June 13, 2022

Is hybrid working the final cure for workplace woes or the beginning of something better?

by Jo Sutherland • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

This year’s World Workplace Europe saw 2022 hailed as the year of the worker. A worthwhile focus considering negative emotions are on the rise, with more depression, anxiety and loneliness plaguing society despite the claimed benefits of hybrid working. The pandemic robbed us of many things. It restricted our freedom for two years and forced us to live, love and work in a way that felt a little less human. But at least there was a sense of unity, working together for the common good, a mask-muffled cry of “all for one and one for all” as people considered how their actions would and could impact others. More →

June 13, 2022

To provide people with better indoor air quality, we need a major upgrade of buildings

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Government must seize the post-pandemic opportunity to mandate long-term improvements to infection control in commercial, public and residential buildings to improve indoor air quality, reduce the transmission of future waves of COVID-19, new pandemics, seasonal influenza and other infectious diseases, according to a report published by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC). Infection control must also be coordinated with efforts to improve energy efficiency and fire safety, to support the three goals of safe, healthy and sustainable buildings. More →

June 13, 2022

Workplace health and wellbeing needs a radical rethink

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Health and wellbeing lobby group ukactive has called for a radical rethink of health incentivisation in the workplace, including expanding the Cycle to Work scheme to cover gym memberships and equipment as more people work from home, in a new report called The Active Workforce. A study [registration] conducted by the ukactive Research Institute, informed by Sport England and business organisations including the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB), examined the state of workplace health and wellbeing for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) following the Covid-19 pandemic. More →

June 13, 2022

One in five people have started a ‘side hustle’ in the last two years

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

One in five (19 percent) adults in the UK have started a ‘side hustle’ since March 2020 and, almost one in six (16 percent) claim to earn upwards of £1,000 a month from their new venture, according to new research from Aviva. Just under two thirds (63 percent) of those who started a side hustle since March 2020, the equivalent of 6.49 million people, are still active in them today. 37 percent have returned to their day jobs being their main source of income now that lockdowns are over and normality has ensued. More →

June 10, 2022

Young people should optimise the time they spend in the office

by Gemma Dale • Features, Flexible working

During the pandemic, around 100 million people in Europe switched to working from home – nearly half of them for the first time. This shift was rapid, with employees quickly noticing the benefits of remote work. These can include freedom from commuting, more time for personal wellbeing and increased productivity. As we move on from pandemic restrictions, we’ve seen a strong, global demand for more flexible forms of working, particularly to retain an element of remote work. While some employees want to work from home permanently, most want what’s coming to be regarded as the best of both worlds: hybrid working. Only a minority of workers now want to return to the office full time. More →

June 9, 2022

Digital transformation of small businesses could provide massive economic boost

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

The new Digital Britain [automatic download] report from Sage claims that over half of Britain’s economic potential from tech adoption is as yet untapped. But ongoing concerns amongst small and medium sized business about cost, skills and knowledge are holding them back from taking on the digital transformation that will ensure their success and provide a massive boost to the economy. The report claims that the use of technology by small and medium businesses (SMBs) contributes £216 billion to the UK economy; but if SMBs unlock the full benefits of technology, this could add an extra £232 billion, boosting the value of tech use to the UK economy by almost double to £448 billion annually. 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

Not busy-ness as usual: how boredom may be one of the keys to creativity

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology

The modern world seems geared to help us avoid boredom. But there’s a problem. Artists have long recognised that boredom can drive creativity. The great Italian writer-philosopher Giacomo Leopardi described boredom as “the most sublime of all human emotions because it expresses the fact that the human spirit, in a certain sense, is greater than the entire universe. Boredom is an expression of a profound despair at not finding anything that can satisfy the soul’s boundless needs.” 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 →

June 1, 2022

Simone Fenton-Jarvis on the new era of human-centric workplaces

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Premium Content, Wellbeing, Workplace

Plain speaking doesn’t always go down well, especially on social media and especially when cultural differences come into play. I recently had a friend intervene on my behalf to explain to an increasingly exasperated LinkedIn adversary that I wasn’t being rude, I was just ‘Northern’. This may well be a stereotypical Northern trait. If so, it is one that is shared by Simone Fenton-Jarvis, although then again it is one of the very few stereotypical things about her. 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 →