Search Results for: wellbeing

October 26, 2022

World Green Building Council launches guide to climate change resilience

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has launched a new industry guide on ‘Climate Change Resilience in the Built Environment’, collating effective and practical steps that can be taken on a building, community and city scale in order to adapt and build resilience to the changing climate. Under the inevitable impacts of climate change, which are affecting at least 85 percent of the world’s population, bringing acute hazards such as droughts, rising sea levels, heat waves and floods increasing frequency and severity, resilience action is essential to build community capacity to survive and thrive in our built environments. (more…)

October 24, 2022

BCO recommends more space per person for the new era of flexible working

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

A report by the British Council for Offices (BCO) recommends a new method for calculating the amount of space needed per person in the post-pandemic world of flexible working. The research claims to identify a ‘sweet spot’ of 10-12 sq. m. per person. This will account for the rise in people working from home and hot-desking when in the office, while simultaneously ensuring the workspace meets modern employers’ requirements to promote productivity and wellbeing, as well as targets to minimise carbon emissions. (more…)

October 20, 2022

Hybrid working balance isn’t right for a third of people

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Some 39 percent of office workers are so-called hybrid “misfits” and don’t have the right balance of home and office working, a survey funded by the Economic and Social Research Council claims. The researchers discovered that workers who were in the office more often than they wanted were more likely to want to change jobs, have lower job satisfaction and have worse work-life balance.??The research suggests that office working is often beneficial for people who are able to enjoy hybrid working. (more…)

October 19, 2022

Remote workers can find it hard to switch off. There’s now an app for that

by Anthony Thompson • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The last few years have seen our approach to work change dramatically. Technology has helped to unlock whole new ways of communicating and interacting, providing the flexibility for employees to work in a way that suits them best and creating a large number of remote workers for the first time. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, this switch was on the cards. From an employer perspective, digital tools can allow for communication across the world, opening up access to a whole host of talent and wider consumer exposure. (more…)

October 18, 2022

Monitoring remote workers is a good idea according to half of bosses

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

A new poll from the CIPD and HiBob claims that more than half of bosses (55 percent) agree with collecting information on regular home workers, including the amount of time spent on laptops each day and email sending behaviours to identify risk of burnout. However, only three in ten (28 percent) leaders say their organisations are using software for monitoring remote workers and their productivity, according to the study. Where workplace monitoring is in place, the CIPD and HiBob urge employers to consider its purpose, and to be clear to staff about what is being monitored and why. (more…)

October 18, 2022

Digital skills shortage costs the UK economy £12.8 billion

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

With more than 5 million Brits unable to carry out simple online tasks like sending emails or using the internet, new research reveals UK workers are missing out on additional earnings of £5.69 billion due to a lack of digital skills according to Virgin Media O2 and economic modelling from Cebr. As the UK faces ongoing economic instability and with an uncertain jobs market, the research claims that a lack of adequate digital skills could exacerbate problems being faced by cash-strapped Brits struggling to make ends meet. More than a third of Brits (34 percent) feel a lack of digital skills training has held back their earning potential already, and almost a third say they need digital skills so they can shop around for deals and save money – amid rising anxiety over the cost of living. (more…)

October 12, 2022

Four day week would mean longer days, according to majority of workers

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The majority of workers would expect a four-day week to consist of longer working hours with one in seven stating that up to 10 hours per day would be reasonable. According to a new poll from Talent.com among 1,325 respondents, workers believe that a shortened working week would enable them to achieve better wellbeing and mental health. (more…)

October 12, 2022

People going back to basics in terms of what they want from work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace, Workplace design

A new poll claims that growing economic uncertainty has forced employees to reprioritise what they want from their employers. People are increasingly interested in basics such as job security, a safe and comfortable workplace, salary and benefits, and a better workplace culture. The BCW Expectations at Work study [registration], which surveyed more than 13,000 people across five industries and 15 countries around the world, claims that one in two workers say they value the basics of job security (52 percent), workplace safety and comfort (50 percent), salary and benefits (49 percent) and workplace culture (48 percent) most out of 62 components across five dimensions of the employee experience. (more…)

October 7, 2022

Third of firms expect the four-day week to become a reality ‘for most’ in the next ten years

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A third of respondent organisations (34 percent) to a CIPD poll think the four-day week will become a reality in the UK for most workers within the next ten years. However, only a small minority of firms have moved towards the four-day week to date by reducing hours without reducing pay for their employees, or plan to do this over the next three years. One in ten (10 percent) organisations report they have reduced working hours without reducing pay for the whole or a significant part of their workforce over the last five years, although of these, under half of employers (42 percent) did so as a result of the furlough scheme. (more…)

October 5, 2022

Gallery: British Council for Offices announces winners of national awards

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design, Works Magazine

Sunderland City Hall was celebrated as ‘Best of the Best’ at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) National Awards at the Grosvenor House hotel in London last night, also taking home the ‘Corporate Workplace’ award. The office was joined by six other award winners recognised as leading examples of excellence in office space across the UK. The BCO’s National Awards programme claims to recognises top quality office design and functionality and says it sets the standard for excellence across the office sector. (more…)

October 5, 2022

Kuppel from Connection is the perfect solution for the modern workplace

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Originally a manufacturer of task seating, Connection have made a huge impression on the office interiors sector in recent years with a series of ground-breaking new products. The success of Rooms, Harp and the Resimercial collection, amongst others, led to a record financial year in 2021-22, and an acquisition by Flokk, Europe’s leading manufacturer of workplace furniture. Now the firm is pioneering new ideas for the ever-changing workplace with the introduction of Kuppel. (more…)

October 5, 2022

Cancer Support UK introduces new course to support employees affected by cancer

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

If a work colleague told you they had cancer how would you respond? This scenario is fast becoming a reality, as by 2030 it is estimated that 1.5million people of working age will be living with cancer. The impact that a cancer diagnosis can have on an individual’s mental health is significant, yet 85 percent of employees with a cancer diagnosis want to carry on working. Knowing how to conduct a difficult conversation about cancer, and support those with cancer in the workplace, is at the heart of a new training programme – the Cancer Support Ambassador course – introduced by wellbeing experts Cancer Support UK. (more…)