March 17, 2016
Flexible working increasingly the norm for financial services firms 0
Flexible working is on the way to becoming the norm in financial services with the average employee spending 39 percent of their time working remotely, according to new research from tech consultancy Intercity Technology. The company surveyed a mere 100 employees from different organisations within the financial services market to gain insight into their workplace habits so you may want to treat this carefully. The respondents also thought this proportion of time spent remote working would increase in the next two years to 41 percent, with an ever increasing adoption of technology-led solutions in the workplace. Additionally, the surveys suggests that 70 percent of employees believe using a device of their own choosing positively impacts the way they work with their colleagues, with the biggest specific benefits identified as flexibility (51 percent), more productivity (42 percent) and improved collaboration (33 percent).
March 30, 2016
Isn’t it time that UK businesses thought more like the Scandinavians? 0
by Richard Morris • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace
The clocks went forward on 27th March meaning darker mornings and lighter evenings – at least for a time. But the standard working day doesn’t reflect such changes, with commuters setting out in darkness to make a fixed 9am start. The changing of the clocks raises interesting questions about the UK work model. Why does UK business persist with the 9-5? We know that commuting in and out can be stressful and detrimental to productivity – not to mention expensive. So why do we continue to do it? Why is the UK’s workforce all boarding the same trains to arrive at the office at the same time? Today, the very notion of the 9am start to the working day should seem archaic. Sweden – often a forerunner of best practice when it comes to wellbeing – recently introduced a 6-hour working day in a bid to reduce sick leave and make staff happier. To date, there has been no hard analysis of results, but anecdotal evidence suggests a healthier, more engaged workforce.
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