June 11, 2020

The lessons learned under lockdown will help us grow and improve

by Alicia Michael • Features, Workplace design

As the global community navigates the Coronavirus crisis, the nature of the workplace will be more important than ever. We have been working remotely on an unprecedented scale, and the benefits are clear – flexibility, time with family, and reduced commuting as a start. In some form, working from home is here to stay, even as returning to the physical office becomes possible. However, we have also discovered the limitations to remote working. While teams have been able to stay connected virtually, this cannot substitute for face-to-face collaboration, which is essential to fostering innovation. More →

June 10, 2020

Two thirds of UK workers feel uncomfortable returning to work, research claims

by George Eltringham • News, Working culture

With lockdown measures slowly easing in the UK, 65 percent of UK workers reveal that they would feel uncomfortable going back to the workplace right now, research claims. This is despite one in five (20 percent) expecting to be asked by their bosses to return to work in June. That’s according to new ‘Return to Work’ research from Qualtrics. More →

June 5, 2020

Vast majority neglecting breaks when working from home

by George Eltringham • Flexible working, News

A new study claims that “microbreaks” have decreased for 95 percent of employees during home working, as lockdown sees people glued to our desks more ever before. The ‘Working from home’ study, conducted by Wildgoose, asked employees from 133 companies throughout the UK how their working day differs at home compared to in the office, whether they wanted to continue working from home after lockdown has finished, and how companies could improve home working practices. More →

May 29, 2020

Organisations still adjusting to reality of `gig economy`

by Neil Franklin • News

A new report from Aon claims that the so-called gig economy will continue to flourish but many employers are still adjusting to its realities. Using research from HR and gig workers across Europe, the report, Gig Economy: Financial Security or Greater Control, claims that 26 percent of European HR directors believe their workforces will have 51-75 percent of gig workers in five years’ time, while 18 percent of UK HRDs believe 75 percent or more of their workforce will be made up of contractors in 5 years’ time. Nearly all HRDs believe providing health and benefits packages would improve gig worker recruitment (94 percent), engagement (93 percent), productivity (88 percent) and retention (95 percent). More →

May 27, 2020

Majority of HR professionals aware of value they add to their organisation

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Four in five (80 percent) of those who work in the domain of human resources in the UK and Ireland say that a role in HR and other parts of the ‘people profession’ offers them a meaningful career and almost three quarters (73 percent) believe they have the opportunity to add value to their organisation, the latest People Profession Survey from the CIPD and Workday claims. More →

May 27, 2020

Corporate wellbeing is too focused on sick workers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Corporate wellbeing initiatives are often too focused on sick individuals, and firms should be addressing the root causes of physical and mental health by building healthy organisations instead. That is the main claim of a new report from the Corporate Research Forum (CRF) report, supported by Lane 4 and Mercer. The report is based on interviews with 150 HR leaders from FTSE 100 and similar sized businesses. More →

May 26, 2020

Wellbeing benefits of time in nature endure for months

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The wellbeing benefits from simple daily contact with nature can last for months, once initiated, according to a new review from The Wildlife Trusts. The review is based on surveys completed by people taking part in 30 Days Wild, a study based on three peer-reviewed papers. Researchers at the University of Derby evaluated survey responses from more than 1,000 people over five years and discovered the enduring effects on wellbeing from participation in 30 Days Wild – the positive effects are still felt two months after the challenge is over. More →

May 20, 2020

People miss the office but most do not want to return full time

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The latest report on the attitudes of people towards their working lives after lockdown comes from Okta, Inc. in its report The New Workplace: Re-imagining Work After 2020, which claims to highlight the technological and cultural challenges office workers have faced as well as the lesson businesses can take to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, which was conducted by YouGov, surveyed 2,000+ office workers across the UK, also found differences about the impact our new way of work has had on London based workers compared to workers in the rest of the country. More →

May 13, 2020

Pandemic threatens the transition to clean energy

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News

The coronavirus pandemic risks cancelling out recent progress in transitioning to clean energy, with unprecedented falls in demand, price volatility and pressure to quickly mitigate socioeconomic costs placing the near-term trajectory of the transition in doubt. Policies, roadmaps and governance frameworks for energy transition at national, regional, and global levels need to be more robust and resilient against external shocks, according to the latest edition of World Economic Forum’s Fos tering Effective Energy Transition 2020 report published today. More →

May 11, 2020

Employee productivity proves remarkably resilient during pandemic

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The surge in remote working coupled with the rapid adoption of communications and collaborative technology means many companies have seen no significant change in employee productivity, according to a new report from Willis Towers Watson. Organisations have responded to the rapid disruption caused by the dramatic spread of COVID-19 by finding innovative ways to help their workers cope with the impact of the pandemic, while at the same time preparing for an eventual return to the workplace for many employees, according to the survey of employers’. More →

May 6, 2020

Organisations think empowering people is the route to success (but only a few act)

by Neil Franklin • News

Nearly 90 percent of organisations say their success depends on empowering frontline employees to make decisions in real, but only 7 percent offer people the tools they need, according to a new report from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, sponsored by ThoughtSpot. The report, The New Decision Makers: Equipping Frontline Workers For Success, analyses the sentiments of 464 business executives from 16 industry sectors in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Only one-fifth of organisations say they currently have a truly empowered and digitally equipped workforce while 86 percent agree their frontline workers need better technology and more insight to be able to make good decisions in the moment. More →

May 4, 2020

An opportunity to take business relationships with charities to a new level

by Michael Hilton • Comment

COVID-19 can be a catalyst for transforming how businesses and charities collaborate, with significant benefits for both. Companies and charities working together is nothing new. For many years Corporate Social Responsibility has had a place on the business agenda, as a means of doing some good while boosting companies’ reputations in the process. More →