April 22, 2020
Setting aside the drastic personal tragedies, the financial devastation and the strain the virus has placed on government infrastructure, business, finance, and healthcare systems worldwide, the coronavirus has been able to achieve what legions of workplace strategists and change managers have been unable to do: encourage middle managers to give remote working a try. More →
March 19, 2020
Betteridge’s law of headlines declares that “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no”. And so I simultaneously ask and answer the question of whether the coronavirus pandemic will really lead to the death of the office. So it goes. Of course, I’m not the first person to raise the question over the last few weeks as the world adapts to the threat of the pandemic. But it’s worth reminding ourselves that the demise of the office has been predicted for at least a quarter of a century, although never in such circumstances. More →
March 10, 2020
Company culture is more integral to remote platforms than it is to traditional bricks-and-mortar enterprises. In a disjointed setting, culture is what holds a team together, and marries it to the company’s values. Not only is this a boon to getting work done, it’s a formula for business success. Consider the main challenges to many people working in concert from different locations: accessing information, clearly communicating, making decisions that reflect an organization’s mission. When we optimize these actions, we’re more productive and better able to serve customers and meet objectives. More →
February 25, 2020
A problem shared may be a problem halved but, according to a new report, many UK office workers can’t discuss work with their nearest and dearest without them switching off. The survey by CWJobs claims couples are more likely to know the PIN to their partner’s phone (40 percent) or who their favourite band is (38 percent) than understand what they do for a living (30 percent). Three quarters of the workers surveyed said their spouse could not explain their job to another person. More →
February 14, 2020
New research has been published aimed at understanding trends, practices and priority areas for improving employees’ experience and creating better places to work. The report, Roundel 2020 (registration required), was commissioned by employee engagement firm Home and asked HR and internal communications professionals about issues such as integrating new employees into the organisation (‘onboarding’), performance management, diversity and inclusion, and health and wellbeing. More →
February 5, 2020
Organisations are currently operating against a backdrop of environmental, social, political and technological upheaval. Changes in the way people work, buy, communicate and live their lives abound while the communications narratives become ever more complex. The zeitgeist dictates how an organisation’s purpose and communications should match the growing expectations placed on it by its identity and need to address its engagement with staff and the outside world. More →
January 14, 2020
Office design and expectations around professionalism in the workplace are evolving along with the modern workforce in America, according to a new report from researchers at Olivet Nazarene University. The Modern Office Study claims that office design is evolving in parallel with changes in working culture, especially in the way that traditional North American cubicles, which were once the default model of office design in the US, are rapidly being replaced with open plan layouts. The report claims that these are now found in over half of American workplaces. More →
January 7, 2020
Toyota has revealed plans to build a prototype city of the future on a 175-acre site at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. Announced at CES 2020, the global consumer technology show in Las Vegas, the Woven City will be a fully connected ecosystem, powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Envisioned as a “living laboratory,” the city will be home to full-time residents and researchers who will be able to test and develop technologies such as autonomy, robotics, personal mobility, smart homes and artificial intelligence in a real-world environment. More →
October 23, 2019
A new report claims that US based businesses are not addressing the needs of an increasingly “deskless workforce” which thinks flexible working is a right that should be valued more than other benefits. The Future is Flexible: A New Workforce Paradigm Evolving From the Gig Economy (registration) from Quinyx compiles publicly available data alongside a survey of more than 4,000 employed Americans over the age of 18. It claims that, behind wages, flexibility is one of the most important factors of happiness at work for this growing flexible workforce, higher than health benefits, culture, and employee discounts. More →
October 17, 2019
A new global study of more than 10,000 office workers, claims that British workers spend a whole month a year (30 days) doing work that a colleague has already completed. Five hours and 5 minutes a week is spent duplicating work. Asana, the publisher of the Anatomy of Work Index (registration) also claims that Brits aren’t spending as much time on the actual work that they’re hired to do.
September 19, 2019
Flexible working, sharing information about local clean air routes and incentivising active travel are just some of the ideas being put to businesses today as new research suggests employers need to do more to address the issue of air quality and pollution for staff both in the workplace and on their commute. More →
June 15, 2020
Wellbeing for remote workers should not be lost in translation
by Brendan Street • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing