May 29, 2020

Organisations still adjusting to reality of `gig economy`

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 26, 2020

The experience of working from home is not the same for everyone

by Anna Hern • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

So we’ve demonstrated that we can work from home. But is it a permanent solution? We hear senior managers counting the numbers and working out just how much money will be saved if organisations no longer need their office space. It’s a seductive argument. So before we all settle down in our spare bedrooms with a sigh of relief, let’s just have a think about what that model would mean in the long term. More →

May 18, 2020

Neurodiversity measures do not hold up in the present culture

by Nadya Powell • Comment, Wellbeing

Until recently, the phrase ‘What’s neurodiversity?’ was a question I was frequently asked, often accompanied by a bit of a nervous stare. Fortunately, this is now changing, and thanks to continued research, community activism and representation in the media, people leaders now understand that neurodiversity means a unique talent to be tapped – not something to be avoided. More →

May 12, 2020

From the archive: The future of work will be defined by a harmony of people and technology

by Peter Harte • Comment, Technology

Originally published November 26, 2019. As modern-day employees and consumers, technology has become so commonplace that it now impacts almost every aspect of our lives – both personally and professionally. We can now communicate with whomever we want, wherever we want with the simple click of a button or tap of a smartphone. We can also automate mundane workplace tasks, and even customise software to our hearts’ content. This is not the future of work but the present. 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 →

May 1, 2020

Organisations should seize this opportunity to look at their values

by James Morley • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Not since 911 has one event triggered such global impact and uncertainty across all businesses and industries. The unprecedented speed and scale of organisational change has challenged even the prepared leadership team. More →

April 30, 2020

Team building exercises have never been more important

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace

These days, almost every company implements team building exercises — and rightly so, as decades of research have shown how beneficial they can be. Indeed, in a Forbes article O2E Brands CEO Brian Scudamore argues that team building activities are the most significant investment companies can make. More →

April 28, 2020

A brief history of workplace disruption

by Anthony Brown • Features, Workplace design

Office work has existed in some form ever since people started writing on tablets and papyrus. Depictions of clerical staff are common in the Bible and on the walls of pyramids. In the mid 14th Century the Church of San Nicolò, commissioned the artist Tomaso da Modena to create the fresco in the chapter room of the church depicting forty monks of the order hard at it at their desks. The word office itself derives from the famous Uffizi in Florence, created in 1560. More →

April 27, 2020

The new ways of work in our lives after lockdown

by Ben Capper • Comment, Workplace design

And so our timelines flit from 5G conspiracy theorists, to 10 tips for your home office, Zoom group selfies, right back to where we started: the worn out topic of ‘the future of workplace‘. We’re in something of a collective thought process, excluding Donald Trump that is, who is clearly on his own individual trajectory. More →

April 22, 2020

An optimistic take on the future of work

by Chris Hood • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Setting aside the drastic personal tragedies, the financial devastation and the strain the virus has placed on government infrastructure, business, finance, and healthcare systems worldwide, the coronavirus has been able to achieve what legions of workplace strategists and change managers have been unable to do: encourage middle managers to give remote working a try. More →

April 7, 2020

Firms with strong DNA tend to have a strong immune system

by Mieke Jacobs and Paul Zonneveld • Features

Mergers & acquisitions should always lead to a cultural identity shift. This can range from a complete reinvention of identity and purpose to just a slight shift that includes the new partner: its history, narrative and critical traits. More →

April 7, 2020

Manchester set to be the next UK tech hub

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News

Manchester could be set to see an influx of tech talent in the next three years, according to new research from CWJobs, the UK’s leading tech job board. Surveying 1,000 tech workers, Manchester emerged as the top choice outside of the capital (22 percent) to work in, with a fifth (20 percent) also revealing it’s the city they would choose to set up a tech business in the next three years, ahead of Birmingham (11 percent) and Edinburgh (8 percent). In the same survey, 505 IT decision makers (IT DM) also placed Manchester as the best location to set up a tech business, with over a quarter (27 percent) choosing the city. More →