November 11, 2020
The word ‘office’, based on the Latin term officium, wasn’t originally used to describing a building, or a space: instead it was used primarily as a term for a position: a role that was occupied by a person. So it seems only right with this etymology to take inspiration from Europe. And when considering office design, use that inspiration to build workspaces that reflect the needs of the people working within them. More →
November 10, 2020
Unbelievably for those of us who saw him as a personal hero, yesterday marked the 24th anniversary of the death of Carl Sagan. At the time of his death in 1996, the Internet was very much in its infancy but Sagan could see what was coming, including how we need to filter what is valuable from the deluge of information we now bob around in. Sagan put it like this: “all of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American city in a single year. Not all bits have equal value.” More →
November 10, 2020
The vast majority of UK office workers neither want to continue working remotely after Covid-19 restrictions lift nor make a full return to the 9 to 5. This is despite the fact that many admit that remote work has reduced their productivity. Those are the main claims of new research released by Locatee. Carried out by YouGov, the research claims to provide insight into UK office workers’ attitudes towards productivity, job security, and the prospect of further Covid-19 restrictions. More →
November 9, 2020
For years, we have been promised a work-from-home revolution, and it seems that the pandemic has finally brought it to pass. In April this year, at the height of the first wave of coronavirus, 47 percent of people in the UK were working from home, the vast majority of them doing so because of the pandemic. In a sense this is overdue: the work-from-home potential for UK employees is 32 percent; in France, Germany and Italy between 24 percent and 28 percent. More →
November 9, 2020
As COVID-19 has forced businesses to change where and how they work this year, the learning disability charity Mencap is now calling on employers to think differently about WHO they employ. The pandemic has highlighted the invaluable contribution people with a learning disability and/ or autism can make as hardworking and valued employees. More →
November 6, 2020
Since March, Glint has been creating a dataset which now consists of 7 million survey responses from employees around the world and across a broad range of industries. Our aim is to take the pulse of the global workforce to see how it’s faring with our ongoing global health crisis and to understand its effects on work. The recent August report shows that pandemic-related layoffs and furloughs have hit employees hard. 56 percent of respondents report feeling less happy at work after seeing co-workers furloughed or laid off. Half of respondents say their organisation’s layoffs or furlough plans have had a negative impact on their workload (50 percent) and their sense of belonging or community at work (47 percent). More →
November 6, 2020
New research conducted on behalf of eFax by independent research organisation Vanson Bourne, claims that the majority, more than three quarters (76 percent) of UK IT decision-makers believe their organisations could have made the transition to a hybrid workforce sooner, if they were aware of the pros and cons of moving to a hybrid working model, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic began. More →
November 6, 2020
80 percent of companies say that an increased cybersecurity risk caused by human factors has posed a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in times of heightened stress. This is according to Cyberchology: The Human Element, a new report that explores the role employees and their personality play in keeping organisations safe from cyber threats. More →
November 5, 2020
We are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work. The pandemic has forced organisations to go virtual. New government guidelines, including a tiered alert system, suggest that this will be the norm for the foreseeable future. But step back from the noise and it is easy to see how the current crisis is simply accelerating the inevitable. A confluence of forces, including advancements in technology and infrastructure, increasing globalisation, shifting demographics and COVID-19, has enabled greater connectivity and mobility, making obvious to organisations, their leadership and individuals the wisdom of adopting flexible work models. More →
November 5, 2020
Independent property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard has unveiled its new-look head office following an extensive refurbishment led by its recently established in-house interior design team. More →
November 4, 2020
Workers are feeling compelled to demonstrate presenteeism and availability to employers in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, claims a new global study from the ADP Research Institute. This is despite a rise in flexible working, with the percentage of organisations who have official flexible working policies nearly doubling compared to before the pandemic. More →
November 11, 2020
Burnout, stress and disconnection are now our most urgent workplace mental health issues
by Catherine Flynn • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing