March 25, 2020

Does remote working mean lack of belonging?

New research from Globalization Partners Inc., claims more than 90 percent of employees who work for a global organisation describe their companies as diverse. However, a lack of understanding by the organisations themselves around how to manage this growing disparate and diverse workforce means that three out of ten respondents don’t feel a sense of inclusion or belonging due to remote working. This negatively impacts employee engagement, trust, happiness, as well as staff turnover. (more…)

March 16, 2020

Workplace transformation decisions shifting from HR to senior management

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI), the thought leadership and research arm of Infosys, have published a global research report titled, ‘Drive Change from Within.’ The research claims that CEOs are now prioritising on driving a workplace transformation roadmap and contributing to its development in the organisation. (more…)

March 13, 2020

How to flourish in the workplace – Derek Clements-Croome in conversation

by Mark Eltringham • Podcasts, Premium Content, Wellbeing, Wellbeing Matters

In the third in our series of wellbeing podcasts published in partnership with Wellworking, I am in conversation with Derek Clements-Croome, one of the world’s leading experts on wellbeing and sustainability in the workplace. We look at the increasingly powerful links between personal wellbeing and green sustainable building design and consider some of the most important yet last talked about wellbeing and productivity issues such as temperature and air quality. (more…)

March 11, 2020

Office politics major source of work related stress

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

Perkbox commissioned a new study of 1,815 employed people to present a examination into the changing landscape of work-related stress in 2020. The study compared results to 2018 data in order to identify how sources of work-related stress and the solutions offered by employers are changing. The study claims that 79 percent of adults in employment commonly experience work-related stress. (more…)

March 5, 2020

To many major firms, work is becoming just a game

by Eve Grau • Comment, Workplace

Corporate gamification is a growing trend in the business world. This trend uses all of the techniques that make video games so entertaining and engaging to improve day-to-day business functions. From incorporating point awards to leveling up, gamification hacks the most effective qualities of gaming to deliver educational programs and training courses. Because of the success of these methods, gamification has been growing in popularity and is a good policy for businesses to adopt. (more…)

March 2, 2020

Workers are as important as external stakeholders

by Bianca West • Comment

At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, workers around the globe could be forgiven for remaining sceptical at the news that the corporate world now regards them as stakeholders, and as important to their organisations as shareholders and customers. The traditional employee/employer relationship is slowly changing. Where the relationship was once exclusively hierarchical, it is now evolving into more of a partnership. Employees want to be more involved in processes and decisions. Subsequently, teams need to be more collaborative and communicative to drive innovation and creativity. To encourage optimum performance, leaders must learn to coach and encourage, rather than simply direct. (more…)

February 27, 2020

New initiative aims to help people reconnect with the outside world

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Following the recent report outlining the mental health benefits of spending time outdoors, The National Trust has published its own research on the wellbeing impacts of the natural world in partnership with the University of Derby, which shows those with an active ‘engagement’ with nature enjoy significant health benefits and are more likely to address environmental issues. The research has prompted a new initiative focussed on a series of activities that will help people engage more with their natural surroundings. This includes a new weekly guide to every day nature connection and a public awareness campaign, including billboards by roads and in railway stations, on the first day of spring. (more…)

February 14, 2020

Trends set to improve people’s working lives examined in new report

by Jackie Le Poidevin • News, Working lives

New research has been published aimed at understanding trends, practices and priority areas for improving employees’ experience and creating better places to work. The report, Roundel 2020 (registration required), was commissioned by employee engagement firm Home and asked HR and internal communications professionals about issues such as integrating new employees into the organisation (‘onboarding’), performance management, diversity and inclusion, and health and wellbeing. (more…)

February 13, 2020

Europe must do more to bring discoveries to market

by Jackie Le Poidevin • News, Technology

Although Europe has much scientific research to be proud of, the region falls worryingly short when it comes to commercialising its discoveries, a study has concluded. A fifth of the world’s leading 100 research organisations – as determined by factors such as the number of articles published in academic journals – are based in Europe, experts from IESE Business School, the European Commission and Oxford University, among others, claim. Yet researchers often lack the resources required to find the right market for their discoveries. (more…)

February 12, 2020

Workplace leaders must adapt to a new technological reality

by Brian Kropp • Comment, Technology, Workplace

I speak with senior workplace leaders daily and those conversations, coupled with our research and that of other people, offer us a striking perspective on the trends and changing nature of the workplace and in particular the impact of technology. Some themes are cropping up time and time again in these conversations and research and point to a new technology-led reality that we must all address. (more…)

February 5, 2020

Flexible working and an always on culture can be bad for health

by Jackie Le Poidevin • News, Technology

Employees believe flexible working allows them to do their best work yet they also feel permanent connectivity is damaging their health, an international survey of more than 1,000 workers has suggested. In the study conducted by Quartz Insights in partnership with Citrix Systems, Inc, respondents ranked flexible working as the third most important factor – behind salary and leadership – enabling them to do their best work. However, two thirds also believed the “always on” mentality has a significant negative impact on their health. (more…)

January 27, 2020

Over half of UK small firms lack high speed internet

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

UK SMEs are facing a serious digital dilemma, with three in five operating their business without a high speed internet connection. This finding, from Bionic’s Business Efficiency Index (registration), is part of an overall picture of the UK’s small business community struggling to keep pace with tech acceleration; small minorities have modern payment methods or access to e-commerce channels. 57 percent of SMEs do not have high-speed internet, and under one in ten businesses (9 percent) plan to invest in access in the near future. (more…)