June 27, 2022

The raging truth about burnout

by Stephanie Fitzgerald • Comment, SF, Wellbeing, Workplace

We’re probably all familiar with an image of burnout. People sitting head in hands, or lying in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to get up and get going in the morning. Burnout is once again a topic of the moment as workplaces are left reeling by the “Great Resignation”, and those that are left behind are struggling to cover the resulting gap in knowledge and resource. More →

June 23, 2022

BCO Conference challenges the office sector to up its game

by Jo Sutherland • Features, Property

Regarded as one of the property sector’s leading events, the BCO Annual Conference saw key players from all parts of the office industry flock to Manchester – the vibrant, modern cosmopolitan powerhouse that is celebrated around the world for being the UK’s most competitive, economically productive, liveable and vibrant region. In her keynote, Joanne Roney, chief executive of Manchester City Council, said that the most demanding, challenging and important priority is climate change, closely followed by making a positive difference to the lives of the people who live and work in the city. More →

June 20, 2022

Birmingham BT HQ shows road ahead for its offices and the city

by Mike Hills • Cities, Features, Property, Workplace design

In January of 2020, shortly before that thing happened and before we knew much about the UK Government’s ‘levelling up’ programme, Birmingham was already a city on the rise. It had recently been announced that it was to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and was riding the crest of a number of high-profile developments and regeneration projects, not least those that arrived on the back of the controversial high speed rail station. More →

June 20, 2022

People are searching for better work, not just more pay

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New research from the CIPD claims that more than 6.5 million people in the UK expect to quit their job in the next 12 months, with those reporting the poorest job quality the most likely to have itchy feet. Better pay and benefits are the main motivator to leave, but people are also looking for increased job satisfaction and better work life balance. In response, the CIPD is calling for employers to not treat pay increases as a ‘silver bullet’ for attracting and retaining staff, but instead look at overall job quality by being more creative with job design and people management practices. More →

June 14, 2022

London Tech Week kicks off with new Government announcements on future of tech

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The Government’s review into the future of computing and its new UK Digital Strategy were unveiled at the start of London Tech Week as the world’s technology leaders, founders and next generation of tech superstars gather in the capital to collaborate on the future of the industry. Opening day speakers included Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson, Darren Hardman, VP & General Manager, AWS, Theo Blackwell MBE in conversation with New York City’s CTO Matt Fraser, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemi?tkowski and The Body Coach CEO & Creative Director Nikki Wicks. More →

June 9, 2022

Work-life balance more important than pay for two thirds of people

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Rising inflation and the UK’s cost-of-living crisis have put a lot of pressure on employers to increase wages and starting salaries this year, but a new survey suggests that there’s something that employees value more than pay – work-life balance. HR and payroll software provider CIPHR polled over 1,000 UK workers to find out which job aspects matter most to them. Based on the results, over two-thirds (70 percent of women and 65 percent of men) see work-life balance – albeit a term that can mean different things to different people – as being more important than their pay and employee benefits combined (selected by 60 percent of women and 57 percent of men). More →

June 7, 2022

Recruitment challenges are rooted in geopolitical unrest

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

According to a new poll from SumTotal Systems 60 percent of learning and development professionals think the current wave of recruitment challenges have their roots in wider political and economic upheavals. The report also claims that 65 percent of L&D professionals are concerned about their organisation’s ability to meet skills demand over the next 24 months, given the current UK economic outlook. More →

June 1, 2022

Sedus Stoll Group ends the 2021 financial year on a positive note

by Freddie Steele • Company news

With a turnover of EUR 195.9 million, the Sedus Stoll Group was able to record sales growth of 6.5 percent over the 2021 financial year. Despite the continuing challenges of COVID-19 and extraordinary cost increases in the energy, transport and material sectors, the Group’s net profit for the year was EUR 2.6 million. The Sedus Stoll Group further expanded its position as a European player in 2021: With revenues of around EUR 88.6 million, the Group was able to record an increase of 18.6 percent overseas. The group of companies further strengthened its market position, in particular, with international business customers. More →

May 31, 2022

A third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Over a third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home, and only 6 percent have been trained for hybrid meetings, claims a new report from Leeds University Business School. The report is an interactive tool and suggests practical measures based on evaluation of stakeholders and employee interviews, industry workshops, cross-industry surveys of UK office workers, employee diaries and case study corporations. More →

May 31, 2022

Over-50s urged to return to work to deal with staff shortages

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

The British Chambers of Commerce has said employers and the Government need to work together to bring older people back into the workforce. According to ONS data, around 500,000 older people have left the workforce in recent years, many of them prompted to do so by the pandemic. The number of over-50s who aren’t working or currently looking for work rose by 493,000 between October 2019 and December 2021. According to the Office for National Statistics, one in five did so due to stress or other mental health concerns. More →

May 24, 2022

Disabled workers to get their own mentor programme from World Economic Forum

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

The Valuable 500, which claims to be the largest network of global CEOs committed to disability inclusion, has announced the launch of Generation Valuable, a programme designed to accelerate opportunities for disabled workers to join the boardroom. Generation Valuable plans to connect and incubate C-Suite talent with disabled talent. Over 1.3 billion people across the world live with some form of disability yet, according to Return on Disability, only 4 percent of businesses are focused on making offerings inclusive of disabled people. Moreover, research shows that minority talent faces promotion barricades just below the Executive rung. More →

May 23, 2022

Younger workers want flexible working, but are sceptical of remote

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

While remote and flexible working roles continue to grow in almost all countries, 20-24 year olds are the age group making the fewest applications to fully remote roles, claims a new poll from LinkedIn. LinkedIn analysed the labour market for career starters in the U.S., U.K, France and Germany – including job applications and hiring data – to understand which sectors offer the most opportunity for Gen Z job-seekers and employers looking to attract them. More →