October 4, 2022

One in four pregnant women reluctant to share news with employers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

More than one in four (26 percent) pregnant women feel reluctant to share their pregnancy news due to fear of the stigma they may face from colleagues and managers, according to a new poll from Culture Shift. This jumped to almost half (46 percent) for those who had been in employment for less than six months when they fell pregnant. The survey conducted among mothers who worked while pregnant reveals more than one in five (21 percent) know someone who has faced maternity discrimination at work, while one in eight (12 percent) have experienced it themselves. More than one in ten (11 percent) say it was their manager who discriminated against them. More →

September 30, 2022

There is no F in work

by James Woudhuysen • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Neil Usher is an energetic, wiry critic of workplaces and offices. Long ago – in 2018, actually – his proposal that the good office is composed of 12 simple elements, beginning with daylight, was also energetic and wiry. Here he widens out from the delicious nitty-gritties of temperature control and lighting in The Elemental Workplace to the wider phenomenon of work. As the title already suggests, the style is laden with expletives: there are no fewer than 25 mentions of the word ‘crap’. He is withering, too, about the ‘easiest fat-arsed squatting duck of targets, the hapless office, with its rituals and theatrics’. On top of a fresh, Elemental-style bow to the nostrum of inclusion, there is a critique of management fads, but also reference made to (white male) privilege, plus, in a lofty manner, ‘our essentially Stone Age cognitive wiring’.

September 28, 2022

Work is more visible to managers when people are in the physical workplace

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Although workers think that their work location doesn’t matter, a new poll suggests that their bosses don’t agree. In the poll of US employees from workplace platform Envoy, 96 percent of respondents described as leaders say they take more notice of people’s work contributions when they are in the office. Just 42 percent of respondents described as employees agree. Gen Z employees, more than any other generation, value workplace visibility, with 73 percent believing their contributions are noticed more in-office than at home. Only 64 percent of Millennials, 53 percent of Gen X, and 45 percent of Boomers feel the same. Among executives, women are more likely than men to recognise work and contributions accomplished from home. More →

September 23, 2022

The Great Workplace Debate continues to improve (mostly)

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The great bandwagon of bullshit that is the home v office debate looks set to trundle into a third year. What is increasingly obvious is that it is the mainstream media that is holding the reins and refusing to release them. Here’s a BBC story from this week that doesn’t exactly mischaracterise the Microsoft report on which it is based, but does place the emphasis where it doesn’t need to be. The binary headline doesn’t help, of course, except to launder the idea and drive a needless wave of social media chatter. More →

September 22, 2022

Getting working culture right is essential to hiring, supporting and retaining workers

by Richard Guy • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

As workers continue to adjust workstyles to fit with their new priorities, a PwC survey reveals nearly two-thirds of workers are on the hunt for a new job. Many employers are scrambling for strategies to attract top talent and retain their employees. But actively developing working culture and designing new ways to secure the best talent and look after it requires first listening and reacting to the impact the changing work landscape is having on employees’ mental and physical health, as well as understanding and prioritising new and sought-after benefits. More →

September 21, 2022

Poor acoustics hamper productivity and deter people from spending more time in the office

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

Noisy offices are lowering productivity, with 60 percent of office workers unable to concentrate and delivering poor quality work due to loud workspaces, is deterring people from returning to offices more often, and can even lead to violence. Those are the key findings of a new poll of 2,000 workers from Oscar Acoustics. The survey [registration] suggests that just 8 percent of people feel they work in a quiet office, with only a quarter of office workers working in a space that has well designed acoustics for their job. More →

September 12, 2022

The wellbeing of parents should be a greater concern for employers

by Gosia Bowling • Comment, Wellbeing

A recent Oxford University study revealed that levels of stress, anxiety and depression unsurprisingly rose in parents and carers during the pandemic lockdowns. Although social restrictions have now lifted, the recovery from the significant mental impact will continue to take parents some time. Now, more than ever, organisations have a key role in remedying stress and burnout and supporting working parents’ wellbeing. More →

September 9, 2022

Hybrid work may be ‘here to stay’, but the office remains essential for many businesses

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

As businesses continue to evolve their workplaces to best meet the needs of their employees, JLL’s global Future of Work Survey claims that 72 percent of decision makers believe the office is critical to doing business. The research shows that over the next several years companies anticipate hybrid work to become the dominant model and will be looking across their real estate portfolios to re-think their office spaces, invest in new technology, including virtual offices, and prioritise sustainability. More →

September 7, 2022

Remote work and the things we have learned about it

by Sara Whitman and Isabel Conrad • Comment, Flexible working

Two plus years after the onset of the pandemic and many employees are continuing to work remotely, either full or part-time. We know that the ability to work remotely increases employee happiness by as much as 20 percent, but employees will tend to work longer hours and are more likely to experience burnout. The debate over whether remote work is “better” than being in an office is reductive and misses critical nuances around hybrid work models. More →

September 7, 2022

Understanding employee wellbeing in the fight for talent

by Simon Daly • Comment, Wellbeing

The pivot to remote work over the past few years has undoubtedly had its benefits, with many of us finding new ways to be productive and collaborate with our peers. This includes taking advantage of new workplace trends such as ‘workcations’, where people can work from another country, flexible working, and four-day work weeks where possible. Yet, this preference to work flexibly blurs the distinction between life and work, which will ultimately take its toll on the mental health and wellbeing of employees. More →

September 5, 2022

Remote working is still largely regulated at company level in Europe

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Access to telework and other remote working arrangements are still largely determined at company level in most EU Member States, with just France, Lithuania and Portugal currently enshrining the right to request telework in legislation. While some common ground exists, there are varying standards and practices in place with regards to telework in the EU, which can be regulated through legislation or collective agreements. These can relate to important issues such as health and safety, working time, and compensation. Although the right to disconnect has recently been expanded in several countries, it is not extensive throughout the EU and differs in implementation across the Member States. More →

September 1, 2022

Government commits to a further £2billion cut in property estate

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

More than £2 billion in savings will be realised from the sale of UK public sector real estate and other efficiencies, Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has announced. The savings are part of the new Government Property Strategy, which has now been published. As part of the plans, the government will sell £1.5 billion of property assets over the next three years as projects such as the Government Hubs programme sees government staff consolidated into fewer buildings. £500 million of savings will also be made by reducing operating costs, using modern building materials and energy sources, and cutting spend on leases. More →