Search Results for: benefits

Vast majority neglecting breaks when working from home

Vast majority neglecting breaks when working from home

working from homeA new study claims that “microbreaks” have decreased for 95 percent of employees during home working, as lockdown sees people glued to our desks more ever before. The ‘Working from home’ study, conducted by Wildgoose, asked employees from 133 companies throughout the UK how their working day differs at home compared to in the office, whether they wanted to continue working from home after lockdown has finished, and how companies could improve home working practices. More →

Wellbeing at work was falling even before the lockdown

Wellbeing at work was falling even before the lockdown

Wellbeing at workWork has made our wellbeing worse over the last two years, according to new research from the CIPD. A survey of more than 6,000 workers found the number of people saying work has a positive impact on their mental health has fallen from 44 per cent to 35 per cent. Not only does this highlight that employers haven’t done enough to tackle the issue to date, according to the CIPD,  it raises concerns about the further impact COVID-19 could have on people’s wellbeing, given many are worried about contracting the virus at work, losing their job or bearing the brunt of other cutbacks by their employer. More →

Right, said Fred. Here I am again

Right, said Fred. Here I am again

If there has been an underlying driver of workplace thinking over the past several decades, it has been a rejection of the principles of scientific management. These begat the idea of the office as a factory, subject to the same rigid times and places of work and the same culture of process, efficiency and productivity. This made a pantomime villain of its key figure Frederick Taylor. The worst adjective you could use to describe a working culture was Taylorist. More →

The role of workplace professionals in the new era of work

The role of workplace professionals in the new era of work

Epicenter Coworking Space in Stockholm workplaceMany consequences of the COVID-19 crisis are immediately apparent to workplace managers and users. Potentially less obvious, are the fundamental changes to the job roles involved in managing commercial property, both within occupier businesses and property management teams alike. More →

Growing awareness of pros and cons of working from home

Growing awareness of pros and cons of working from home

working from homeHalf of UK workers (49 percent) who are currently working from home have admitted that their mental health has suffered since the lockdown, according to new Covid-19 Mental Health research from Qualtrics. These feelings are mostly rooted in the growing sense of isolation but many also feel their motivation has suffered and find it harder to focus. Conversely, the majority are also relieved they are no longer commuting and are grateful to choose their time of work. More →

Organisations still adjusting to reality of `gig economy`

Organisations still adjusting to reality of `gig economy`

gig economyA new report from Aon claims that the so-called gig economy will continue to flourish but many employers are still adjusting to its realities. Using research from HR and gig workers across Europe, the report, Gig Economy: Financial Security or Greater Control, claims that 26 percent of European HR directors believe their workforces will have 51-75 percent of gig workers in five years’ time, while 18 percent of UK HRDs believe 75 percent or more of their workforce will be made up of contractors in 5 years’ time. Nearly all HRDs believe providing health and benefits packages would improve gig worker recruitment (94 percent), engagement (93 percent), productivity (88 percent) and retention (95 percent). More →

Corporate wellbeing is too focused on sick workers

Corporate wellbeing is too focused on sick workers

corporate wellbeingCorporate wellbeing initiatives are often too focused on sick individuals, and firms should be addressing the root causes of physical and mental health by building healthy organisations instead. That is the main claim of a new report from the Corporate Research Forum (CRF) report, supported by Lane 4 and Mercer.  The report is based on interviews with 150 HR leaders from FTSE 100 and similar sized businesses. More →

The experience of working from home is not the same for everyone

The experience of working from home is not the same for everyone

So we’ve demonstrated that we can work from home. But is it a permanent solution? We hear senior managers counting the numbers and working out just how much money will be saved if organisations no longer need their office space. It’s a seductive argument. So before we all settle down in our spare bedrooms with a sigh of relief, let’s just have a think about what that model would mean in the long term. More →

Most British workers reluctant to work mainly from home, BCO poll claims

Most British workers reluctant to work mainly from home, BCO poll claims

Rumours of the demise of the office are much exaggerated, according to new independent polling commissioned by the British Council for Offices (BCO), the representative body for the UK’s office sector. Just one in five (20 percent) UK adults plans primarily to work from home in the future, while only 16 percent hope that working from home replaces the office. Last week, Twitter, the social media company, announced that staff could ‘forever work from home’ if they wanted to. However, that offer would only be partially taken up by British workers, with many instead opting for ‘mixed working’, balancing time between the office and home. More →

People miss the office but most do not want to return full time

People miss the office but most do not want to return full time

The latest report on the attitudes of people towards their working lives after lockdown comes from Okta, Inc. in its report The New Workplace: Re-imagining Work After 2020, which claims to highlight the technological and cultural challenges office workers have faced as well as the lesson businesses can take to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, which was conducted by YouGov, surveyed 2,000+ office workers across the UK, also found differences about the impact our new way of work has had on London based workers compared to workers in the rest of the country. More →

Neurodiversity measures do not hold up in the present culture

Neurodiversity measures do not hold up in the present culture

Until recently, the phrase ‘What’s neurodiversity?’ was a question I was frequently asked, often accompanied by a bit of a nervous stare. Fortunately, this is now changing, and thanks to continued research, community activism and representation in the media, people leaders now understand that neurodiversity means a unique talent to be tapped – not something to be avoided. More →

From the archive: The future of work will be defined by a harmony of people and technology

From the archive: The future of work will be defined by a harmony of people and technology

the future of workOriginally published November 26, 2019. As modern-day employees and consumers, technology has become so commonplace that it now impacts almost every aspect of our lives – both personally and professionally. We can now communicate with whomever we want, wherever we want with the simple click of a button or tap of a smartphone. We can also automate mundane workplace tasks, and even customise software to our hearts’ content. This is not the future of work but the present. More →