December 18, 2020
Mental wellbeing needs of employees should be a greater priority for businesses
Data from thousands of employees across the country has been aggregated in a new report, detailing the mental wellbeing of the workforce over the course of the year. The research from 87 percent, a digital platform that provides mental health assessment and support to businesses and their employees, shows how the workforce has struggled with the mental pressures of Covid-19. Since March, circumstances at work and pressures in our personal lives have badly affected our mental wellbeing. More →
A review of research in organisational and workplace psychology conducted by an international team of academics claims that working from home has been more disruptive for women than men. The review paper, entitled 
BlackRock is one of the largest asset management companies on the planet. Each year, at the start of January, the CEO Larry Fink writes a letter addressed to the other CEOs of the world. In his New Year’s letter for 2020, Fink appealed in particular to his fellow CEOs’ sense of social responsibility. In particular, he focused in on the risks faced by the climate. “Climate risk is an investment risk,” and he called on all companies, both public and private, to create greater societal added value. “Society is looking increasingly to companies to solve social and economic problems,” he concludes, so asset managers should be encouraged to invest in companies with a ‘purpose’. 
Only 46 percent of employers plan to hire a young person between the age of 16 and 24 in the next year despite new Government incentives to do so, a report from the 
The pandemic has shaken up business priorities and many predict that it will continue to have lasting influence on the future direction of organisations. It is predicted that innovation and more compassionate leadership will take centre stage, according to a new study by ‘
With the continuous impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health due to isolation, work uncertainty, and anxiety over health, the topic has been dominating the news, begging the question of how we can achieve accessible and cost-effective treatment for all and prevent the expected acceleration of mental health issues in the coming months. As we juggle a different type of work-life balance brought about by working from home and the added worry of how the pandemic is affecting us, there is no doubt that our daily lives have been disrupted. The statistics are alarming; 
To say that 2020 has been a tough year is an understatement, and it appears that there has been an increase in the amount of alcohol being consumed whilst working from home since the pandemic began, according to Health and Safety software company 
Research published by 
Employee monitoring is an emotive topic. Businesses may wish to monitor their staff for a variety of reasons. For instance, they may wish to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of confidential or sensitive information, or detect attempts to steal valuable intellectual property. In the current conditions, dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses have opted to use automated means to monitor staff productivity. However, from an employee’s perspective, the use of monitoring software may be intrusive if not distressing. Further, if it has been implemented without regard to data protection law, it is potentially illegal. 
The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has announced the start of a new project to plot a route to net zero carbon for the UK’s built environment sector, by developing a Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap. Hot on the heels of the Government’s new target to cut emissions by 68 percent by 2030, against 1990 levels, this project will identify how the built environment supports that objective and set a science-based trajectory to achieving net zero for the whole sector by 2050. The roadmap will cover all building types and infrastructure, all built environment stakeholders and sub-sectors and address carbon across the whole building lifecycle. 
The World Economic Forum has launched a new report which sets out to define how organisational leaders can influence their companies and encourage the responsible use of technology and build ethical capacity. 
December 18, 2020
Events of 2020 have proved the value of personal resilience
by Silja Litvin • Comment, Wellbeing