Search Results for: pandemic

Flexible working practices vary widely across organisations

Flexible working practices vary widely across organisations

Picture of clock to depict flexible workingThe British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has released new figures suggesting that over two thirds (66 percent) of businesses surveyed now offer flexible working to employees. The data, from a survey of over 900 businesses conducted in April 2021, also shows nearly three quarters of businesses expect to have at least one employee working remotely over the coming year, with the average expectation among those firms being just over half of their employees working remotely. (more…)

BT invests in landmark new Dundee office development

BT invests in landmark new Dundee office development

BT has today announced plans to develop a brand new, multi-million pound contact centre in Dundee which will become the new home to around 1,000 employees. The new office will be at West Marketgait in the heart of the city centre, close to the waterfront and part of a £1bn regeneration area. When the building is complete, expected in late 2023, the contact centre will be one of around 30 of BT’s new future-fit offices in the UK, developed as part of its ‘Better Workplace Programme’ – the largest workplace improvement and consolidation scheme of its type ever undertaken in the UK. (more…)

Helsinki, Oslo and Zurich are cities with the best work-life balance

Helsinki, Oslo and Zurich are cities with the best work-life balance

work-lifeMobile access company Kisi has released their annual study examining which cities around the world promote the most holistic work-life balance. With the goal of enhancing an individual’s personal and professional life through technological innovation, Kisi has endeavored to find out which coveted metropolises worldwide are meeting their residents’ lifestyle demands to make their city a more attractive place overall to work and live. (more…)

For a workplace culture to flourish, sometimes you have to let go

For a workplace culture to flourish, sometimes you have to let go

Great workplace cultureTen years ago, the day after I left my full-time job at FM World magazine* to set up Magenta I wrote a blog called In Defence of the Office about how people feel when they’re asked to work flexibly. I talked about how many people struggle, finding that without the structure of day-to-day office life, they can’t manage their time properly, can’t discipline themselves to work and get distracted by domestic life. And they find, because perhaps they haven’t got to grips with the new technology, that they can’t locate important files or connect to that key person. They find that without the workplace they can’t work – or at least not as well. (more…)

A warning to employers that hybrid working will disproportionately impact their younger workforce

A warning to employers that hybrid working will disproportionately impact their younger workforce

hybrid workingAs the UK lockdown eases and the nation slowly returns to the office, energyhelpline.com has conducted research into the cost of hybrid working. With the nation settling into a mix between office and home-based working, workers are expecting to pay out £890 a month on various work-related expenditure, with outgoings such as travel, after work socialising and rising energy bills set to ramp up monthly expenses. (more…)

Hybrid working most likely preferred by older, wealthier, and married people

Hybrid working most likely preferred by older, wealthier, and married people

hybrid workingResearch from Totem, an employee engagement and culture app, claims there is a hybrid working gap, suggesting older workers are more likely to prefer hybrid working models than younger people. (more…)

Sony launches TEOS 3.0, its workplace solution now optimised for the evolving modern workplace

Sony launches TEOS 3.0, its workplace solution now optimised for the evolving modern workplace

Sony has announced a wide range of updates, improvements and new releases to its transformative workplace management solution, TEOS, designed to help organisations achieve a welcoming and productive workplace for their employees as they return to the office. (more…)

Time to take stock about the future of the workplace

Time to take stock about the future of the workplace

When it comes to conversations about work and workplaces, the past year has offered a fully immersive experience. Everybody now has an opinion. Inevitably some of them are better informed and more rooted in experience than others. So, after a full year of talk and as we return to some form of routine working life, the time has come to take stock. Few organisations and people will remain untouched by the sudden shift in attitudes towards working life, so we asked four workplace experts for their views on the current state of play. (more…)

Commercial occupiers and landlords to get more in step on the future of the office

Commercial occupiers and landlords to get more in step on the future of the office

landlordsNew research from MRI Software, claims that 71 percent of commercial occupiers say the mass shift to remote working during the pandemic has fundamentally changed their long-term approach to space usage, and yet 69 percent of landlords expect no lasting impact from COVID-19. (more…)

New research looks inside the UK ageism epidemic

New research looks inside the UK ageism epidemic

ageismNew research conducted by McCarthy Stone, claims to expose the true scale of Ageist Britain, reporting that over a quarter (27 percent) of over 65s in the UK – equivalent to more than three million people – have been victims of ageism. 60 percent of UK adults believe it’s a problem that needs fixing. (more…)

The power of nudge: How behavioural science and AI can improve workplace wellbeing

The power of nudge: How behavioural science and AI can improve workplace wellbeing

workplace wellbeingWhen the global pandemic struck last year, many companies were forced to close offices and enable employees to work remotely – bringing forward their digital transformation roadmap by a good few year.  A year on, and while it seems that the Covid-19 restrictions are reducing, there is unlikely to be a complete shift back to the office. Instead, most companies are now planning to adopt a hybrid work model; with employees working a mix of in-office or remotely. (more…)

Public concerned about risk of unemployment, day to day living costs, and economic growth

Public concerned about risk of unemployment, day to day living costs, and economic growth

publicA large majority of the public are concerned about rising unemployment (82 percent), day to day living costs (80 percent), and low economic growth (77 percent), according to a PwC survey of 2,000 people across the UK. Pandemics and other health crises (84 percent), cyber crime (82 percent), and climate change (81 percent) were other key concerns according to the research, which looks at the UK public’s attitude to risk.
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