Search Results for: empathy

UK organisations risk losing talent if lacking in empathetic leadership

UK organisations risk losing talent if lacking in empathetic leadership

empatheticNew research commissioned by Workplace from Facebook claims there is a growing demand from UK employees for more empathetic leaders since the pandemic. More →

Expect to see a growing number of people with the job title Head of Remote

Expect to see a growing number of people with the job title Head of Remote

Over the past year we’ve all become accustomed to working from home and now, the number of businesses setting permanent remote working strategies is growing. Consequently, this affects HR departments and their ways of working. The office is losing its status as the daily workplace and communication between colleagues has shifted to virtual channels. In order to manage remote workers appropriately and effectively, a manager who specialises in remote work could become more and more relevant in HR departments across the world. More →

The future of work will see profound changes in the way firms engage with customers

The future of work will see profound changes in the way firms engage with customers

Businesses are managing a new work dynamic that’s made up of three parts, or three ‘types’ of employee. Some are keen to go back to the office, some want to stay working from home, and some want an entirely flexible arrangement so they can fit work around important personal commitments. More →

Mental health transparency at the top is the key to workplace wellbeing

Mental health transparency at the top is the key to workplace wellbeing

wellbeingAs the world emerges from the grip of the pandemic, the mental health crisis continues to worsen. One thing is for certain as we look to rebuild – the business community must put the mental health of all employees as top priority.  But is there something that’s missing in the current conversation around workplace mental health and wellbeing? One thought is around leaders themselves, and that intrinsic connection to their own mental health and wellbeing. What many leaders have been carrying throughout the pandemic is exceptional, including the added weight of responsibility for the wellbeing and mental health of employees and to create mentally healthy workplaces, yet we rarely hear how leaders themselves are coping. More →

Well, at least nobody is whinging about open plan offices anymore

Well, at least nobody is whinging about open plan offices anymore

Years of pathologising offices should have prepared us for the patholigisation of virtual spaces. It seems like months since anybody has come out with that tired old rant about open plan. Certain vociferous and obsessive authors on the subject have had to find some other outlet for whatever their real problem is. Still, it’s not hard right now to find similar stuff about the toxicity of virtual meetings and especially those hosted by poor old Zoom, who get the blame for everything.

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False positives and the dangers of unrealistic positivity at work

False positives and the dangers of unrealistic positivity at work

positivity at workThe vaccine rollout is well on its way, the Government has set out its road map for easing lockdown and it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel. Organisations can hopefully now start to shift mindsets away from the negativity of the past months and create a positive outlook for the future. So, should leaders and managers now be pasting on the smiles, dishing out the motivational pep talks and inspirational emails? Should they aim to create a sense of positivity at work. No, most definitely not. More →

Half of employees think managers have become less empathetic in latest lockdown

Half of employees think managers have become less empathetic in latest lockdown

managersWhilst initial lockdowns saw a positive response from managers looking to support their teams, it seems maintaining this level of empathy a full year later is for some leaders proving unsustainable claims business training course provider, The Hub Events. The survey of 1115 employees who work from home claims that 53 percent felt their manager had become less empathetic during the most recent lockdown. More →

Flexibility and reskilling top priorities for UK employers in 2021

Flexibility and reskilling top priorities for UK employers in 2021

flexibilityThe COVID-19 pandemic is driving a fundamental shift in the way companies operate, accelerating the need for an adaptable and agile workforce to drive business success. According to Mercer’s 2021 Global Talent Trends study, the financial impact and work-life disruption caused by the pandemic is causing UK employers to focus on redefining flexibility and skills development to ensure their business and employees become more resilient and agile in the face of disruption.

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Workplace things we have missed, and those we hope to regain

Workplace things we have missed, and those we hope to regain

return to the workplaceLet’s be honest, work life pre 2020 had its flaws, whilst the longing for variety of scenery, change of pace and even a train journey (somewhere…ANYWHERE) would be welcomed by many of us right now, many of us had become a bit ‘hamster wheel’ in our approach. Commuting was stressful, expensive and time hungry; our natural and individual rhythms squeezed into a set 9-5 schedule and workplace design had become a bit ‘quantity over quality’ – desks have been reducing in size year upon year in order that capacity could be increased. We had reached a point at which everything was ripe for change but there was largely a resistance to both flexible working requests and embracing much of the technological advancements that were already at our fingertips. More →

Line managers are the unsung heroes of white-collar work

Line managers are the unsung heroes of white-collar work

line managersHow good your line manager is makes the difference between an employee coping or struggling in lockdown. But too often line managers’ heroic efforts are not noticed by their employers, claims new report, titled Working under Covid-19 Lockdown: Transitions and Tensions. More →

When business leaders open up about mental health, we all benefit

When business leaders open up about mental health, we all benefit

The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the way in which we work and has brought in to focus the challenges around mental health and wellbeing.  The recognition that we are in the midst of the biggest mental health crisis since the Second World War brings the challenge in to stark focus. Time to Talk Day (today) aims to get the nation talking more openly about mental health, and there could not be a better time for it. Research from Wondrous published this week found that one in six people (17 percent) who have switched to remote working during the pandemic have seen their mental health suffer, rising to 20 percent among women and younger workers. I suspect that the inherent stigma that still surrounds mental health is masking the true percentage of people being affected. More →

Burnt out workers need to regain some balance

Burnt out workers need to regain some balance

The pandemic and months of Zoom calls and remote work have begun to wear on us, so much so that in a recent survey from Blind – the anonymous workplace community app – 68 percent of respondents said that they are experiencing more feelings of  being burnt out now, than they were before the pandemic began. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 29 percent of the respondents said their relationship with their direct boss was now worse than it had been before they began working remotely. And it’s not just top-down relationships at work that have deteriorated. More →