November 24, 2020

Work really has become much harder during the pandemic

by Eva Selenko • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The pandemic has seriously altered how we work. According to statistics published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in September 2020, US$35 trillion (£26 trillion) has been lost globally in labour income. There has also been an estimated loss of 17 percent of working hours worldwide since 2019, with young people and women being hit hardest. And many of those still in jobs are working under very different conditions. More →

November 24, 2020

Covid-19 will transform the way technology is used in offices

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

A new paper from the British Council for Offices outlines how technology is being used in offices to combat Covid-19. While offices may be shut in the UK until 2nd December at the earliest, the paper outlines how the sector is adapting and embracing a range of new technology to ensure that offices can comply with hygiene and social distancing measures. More →

November 23, 2020

The crisis is making us more authentically human at work

by Jill Dark • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Let the dogs bark, let the kid dance, admit that you are in the basement because your spouse is occupying the kitchen. It takes bravery to let the new reality shine. In previous circumstances, your dog starting to bark like crazy while you are on a work video call with the CEO of a company may have been mortifying. But now, instead, the shared reality of both participants working from home gives employees and employers the chance to gain a little more insight into each other’s lives. More →

November 23, 2020

Focus shifts to refurbishment as new office building in London falls by half

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

The construction of new offices in central London has declined by half (50 percent) in six months as developers and occupiers shift their focus to refurbishment, according to Deloitte Real Estate’s latest London Office Crane Survey. The crane survey analysed office building data over the six months to 30 September, and included a poll of London’s biggest developers conducted at the end of September. The total office space under construction in central London is now 15.1 million sq ft. This is similar to the level recorded in the previous survey (15.3 million sq ft, the highest since 2002) as developments are now taking longer to complete. More →

November 23, 2020

The workplace to become more human-centric than ever, as priorities change

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture, Working lives

Companies are facing complex performance challenges as the COVID-19 resurgence heightens the need to reinvigorate employee engagement. JLL’s new “Human Experience” report explores these changing workforce dynamics and expectations in a post-pandemic world and offers insights for how forward-thinking companies can reimagine their approach to managing their people and workplaces to stay ahead in 2021. More →

November 20, 2020

HR professionals must seek a new connection with the IT team

by Joseph Morley • Comment, Technology

It has now been more than eight months since the government first advised people to work from home if possible, due to COVID-19. The shift to remote working happened suddenly in March and quickly became part of everyday life; in April 2020 alone, 47 percent of people in employment did some work at home, compared to just 16 percent in the whole of 2019. IT teams were extremely successful in getting staff up-and-running with the right technology, but there was little time for organisations to fully train users before driving adoption, or personalise the approach based on individual need. This places a new onus on HR teams. More →

November 19, 2020

Six key factors of productivity for organisations disrupted by lockdown

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture

With a new national lockdown, the situation in the UK remains unpredictable and complicated, and renewed pressure to work from home has forced many organisations to reverse their back-to-work plans, according to a new study from Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA). The study has detailed the matrix of pain that employees may be suffering due to this challenging situation – from those who didn’t want to return to the office when restrictions were eased but had to, to those who are unhappy about working from home. In creating unhappy, disengaged employees, these pain points undermine the six key factors of productivity, defined by the AWA as: social cohesion, trust, perceived supervisory support, information sharing, vision and goal clarity, and external communication. More →

November 18, 2020

Generation BETA is the latest demographic grouping you need to acknowledge, claims report

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Working culture

GlobalWebIndex (GWI), together with LinkedIn’s B2B Institute, has launched “Work in BETA: The Rising B2B Decision Maker”. The new report sets out to examine the ‘changing behaviours and attitudes of “the BETAs” – the first cohort of digital natives (21 to 40 year-olds) to assume positions of seniority in business, at a time of dislocation’. More →

November 18, 2020

Employers should take bullying and harassment at work more seriously

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working culture

A recent report from Culture Shift, claims that almost all (91 percent) of employees across the UK say that knowing their employer takes bullying and harassment complaints seriously is an important factor to their overall happiness at work. One-quarter (25 percent) say their employer could improve its culture and be more inclusive by providing a platform to speak out about bullying and harassment. More →

November 13, 2020

Productivity and wellbeing highest in companies with a connected culture

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture

RingCentral UK Ltd, has released the findings of its Connected Culture Report claiming that employees working for companies that foster a “connected culture” are twice as likely (34 percent vs. 15 percent) to be productive when working from anywhere, than those that don’t. More →

November 11, 2020

Burnout, stress and disconnection are now our most urgent workplace mental health issues

by Catherine Flynn • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

This has been a tough year all round, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to cause seismic shifts in how we live and work. Surveys across various countries indicate that employees are experiencing more feelings of burnout, stress and disconnection as the pandemic is taking a toll on people’s mental health. What’s causing this and what can we do to combat it? More →

November 10, 2020

Workers lukewarm on both permanent remote work and the 9 to 5

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture, Working lives

The vast majority of UK office workers neither want to continue working remotely after Covid-19 restrictions lift nor make a full return to the 9 to 5. This is despite the fact that many admit that remote work has reduced their productivity. Those are the main claims of new research released by Locatee. Carried out by YouGov, the research claims to provide insight into UK office workers’ attitudes towards productivity, job security, and the prospect of further Covid-19 restrictions. More →