Search Results for: decision making

Mental health transparency at the top is the key to workplace wellbeing

Mental health transparency at the top is the key to workplace wellbeing

wellbeingAs the world emerges from the grip of the pandemic, the mental health crisis continues to worsen. One thing is for certain as we look to rebuild – the business community must put the mental health of all employees as top priority.  But is there something that’s missing in the current conversation around workplace mental health and wellbeing? One thought is around leaders themselves, and that intrinsic connection to their own mental health and wellbeing. What many leaders have been carrying throughout the pandemic is exceptional, including the added weight of responsibility for the wellbeing and mental health of employees and to create mentally healthy workplaces, yet we rarely hear how leaders themselves are coping. (more…)

Working from home experience boosts demands for hybrid working

Working from home experience boosts demands for hybrid working

working from homeNew data from Steelcase claims to highlight what the UK workforce is enjoying most about working from home, and which elements of work are suffering without access to the physical office. Nearly all (97 percent) of respondents want to return to the physical office for some or most of the time when possible, but nearly a year of working differently has altered expectations of the office, and businesses need to make vital changes to reflect this. (more…)

Well, at least nobody is whinging about open plan offices anymore

Well, at least nobody is whinging about open plan offices anymore

Years of pathologising offices should have prepared us for the patholigisation of virtual spaces. It seems like months since anybody has come out with that tired old rant about open plan. Certain vociferous and obsessive authors on the subject have had to find some other outlet for whatever their real problem is. Still, it’s not hard right now to find similar stuff about the toxicity of virtual meetings and especially those hosted by poor old Zoom, who get the blame for everything.

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The link between wellbeing and green design is driving material innovation

The link between wellbeing and green design is driving material innovation

wellbeing and green building designOne of the most interesting developments in the way we talk about the design of buildings in recent years is how the issue of wellbeing has found an overlap with environmental concerns. We know instinctively that these are natural partners. What is good for the environment almost always has a direct beneficial effect on people’s physical and mental health, as well as their productivity. (more…)

Learning by observation reduces cognitive bias, research suggests

Learning by observation reduces cognitive bias, research suggests

Research from the Business School (formerly Cass) suggests that observing others’ decision-making can teach people to make better decisions themselves. The study, co-authored by Professor Irene Scopelliti, Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science, tested the effectiveness of a new debiasing learning strategy and claims the first evidence that watching others make decisions can improve our own decision making. (more…)

Flexibility and reskilling top priorities for UK employers in 2021

Flexibility and reskilling top priorities for UK employers in 2021

flexibilityThe COVID-19 pandemic is driving a fundamental shift in the way companies operate, accelerating the need for an adaptable and agile workforce to drive business success. According to Mercer’s 2021 Global Talent Trends study, the financial impact and work-life disruption caused by the pandemic is causing UK employers to focus on redefining flexibility and skills development to ensure their business and employees become more resilient and agile in the face of disruption.

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Working from home spells trouble for the careers of younger workers

Working from home spells trouble for the careers of younger workers

working from homeLockdown meant that the choice to work from home was made for us. However, for many the decision to continue to do so post-lockdown will be a personal choice. The question we should all ask ourselves is, whether when we are outside of any lockdown restrictions, is working from home really a workplace revolution or simply an act of selfishness? For thousands of workers who’ve spent years of their lives commuting to offices that feel more like soul-less factories than inspiring and engaging workplaces, it’s no wonder that enforced work from home has proven popular. (more…)

Extrovert-run businesses are more likely to be growing than introvert-run ones

Extrovert-run businesses are more likely to be growing than introvert-run ones

businessesA new report of over 1,000 small business owners and decision makers by Hitachi Capital Business Finance claims that extrovert-run businesses are more likely to be growing in the current environment, and more likely to have plans to win more business in 2021. (more…)

SLL publish specialist lighting guide for FMS

SLL publish specialist lighting guide for FMS

lightingThe Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) has published its first guidance document designed specifically to address the key lighting tasks required of facilities managers. Lighting is absolutely critical to providing a safe and productive working environment and much of the management required to procure, maintain and optimise lighting systems falls to facilities managers. (more…)

Employers should explain their monitoring policies to workers

Employers should explain their monitoring policies to workers

The number of companies monitoring their employees is growing. According to a Gartner survey, more than 22 percent of employees use employee movement data, while 17 percent of them are monitoring computer usage. With companies choosing to monitor employees, privacy laws are also catching up, and thus there is a need for explaining employee monitoring to prospective hires. Employee monitoring is defined as the use of monitoring devices and methods by companies to learn about their employees’ workplace behaviours and performance. (more…)

Everybody needs to be prepared for a new digital workplace

Everybody needs to be prepared for a new digital workplace

digital workplaceGraduates today are largely considered to be the ‘net generation’. Growing up whilst social media accelerated, their years in higher education have been synonymous with digital literacy, even before COVID-19 turned their studies entirely virtual. This monumental move into a digital workplace also echoed throughout the job market. As offices closed in Spring and millions were furloughed across hospitality, retail and travel, demand spiked by 36 percent for roles advertised in the digital tech sector. (more…)

Mentally demanding tasks are harder to handle at home

Mentally demanding tasks are harder to handle at home

Mentally demandingA new study looking at skills in online chess tournaments from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) claims that working from home could be damaging for mentally demanding tasks. (more…)