May 19, 2021
A report published by single parent charity, Gingerbread, and the Institute for Employment Studies highlights how the world of work simply doesn’t work for single parents and warns things are set to get worse before they get better – putting even more single parent families at risk of poverty and creating a two-tier society, with single parents firmly at the bottom. More →
February 10, 2021
December 3, 2020
In the face of the revolutionary and long-lasting changes to workplaces across the world resulting from the pandemic, some commentators have suggested that the wide-spread necessity of adopting remote working practices may have made the office obsolete. However, such a dramatic upheaval to the very foundation of the workplace and working dynamic won’t come without a cost, and new data suggests that perhaps the office isn’t the dinosaur many assumed, but still a central pillar to effective businesses as part of a hybrid working strategy. More →
October 12, 2020
To mark the start of National Work Life Week, work-life balance charity Working Families has launched the results of a survey of employers who have invested in creating family-friendly workplaces with flexible working. Reflecting the views of 26 Working Families employer members, the survey gives a snapshot of employer best practice during the pandemic, showing how organisations have risen to the challenge of supporting their staff. More →
October 9, 2020
In a new study of around 2,000 workers conducted in partnership with the University of Nottingham, Totaljobs claims to have seen a 57 percent decrease in feelings of imposter syndrome compared to a similar survey last year, with just 3 in 10 workers in 2020 finding themselves experiencing feelings of what the study describes as Imposter Phenomenon. The 2019 study claims that 7 in 10 workers in the UK had suffered from complex ‘imposter’ feelings that can sabotage careers and harm our mental health. More →
September 2, 2020
A new study by Adaptavist, suggests the threats to long-term productivity and employee wellbeing posed by improvised solutions during the transition to remote work. Overall, 82 percent of people report they are equally (47 percent) if not more productive (35 percent) working from home, and company-wide communications have improved during the pandemic. However, the lack of a shared understanding of which tool to use and how to communicate with it, combined with the ‘always on’ nature of working from home, brings added stress and motivational challenges for remote workers. More →
August 3, 2020
A new study from academics at the University of Kent and the University of Birmingham claims that organisations still have work to do when it comes to understanding people’s experiences of flexible working. The report titled ‘Working from home during the COVID-19 lockdown: Changing preferences and the future of work’ was undertaken by researchers at the Work Autonomy, Flexibility and Work-Life Balance Project (Kent), and the Equal Parenting Project (Birmingham). More →
May 26, 2020
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 →
April 29, 2020
Over half of UK employees are working different hours than they used to, with many spreading work out over a longer period as they adapt to working from home. Those are two of the findings from a new report from Asana, which looks at how British, American, Japanese, Australian and German employees have adapted to remote working. The UK findings are based on 1,016 respondents working full-time and, due to the pandemic, remotely. More →
February 10, 2020
More than half of the people in the UK classified as living in poverty are members of a working family. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s state of the nation report on poverty in the UK, poverty has risen for children and pensioners over the last five years. Although employment has increased, in-work poverty has also gone up because often people’s pay, hours, or both are not enough. More →
January 12, 2020
Working parents’ ability to switch off from their work is being undermined by the rise of modern communications and the uptake of flexible working practices, with almost half agreeing the boundaries between home and the workplace have blurred, according to the most authoritative annual survey of working families in the UK. More →
Working from home is exacerbating an ‘always on’ culture. Data from a study of UK employees, conducted by virtual team building company
March 5, 2021
From the archive: Flexible working may improve productivity, but does it diminish creativity?
by Maciej Markowski • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace