Search Results for: remote work

October 11, 2016

Home workers take fewer sick days than office based colleagues ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Working from home has long been branded ‘shirking from home’ but a new survey suggests that home workers actually take fewer sick days. The research by CartridgePeople.com and published in the SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) Workers Report, found that home workers are not only happier but they are also healthier than their workplace-based counterparts – taking an average of 2.4 sick days per year, in comparison to the 2.6 taken by those working from company premises. Of course, that doesn’t tell us if they are in fact healthier, or that they’re more prepared to carry out their work duties from the comfort of their bed. But the survey of 1,096 British workers, including both home workers and those who work from their employers’ premises, also revealed that the majority of workers (60 percent) did feel happier when working from home.

October 10, 2016

Workers spend just a third of their time performing their actual job ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

In the ongoing quest for workplace productivity the fact people spend too much time checking their emails has recently been noted, but it seems that workers are so frequently distracted in the workplace that only 38 percent of their time is actually spent on performing their primary job duties. A survey by Workfront claims the top three things that get in the way of work include: wasteful meetings (62 percent), excessive emails (52 percent), and excessive oversight (39 percent). A quarter (26 percent) of workers said uninterrupted blocks of time would help them be more productive at work, followed by more efficient work process (26 percent), and more/better qualified people and resources (19 percent). And over two third (37 percent) of office workers agree that email will no longer be the main mode of communication in five years, with over half (57 percent) saying that the majority of workers will work remotely in the coming years.

October 7, 2016

Are we seeing the workification of home or the homification of work? ⁰

by Anna King • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Thinking and theories about working environments continue to be much debated, of course. As part of this ongoing discussion, Bisley recently hosted an event at its London showroom to continue the aspects of the debate that focus on how offices seem to be morphing in to homes, and how our homes are, conversely, functioning as places of work. The panel discussion was led by Professor Jeremy Myerson of The Royal College of Art and WORKTECH Academy. He was joined by Kirstin Furber – People Director at BBC Worldwide, Sebastian Conran – a leading product and furniture designer, David Barrett – Head Buyer of Living, Dining and Home Office at John Lewis and Amelia Coward – Founder and Creative Director at Bombus.com.

September 26, 2016

Employers must adopt a trust based approach to flexible working ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employers are being urged to create a more inclusive and flexible working environment for their employees by adopting a trust based approach which focuses on the meeting of objectives rather than hours. This is the advice of Harvard University’s Global Leadership award winner Charlotte Sweeney on the launch of National Work/Life Week. In 2015, 23 percent of employees were reported to be doing some of their work remotely, up from 19 percent in 2003 according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. But more than just adopting agile working, the diversity expert says businesses should begin to focus on individual well-being and supporting employees to enrich all aspects of their lives, their families and their communities. Corporates should implement a trust-based approach, which focuses on employees meeting their objectives, rather than focusing on where they are actually doing the work or even how many hours it takes to complete.

September 23, 2016

Tech laggards risk losing employees, claims Future Workforce Study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

Dell has unveiled the European and South African findings from the Dell and Intel Future Workforce Study, which identifies the global technology trends shaping the modern workplace. The results show that almost half of employees in these regions believe their current employer is not effectively making use of the latest technology advances. The 2016 Future Workforce Study, conducted by research firm PSB, polled nearly 4,000 full-time employees from small, medium and large businesses in 10 countries. Of those polled in the UK, Germany, France and South Africa, many do not believe that they will be working in a smart office within the next five years and perceived their current workplace technology as lagging behind personal devices on innovation. With the research showing that the influx of new technology is having a significant impact on what workers expect from their employer, workplaces which don’t enact these new advances may be left behind.

September 7, 2016

Report published on employing older workers to help close labour gap ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report – published to encourage employers to create more age friendly workplaces – warns of a widening labour gap in the UK. Between 2005 and 2015 the number of people working over the age of 50 in the UK increased by 2.5 million. By 2022, the UK economy will need to fill 14.5 million job vacancies created by people leaving the workforce and by new positions being created; but it is estimated that there will only be seven million young people available to fill them – leaving a labour shortage of 7.7 million people. Yet currently, one million older people who are not in work want to work and if just half of these were to move into employment GDP would increase by up to £88 billion a year. Business in the Community’s new report, Age in the Workplace, supported by the Centre for Ageing Better, advises employers on how to implement practical changes; such as introducing more flexible hours, which will help improve the recruitment and retention of older workers.

July 21, 2016

Offices not yet smart enough to support new ways of working ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Employees believe their workplace is not making best use of latest technology, but expect this to improve as remote work begins to provide both quality of life and productivity benefits. In the latest Future Workforce Survey conducted by Dell and Intel, nearly half of global employees believe their current workplace is not smart enough, while 42 percent of millennial employees say they are willing to quit their job if technologies are not up to their standard. The research suggest that the addition of collaborative tools and innovations such as internet of things (IoT) and Virtual Reality (VR) will soon become vital to the workplace. According to the poll of nearly 4,000 full-time employees in ten countries, over half (57 percent) believe they will be working in a smart office within the next five years, while 51 percent believe that better technologies will make face-to-face meetings redundant within the next five years.

July 1, 2016

Increase in workplace technology spend will help make offices ‘more human’ ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Spending on workplace technology has doubled in the past five years as artificial intelligence is used to redefine how we connect in the workplace. That is the central claim of a new report from design firm Unispace based on interviews with CEOs and Heads of Real Estate at some 100 blue chip firms worldwide including KPMG, Cisco, Adidas, GE, Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, Regus, Deloitte, UBS, Chevron, CitiGroup, and Ashurst, Respondents were asked to assess how they expect to use office space in 2020. According to the report, respondents indicated that they will continue increasing technology spend, irrevocably changing the traditional office space as we know it. Over the last five years, the average company spent 10 percent of its workplace budgets on technology with 30 percent going on services, partitioning and furniture. The trend has now reversed with technology spend outstripping other spend as companies strive to improve efficiency, collaboration, creativity, engagement and recruitment.

June 27, 2016

The key to boosting productivity may be the offer of flexible working ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Wellbeing

Over 82 percent of people say they feel more productive when working from home according to a survey of 2,000 employers and employees conducted by remote conferencing provider Powwownow. The report also claims that over 60 percent of employers say that flexible working is the key to staying competitive and 77 percent saying it leads to better work-life balance. Conversely, 44 percent of workers said that being able to get work done with no distractions was the biggest appeal of flexible working, however, less traffic was a close second with over 40 percent citing that as a benefit. Over 50 percent of workers In the UK said that they would work the same hours (9-5) if they were able to work from home. However they also admit that they would take fewer breaks. Women tend to ask for flexible working more than men, as they would like to spend more time with their families. Interestingly, the report also claims that women bosses tend to be less trusting when an employee asks for flexible working.

June 9, 2016

Job seekers say telecommuting is most desired form of flexible work ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

According to research from Flexjobs, telecommuting has grown 103 percent since 2005 and approximately eighty to ninety percent of the workforce would like to telework at least part-time. Work-life balance (81 percent), family (56 percent), time savings (56 percent), and commute stress (48 percent) are the top reasons people seek flexible work arrangements. Millennials would put flexible working ahead of professional development training, company reputation and a sense of purpose when looking for a job. FlexJobs recently analysed the remote job listings of over 40,000 companies to determine which companies have been recruiting for the most telecommuting positions in recent months. Healthcare, technology and education were the most well-represented industries. The remote job listings at these companies are equally diverse, such as business analyst, product manager, developer, teacher, director of communications and market researcher.

June 1, 2016

Coworking continuing to drive workplace change around the world ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Property, Workplace design

Coworking continues to be one of the main drivers of workplace change globally and is now becoming mainstream, according to new research from serviced office provider The Instant Group. According to the firm’s Flexible Workspace Review – US 2016 report, coworking grew more than 10 percent across the US over the last year and ‘combination centres’ which offer both executive suites and coworking spaces expanded by 12.9 percent as existing operators sought to take advantage of the growing demand for collaborative and agile workspace. The study claims that the occupation of flexible workspace by corporations has significantly expanded the US flexible office market over the past year, largely driven by the rise of the contingent workforce and changing workplace demands of Millennials. The total market grew by 4.3 percent and now includes 3,596 centres, the largest markets of its kind in the world with the UK following at 3,290 centres.

May 26, 2016

Two in five managers oppose employees working from home ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Flexible working may be growing in popularity among employees but there is evidence of a gap in expectations between employers and employees on where work should take place. A new report from Randstad found that only around a third of UK employees (35 percent) still want to work in the office every day of the week, with a majority (62 percent) wanting the option of working from home. Employers it seems feel very differently, as a report by Cornerstone OnDemand and IDC reveals that cultural attitudes are a major obstacle for the full acceptance of flexible ways of working, preventing employers from viewing it as a legitimate work practice. Two in five line managers (40 percent) admit that they do not want their employees to work from home, and crucially, even if a company facilitates remote working, bosses’ attitudes are keeping their employees in the office, with just 13 percent of employees actually choosing to work from home when given the option.