January 4, 2021

Supporting change during the pandemic with Simplicity Smart Lockers

by Kimberley Hutchinson • Company news, Furniture

The way in which we work has changed in a way no one would have ever predicted as a result of last year’s pandemic. Consequently, many businesses have chosen to adopt to an agile working practise. This coupled with the rapid evolution of the hybrid workplace has allowed more employees than ever the flexibility to work from home, many people however still crave that interaction with colleagues, and the ‘corridor conversations’ that cannot be replicated via Zoom and can only happen with workplace collaboration. More →

December 11, 2020

Increased revenue, savings and productivity from tech investments accelerated by COVID-19

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Technology

Nearly seven in 10 business leaders and decision-makers say that investments in digital technologies in 2020 have enabled their organisations to increase revenue, save money and improve productivity, according to a new survey released by Randstad US. More →

December 8, 2020

Plans for 2 million sq. ft of offices in South East England

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Property

The Commercial Park Group, a partnership between Sir Robert McAlpine and the John Baker Group, has announced it will invest £200 million to kick-start developments of two million sq ft of new offices across locations in the south east of England. More →

December 3, 2020

Businesses must face up to risks beyond the pandemic

by Jayne Smith • Business, News

There’s no question what has occupied the majority of attention for risk managers during 2020. But Healix International, believes the all-consuming consequences of the pandemic could leave governments and employers exposed to other risks in 2021. More →

December 2, 2020

UK businesses still aren’t providing the flexible working employees want

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives

According to new research from Tiger Recruitment, UK businesses still aren’t offering workers enough flexibility. While the pandemic has required many to work more flexibly from home, more than a quarter of employees questioned say they still aren’t happy with the flexible working options available to them, and men are just as dissatisfied as women. More →

December 1, 2020

The great lesson of 2020 for small businesses is to be ready for anything

by Annil Chandel • Business, Comment

The repercussions of Covid-19 for the small business community have been particularly ruinous. Recent figures paint a worrying picture, revealing that approximately 76,300 SMEs in London alone ceased operations completely as a direct result of the pandemic, with lockdowns costing from £30,000 to £75,000 for one in ten small businesses. As the most vulnerable business segment in the current crisis, SMEs needed the biggest support and, by the end of April, had already received over £4 billion via the government’s CBIL scheme. More →

November 30, 2020

Rise of remote work monitoring technology to be investigated by taskforce

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Union body the TUC has today launched a new taskforce to look at the “creeping role” of artificial intelligence (AI) in managing people at work. The taskforce launch comes as a new TUC report, Technology managing people: the worker experience, claims that many workers have concerns over the use of AI and technology in the workplace. More →

November 30, 2020

We need to understand and channel workplace conflict in the right way

by Jon Maddison • Comment, Workplace

Earlier this month, in a sudden and unexpected turn of events, the prime minister’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, walked out of 10 Downing Street for the last time, having resigned/been asked to leave, depending on whose account of the episode you believe. However, the affair unfolded in reality, it seems clear that the departure of Cummings and Director of Communications, Lee Cain, was precipitated by workplace conflict and a series of internal disagreements, which had pushed their relationships with certain colleagues to breaking point. More →

November 27, 2020

UKGBC publishes guidance to catalyse the delivery of net zero carbon buildings

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Property

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published new guidance, Unlocking the Delivery of Net Zero Carbon Buildings, which examines how current barriers to the delivery of net zero carbon buildings can be overcome. More →

November 25, 2020

One in eight firms already use software to monitor remote workers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

A large number of British companies companies say they plan to install monitoring software of some kind to keep an eye on employees working from home, according to a new survey. Around 20 percent of employers said their firms have either implemented, or plan to implement, online software which monitors their remote workers. More →

November 18, 2020

Generation BETA is the latest demographic grouping you need to acknowledge, claims report

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Working culture

GlobalWebIndex (GWI), together with LinkedIn’s B2B Institute, has launched “Work in BETA: The Rising B2B Decision Maker”. The new report sets out to examine the ‘changing behaviours and attitudes of “the BETAs” – the first cohort of digital natives (21 to 40 year-olds) to assume positions of seniority in business, at a time of dislocation’. More →

November 16, 2020

Millions will struggle to access the Government’s new Lifetime Skills Guarantee

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working lives

New analysis published by the Work Foundation and Totaljobs claims that millions of low paid workers will struggle to access the Government’s new Lifetime Skills Guarantee (LSG) when it is launched next year amidst a growing jobs challenge. More →