double once pandemic crisis is over

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

New research from the CIPD claims that employers now expect the proportion of people working from home on a regular basis will increase to 37 percent compared to 18 percent before the pandemic. Employers also expect the proportion of staff who work from home all the time to rise to 22 percent post pandemic compared to 9 percent before lockdown measures started to be imposed. More →

July 16, 2020

Prioritising nature in development could create 395 million new jobs by 2030

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News

The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented job losses and economic uncertainty. As governments and businesses look to stimulate growth, a new study from the World Economic Forum claims that ‘nature-positive’ solutions can create 395 million jobs by 2030. The Future of Nature and Business Report says this is a $10.1 trillion business opportunity. More →

July 15, 2020

Some brutal realities about the future of work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

No author uses the built environment like J G Ballard. In his 1975 novel High-Rise, the eponymous structure is both a way of isolating the group of people who live and compete inside it and a metaphor for their personal isolation and inner struggles. Over the course of three months, the building’s services begin to fail. The 2,000 people within, detached from external realities in the 40-storey building, confronted with their true selves and those of their neighbours, descend into selfishness and – ultimately – savagery. More →

July 15, 2020

Business leaders remain confident about post lockdown growth

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

CEOs and the self-employed are cautiously optimistic about post-lockdown growth, claims a new report. As the country begins to emerge from lockdown, new research from The Institute of Leadership & Management ‘Life after lockdown: future of work’, explores the predicted changes to the workplace following the Covid-19 pandemic. More →

July 13, 2020

Flexible workspace provider Serendipity Labs to expand UK operation

by Neil Franklin • Company news

US flexible workspace provider Serendipity Labs has appointed JLL to expand its operations to 20 new locations in the UK over the next two years. Founded in 2011, Serendipity Labs operates a network of “hospitality-infused” workplaces offering shared and dedicated workstations, meeting venues and work lounges. The new plans follow an initial launch last year in partnership with Newable to open and operate 25 locations in the UK. More →

July 9, 2020

Mental health and coronavirus: a human resources perspective

by Ian Caminsky • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

In March, coronavirus presented a stark challenge to businesses attempting to cope with workplace absence. FirstCare statistics show that during Q1 2020, more than 98 percent of Covid-19-related absences were due to unconfirmed cases, self-quarantining as a precaution, or caring for dependents. This has resulted in huge financial pressure on businesses. Now though, as restrictions are gradually eased, human resources must respond to the mental health challenges the pandemic has manifested in workers, including grief, trauma, PTSD and more general anxiety. More →

July 9, 2020

Three quarters of furloughed employers are worried about redundancy

by Neil Franklin • News

A new report claims that the majority of people who are currently on furlough are concerned about being made redundant when the scheme ends. Two thirds (67 percent) feel there’s been a lack of communication from their employer. The platform surveyed professionals currently on the government job retention scheme to find out if they are worried about job security, along with how being furloughed has impacted them. The survey revealed that the hospitality industry is where staff feel the least amount of job security, closely followed by travel/tourism and sales. More →

July 8, 2020

Nearly all businesses are aware of disability issues, but more needs to be done

by Neil Franklin • News, Working lives

A new study of 120 global brands shows how over 90 per cent of businesses now recognise the importance of disabled employees and customers. The study is the first to consider how businesses are serving the needs of disabled people at a global and local level and how to share best practice. More →