April 23, 2024
Herman Miller and Studio 7.5 have introduced the Zeph Side Chair to enliven and add comfort to shared workspaces. The Zeph Side Chair brings new applications to the colourful and ergonomic collection, providing a full family of seating that works together. More →
April 8, 2024
Recent guidelines issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) aim to simplify employers’ legal obligations to support workers going through menopause. A growing topic of conversation in the workplace and beyond, menopause has become increasingly recognised in employment guidance. More →
April 6, 2024
From today (April 6th 2024), UK employees will have the legal right to request flexible working from their first day in a new job. Under the updated regulations, employers must engage in discussions with employees and consider alternative solutions before declining a flexible working request. Decisions on applications must now be made within two months, reducing the previous timeframe of three months, which includes any appeals. Additionally, employees will be entitled to submit two flexible working requests within a 12-month period, rather than the previous allowance of one. More →
April 4, 2024
Businesses are being advised to brace themselves as a new poll claims more than half (55 percent) of respondents are planning to make a new request for flexible working when new rules come into UK law this weekend. The changes introduced by the Flexible Working Bill on April 6 – allowing workers to ask for flexible forms of work from day one of their employment (previously six months) – look set to lead to a sharp increase in flexible working requests even though 74 percent of employees report already having some degree of flexibility. More →
April 2, 2024
Since the pandemic, 69 percent of UK businesses have adopted a hybrid working model offering employees greater autonomy in their working lives. While this flexibility sounds ideal, it has unexpectedly created a work wellness issue, with employers reporting they have seen a 77 percent surge in mental health issues in 2023, vs 44 percent in 2022. In a recent survey by Statista, 21 percent of workers said that their biggest struggle with working from home was that they had no reason to leave it. More →
April 2, 2024
Around 91 percent of companies with a workforce that can work from home currently offer some form of hybrid working, according to a new poll of 500 HR professionals from Towergate Health & Protection. On average 39 percent of the workforce are hybrid working and 27 percent of employers have more than half their workforce hybrid working. The poll also suggests that 30 percent of employees work from home for at least three days a week. Employers stated that 31- 40-year-olds are the age group most likely to want to work from home, and over 60s and under 25s are least likely to want to work from home. More →
March 29, 2024
I was alerted by the great Jack Pringle during a presentation course he was giving to an unforgettable YouTube clip of Steve Jobs speaking to the local council as part of a planning application for his Apple Park in California, one of the great tech palaces that sprang up in the wake of the digital revolution. Jobs, in familiar black polo neck jumper and wire-rimmed spectacles, took the officials of Cupertino City Council on a journey of opportunity, awe and inspiration. More →
March 29, 2024
According to the latest data from the careers website Ladders, the availability of remote positions with salaries exceeding $200,000 has seen a drastic reduction. The High Paying Jobs Competition Index, a report by Ladders, indicates that only 12 percent of such jobs are now available remotely, a steep decline from the 37 percent recorded in the third quarter of 2022. This trend is evident across both technology and non-technology sectors. More →
March 27, 2024
Connection, the British based furniture designer and manufacturer, has added to its existing portfolio of interior architecture products, with the launch of ONE. A unique modular solution, ONE is as the name denotes, one core module that facilitates and supports infinite possibilities. The ONE range comprises of a single core module, supported by a series of simple components to create building blocks, conceptualised to deliver inspiring configurations for inspiring spaces. More →
March 26, 2024
A third of employees (33 percent) in the UK have experienced a toxic manager at work in the past five years, and over four in ten (41 percent) have left a job due to their dissatisfaction with management. The findings are from Corndel’s Workplace Training Report 2024, based on research conducted with 250 HR decision makers at large organisations and 1,000 UK employees. Toxic manager traits defined by the poll including micromanagement, inflexibility, intimidation, gaslighting colleagues and a deflecting accountability. More →
March 25, 2024
The level of engagement within a company’s workforce significantly impacts clients satisfaction and its bottom line. Recent research by Gallup shows that teams with high levels of engagement enjoy a 10 percent uplift in client loyalty and a 23 percent increase in profitability compared to low-engagement teams. Empowering colleagues with learning and development programmes can dramatically improve their engagement with a business. Supporting them in this way is crucial if you want them to deliver excellence. When people are encouraged to own their careers, they care more about the outcomes of their work, which translates into exceptional productivity and happy clients. More →
April 11, 2024
A definitive new book on the madness of hybrid working goes one step beyond
by Paul Carder • Comment, Flexible working