May 12, 2023

Half of gig workers earn below the minimum wage

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

As the cost of living continues to spiral, a new report shows more than half of gig economy workers in the UK are paid below the minimum wage. The study, led by the University of Bristol, found 52 percent of gig workers doing jobs ranging from data entry to food delivery were earning below the minimum wage. On average respondents were earning £8.97 per hour – around 15 percent below the current UK minimum wage, which rose to £10.42 this month. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of survey respondents also experienced work-related insecurity and anxiety. More →

May 5, 2023

Firms missing the chances to implement hybrid working and adopt new technologies

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing

The new Slack State of Work Report [registration] claims that companies are missing opportunities to unlock new levels of employee productivity with new technology, hybrid working, and talent development. The report, based on a global survey of more than 18,000 desk workers – including 2,000 in the UK, found only 23 percent of companies are investing in technology to improve productivity and efficiency (21 percent in the UK), and just 27 percent of companies are using AI tools to help do so. More →

April 10, 2023

IF AI can replace what you do without anybody noticing, the problem isn’t with the technology

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing

Perhaps the least surprising news from the current AI media frenzy is that Buzzfeed has already been using the tech to publish a lot of its stories. There’s an obvious response to this and it’s not about how amazing the AI is. If an artificial intelligence can write vast quantities of formulaic clickbait stories on your website without anybody noticing, then the problem is with your original approach to ‘content’ and how it’s consumed. More →

April 5, 2023

Do you have a crystal ball when it comes to leading change?

by Jennifer Bryan • Comment, JB, Workplace

If you think about a change that is happening to you, in some way, right now – how are you feeling? Are you feeling scared, anxious, worried or happy, excited, looking forward to it? The same thing happens with a workplace change. Some people like the old ways of working because they are use to them, feel comfortable, they don’t have to think about it. Whereas others are looking forward to the new ways of working, as they think they are exciting, new and different. More →

March 30, 2023

Every workplace innovation contains the seeds of its opposite

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

The announcement by Apple that it wanted its employees to work in an office for three days a week sparked the usual, tedious pile-on about how many days people should spend in a physical workplace each week. This included the columnist at Grazia who joins the tens of millions of people around the world who not only know where Apple is going wrong, but also how to run every other organisation in the world and what’s best for everybody who works for them. More →

February 2, 2023

Do you walk or talk people centric change for success?

by Jennifer Bryan • Comment, JB, Workplace

In previous articles, I shared that there is a McKinsey report that states that 75 percent of the organisations that were listed at the time on the S&P would no longer exist by 2025 – they would either merge, be bought out or go bankrupt. This all means that organisations have to change and adapt or die. That is now less than 2 years away, so some organisations are now gone, some are struggling and some have adapted. With that said, organisations can no longer afford to get change wrong – they have to get it right and right now. And one way of doing this is to focus on people centric change. More →

November 20, 2022

Workplaces are plagued by classism, report claims

by Neil Franklin • Business, News, Workplace

A new poll claims to highlight the need to tackle classism at work, with 57 percent of employees witnessing discrimination or a lack of inclusivity in the last year alone. A third of UK employees say classism is active in their workplace, according to the 2022 Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace Report from Wildgoose. The report is based on a survey of employees from 133 UK workplaces. It asked if their workplace is an inclusive environment, what areas of diversity their organisation could improve upon, and whether they have experienced discrimination or inequality in the workplace. More →

November 8, 2022

Hybrid working driving demand for areas with easier commutes

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Property, Workplace design

A report from Unispace claims that employees’ new preference for hybrid working has created an immediate need for firms to re-think their real estate footprint. Today, with over 60 percent of office-based employees preferring to work remotely or in a more flexible way, rather than commute to city centres five days a week, employers are considering the greater use or addition of satellite offices to their portfolio. According to the study of 3,000 office workers across Europe, 79 percent of the workforce would be happier to return to the office if it was just five to 10 minutes away from their home, suggesting that satellite offices could be a solution to boost collaboration, socialisation, engagement and staff retention. More →

October 5, 2022

Will employees return to the office to save on energy bills this winter?

by Nick Gold • Comment, Flexible working

This winter will be tough for many UK households. Rising energy bills are driving a huge upswing in inflation, causing real incomes to fall as the cost of living goes up. And despite the UK Government’s announcement that energy prices will be ‘capped’ at an average of £2,500 per year, the Bank of England believes inflation will remain high for at least the next two years. According to government estimates, a £2,500 energy bill is almost double the average household’s energy bill in 2021. And as employees continue to work from their home office regularly, energy consumption is likely to rise. More →

September 29, 2022

Public transport makes commuting easier and boosts the labour market

by Andrew J Seltzer and Jonathan Wadsworth • Cities, Features, Flexible working

Following losses of £1.5bn in annual fare revenues incurred during the pandemic, Transport for London recently signed a deal with the UK government for emergency funding. The agreement ensures that new train orders, bridge repairs and tube upgrades will continue as planned. It also will lead to public transport fares rising and bus services being cut. While the Elizabeth Line, a £19 billion east-west addition to the London Underground, opened to great fanfare in May 2022, this year has also seen some of the oldest bus routes in the UK axed: including route 144 between Worcester and Birmingham, route 477 between Dartford and Orpington, and route 84 between north London and Hertfordshire. At least 135 bus routes countrywide currently face cutbacks or permanent cancellation. More →

August 25, 2022

Issue 2 of Works magazine continues to shake things up

by Mick Jordan • News, Premium Content, Works Magazine

We’ve received plenty of messages over the past few weeks, asking when we’re going to see the first full publication of Works – the new workplace design magazine (and sister title to IN) following the successful launch of its pilot issue. Well, we’re delighted to announce that the printer’s big red button has been pushed and said issue is on its way. And the digital edition is available to read free now. More →

July 28, 2022

Personal space is not merely an issue of hygiene, but a biological imperative

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The current debate about how much space we will need in the office from now on is not new. As with many of the debate’s facets, the point at which we find ourselves has long been our destination. We’re just here earlier than we might have expected. More →