December 18, 2019

Anthropology might hold answers to the most difficult workplace challenges

by Christopher Diming • Comment, Workplace design

Many recent discussions have centered on the drawbacks of the open-plan office, a major format in the UK, and possible pathways to the communal workplace of the future. As part of this, it has been acknowledged that the factors responsible for determining the open-plan office’s performance are complex, and a number of the present-day workplace’s characteristics are messy and hard to quantify. In this brief article, I present anthropological methods as means for practitioners to further unpack the symbolic aspects of communication in open-plan offices and spark workplace solidarity.

December 18, 2019

IoT devices put workplace privacy at risk

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Three-quarters (74 percent) of IT decision makers believe that IoT devices in the enterprise pose a significant threat to workplace privacy. That’s according to new research from Kollective. The report ‘Distributed Devices’ (registration), is based on a survey of 270 US and UK based IT decision makers and claims to explore the challenges and risks of incorporating IoT devices into business ecosystems. This research investigates how IT teams can ensure all devices at the edge of their networks are reached securely, effectively, and at scale. More →

December 17, 2019

Self-driving cars will be most transformative future tech, bosses say. Techies disagree

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Self-driving cars are set to have a significant impact on society and change our future the most over the next 20 years, according to research from CWJobs. Working in collaboration with “futurologist” Melissa Sterry, the report (registration) surveyed over 2,000 UK business decision makers and IT workers to determine the technological inventions with the greatest impact on society since 2000 and what’s to come in the next 20 years. More →

December 10, 2019

Wellbeing is increasingly in the hands of HR and the future looks bright as a result

by Chris Pinner • Comment, Wellbeing

The future of workplace wellbeing is in HR’s hands; hence, the discipline is even more pivotal to organisational success. As admin and payroll become increasingly digitised and automated, time can be spent more effectively, supporting good people to do good work. Influential people are now catching on to the importance of wellbeing. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told More than GDP, “We need to address the societal wellbeing of our nation, not just the economic wellbeing”. Her government will set a budget to measure wellbeing and the long-term impact of policy on the quality of people’s lives. More →

December 10, 2019

Third of workers at small businesses are not happy with their jobs

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Over a third of employees (39 percent) at small-to-medium sized (SMB) businesses in the UK are unhappy with their jobs and 36 percent believe their employer does too little to retain them, according to new research from People First, the HR solutions provider. Exploring the attitudes of 250 bosses and 250 employees across the UK, the research found a major difference in outlook as more than eight-in-ten (86 percent) SMB bosses believe they have happy workforces. When asked to rate out of ten the scale of engagement among employees at their companies, 77 percent of these bosses said it was between eight and ten, with ten being the most content and engaged. More →

December 5, 2019

Firms know of a link between worker experience and success, but cannot find it

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Against a backdrop of Brexit, political turmoil and a global talent war, retaining the best staff to deliver a competitive advantage has become a crucial priority for many UK business leaders – however few know how to create and deliver the best worker experience, according to new research from Kincentric. More →

November 27, 2019

Designers may be ignoring leadership style in quest for productive workplaces

by Jayne Smith • Comment, Workplace design

Leadership styles are not considered in the design process for productive workplaces despite the majority of organisations agreeing they have a major impact on productivity. These are the latest findings in report authored by Leeson Medhurst, Director of 36 Workplace, The United Workplace (TUW) and WORKTECH Academy. Productivity – linking Workplace Design to Leadership (registration) is the next chapter in a research conversation presented and discussed at WORKTECH London this week. The new report builds on “The Puzzle of Productivity: What enhances workplace performance?” that pointed to leadership as the major factor influencing workplace productivity. More →

November 25, 2019

Working carers occupy a blind spot and are suffering because of it

by Vivek Patni • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

The working world has changed almost beyond recognition over the past half century. Historically, employers had to fulfill two criteria to attract the best talent: be large or have a well-known brand and pay well. Of course, priorities have shifted. Growing demand from staff for a healthier work/life balance including for the country’s working carers has resulted in flatter hierarchies and a more relaxed atmosphere, even in the largest firms. More →

November 22, 2019

Contribution of “digital workers” to grow by 50 percent over next two years

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology

A new survey from research firm IDC claims to reveal the true extent of software robots supporting humans in the workplace. The IDC whitepaper, Content Intelligence for the Future of Work (registration), sponsored by ABBYY, indicates that the contribution of software robots, or what the report calls digital workers, to the global workforce will increase by over 50 percent in the next two years. These results, from a survey of 500 senior decision-makers in large enterprises, illustrate a fundamental shift to a future of work dependent on human-machine collaboration. More →

November 21, 2019

Nearly half of employers need help to implement flexible working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Eighty five percent of employers think demand for flexible working is likely to increase, with demand coming from across the board, but over four in 10 would like more support to implement it, according to a workingmums.co.uk survey. The results of the survey of around 200 employers are interesting in light of current policy discussions about flexible working which tend to focus on forcing employers to flex more by advertising jobs that are flexible from day one and enforcing employees’ flexible working rights. More →

November 12, 2019

Uber Works may not be as good for workers as it is for businesses

by Shainaz Firfiray • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

Uber is still best known as a ride-hailing platform but it has been branching out into other industries. Food (Uber eats), electric scooters and bicycles (Jump), and now shift work with the launch of Uber Works. It is being trialled in Chicago, with plans to launch elsewhere soon, and enables casual workers such as cleaners, bar staff and warehouse workers to find work. More →

November 12, 2019

Oxford and Reading are best cities in which to live and work in the UK

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Wellbeing

Oxford has been recognised as the top performing city in the UK to live and work for the fourth year in a row in a nationwide study carried out by PwC. The city has emerged ahead of Reading thanks to work-life balance, income, transport and skills with Bradford being crowned as the most improved city. Published today (12 November 2019), the annual Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities 2019 sets out to show there’s more to economic well-being than just measuring GDP. The index measures the performance of 42 of the UK’s largest cities, England’s Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and ten Combined Authorities, against a basket of ten factors which the public think are most important when it comes to economic well being. These include jobs, health, income and skills, as well as work-life balance, house-affordability, travel-to-work times, income equality, environment and business start-ups. More →