Search Results for: covid

Workers feel unsafe returning to the workplace after COVID-19

Workers feel unsafe returning to the workplace after COVID-19

COVID-19Insurance provider Protectivity has asked office workers around the UK how they’re feeling about going back to work as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions ease, what changes they have made during the lockdown period, their thoughts about attending workplace events over the next few months and how they’re feeling about their pets post-lockdown. More →

UK firms optimistic about COVID-19 recovery prospects

UK firms optimistic about COVID-19 recovery prospects

RecoveryWhat impact is COVID-19 having on business confidence? And what recovery strategies are companies prioritising in response to the pandemic? Recruitment company Robert Half recently surveyed more than 1,500 executives to understand how they are responding to this ongoing period of unprecedented economic change. More →

New strategy tackles the post-COVID climate emergency

New strategy tackles the post-COVID climate emergency

COVIDSupported by its Green Building Councils and their members, the WorldGBC (World Green Building Council) network has launched Sustainable Buildings for Everyone, Everywhere — a new strategy to accelerate and mainstream the transformation of built environments around the world. Based on climate science and the Global Goals of Sustainable Development (SDGs), the strategy tackles global warming, health and wellbeing and resource impacts to deliver quality infrastructure — a critical need for our planet, communities and economies in the context of the COVID pandemic.
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Commuting, not Covid, main reason employees are avoiding offices

Commuting, not Covid, main reason employees are avoiding offices

commutersEmployees worried about returning to the office post-lockdown are most concerned about work-life balance and the daily commute, rather than their health, according to research from absence intelligence company e-days. Whereas only a quarter of employees are most worried about potential health implications, results of a snapshot poll of 100 workers show that 7 out of 10 of us are more concerned with impact to work-life balance (37 percent) or the office commute (34 percent). The research follows the change in government advice on 1 August 2020 meaning employers can make their own decisions about staff returning safely to work. More →

Low paid workers and those in precarious jobs bearing brunt of Covid-19

Low paid workers and those in precarious jobs bearing brunt of Covid-19

New research by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) think tank, funded by Standard Life Foundation, suggests that low paid workers are bearing the brunt of the Covid-19 crisis. The analysis provides what it says is the first detailed assessment of official Labour Force Survey data for the post-crisis period. More →

COVID anxiety changing commuter travel habits, according to research

COVID anxiety changing commuter travel habits, according to research

commutersAround 6 in 10 London commuters will change the way they travel when the return to work begins, research by Addison Lee claims, with COVID-19 safety concerns changing transport demand patterns. More →

The key features of the post COVID-19 office you should consider

The key features of the post COVID-19 office you should consider

With millions of people now working from home or furloughed, they may be wondering when they will be asked to return to the office, perhaps imagining what their office will look like on their return and feeling a little anxious about going back to their work space. A TUC survey issued 27 April 2020 confirmed that 39 percent of workers returning to the office are concerned about safe distancing from their colleagues. More →

Working parents and carers call for more flexible working post-COVID

Working parents and carers call for more flexible working post-COVID

flexible workingNew figures published today claim that more than 9 in 10 working parents and carers surveyed by work-life balance charity Working Families want their workplace to retain flexible working post-COVID-19.   More →

New task force to reduce health burden of COVID-19

New task force to reduce health burden of COVID-19

Task force

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has announced that it is setting up a task force to reduce the enormous health burden from COVID-19 and other respiratory infections. Its goal is to define the critical role buildings, organisations and communities play in prevention and preparedness, resilience and recovery. The task force’s work will take a broad approach, considering both new and recurring infectious agents that can affect large populations. More →

Addressing bad behavior with good policy

Addressing bad behavior with good policy

Addressing bad behavior in the workplace should be seen as both a challenge and an opportunity, writes Laura DribinThe COVID-19 outbreak (and subsequent lockdowns) did a number on us in our workplaces and in our homes—and we are still paying the price in so many ways. Did employees and managers get so used to remote work that they totally forgot that humans are social creatures and social interaction is vital to our wellbeing. Sometimes it feels that way. I have spent most of my career working on and managing large global projects. Issues that arose always seemed to be focused on headquarters- and/or remote-location considerations but nothing so serious that it would hinder the project team(s) from working together. More →

Four day work week campaigners launch new project in wake of successful pilot

Four day work week campaigners launch new project in wake of successful pilot

Campaigners advocating for a four day work week are gearing up for a fresh pilot project aimed at promoting flexible working practices.Campaigners advocating for a four day work week are gearing up for a fresh pilot project aimed at promoting flexible working practices. The initiative is set to launch in November, with participating companies currently being invited to sign up. The findings from this project will be presented to the government in the summer of 2025. The push for a four-day working week, notably with no reduction in pay, has gained significant traction in recent years, particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic which reshaped workplace expectations. In 2022, a previous UK pilot saw 61 companies participate, and 54 of them continued the practice a year and a half later. Similar initiatives have also been conducted in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Iceland. More →

Book review – Working Assumptions by Julia Hobsbawm

Book review – Working Assumptions by Julia Hobsbawm

This is almost certainly the most important book about work and workplaces to appear in the first half of this year. Working Assumptions by Julia Hobsbawm will be one of the two most important published this year, as we shall soon discover. It is also one packed with wisdom, knowledge and a central premise that is undoubtedly true. Namely that the events of the past four years have given us the opportunity to rethink how we work and so how we spend our days and our lives more generally. More →