December 2, 2020
According to new research from Tiger Recruitment, UK businesses still aren’t offering workers enough flexibility. While the pandemic has required many to work more flexibly from home, more than a quarter of employees questioned say they still aren’t happy with the flexible working options available to them, and men are just as dissatisfied as women. More →
December 1, 2020
The repercussions of Covid-19 for the small business community have been particularly ruinous. Recent figures paint a worrying picture, revealing that approximately 76,300 SMEs in London alone ceased operations completely as a direct result of the pandemic, with lockdowns costing from £30,000 to £75,000 for one in ten small businesses. As the most vulnerable business segment in the current crisis, SMEs needed the biggest support and, by the end of April, had already received over £4 billion via the government’s CBIL scheme. More →
November 30, 2020
Union body the TUC has today launched a new taskforce to look at the “creeping role” of artificial intelligence (AI) in managing people at work. The taskforce launch comes as a new TUC report, Technology managing people: the worker experience, claims that many workers have concerns over the use of AI and technology in the workplace. More →
November 25, 2020
A large number of British companies companies say they plan to install monitoring software of some kind to keep an eye on employees working from home, according to a new survey. Around 20 percent of employers said their firms have either implemented, or plan to implement, online software which monitors their remote workers. More →
November 25, 2020
The location of a potential employer’s workplace is becoming more important to workers – despite a surge in people working remotely, according to outplacement firm Randstad RiseSmart UK. Almost half (49 percent) of workers now say location is an important factor in choosing an employer, up from just over a third (35 percent) pre-pandemic. More →
November 25, 2020
In a recent survey of 4,000 office-based employees and 1,000 employers in the UK, U.S, Singapore and the UAE, a third of employees expressed concern for their mental health whilst working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, conducted by health benefits provider, Aetna International, examines the perceptions of both employers and employees when it comes to corporate health and well-being. More →
November 25, 2020
A new study on work-life balance claims that the COVID-19 crisis is a crucial factor – but not the only one – behind low levels of wellbeing among employees working from home. A research team including Professor Ilke Inceoglu, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and HR Management at the University of Exeter Business School, analysed data from 835 university employees, who completed a baseline questionnaire on wellbeing and took a weekly survey. More →
November 24, 2020
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
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
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
Staff need on average three days a week (2.91) in the office to achieve maximum productivity, according to a new study by ISG. In results from the UK-wide “The Power of Place” study examining the future of the workplace, employees believed that spending on average three days a week in the office would be optimal for productivity. When asked how many days they thought would be needed to optimise their wellbeing, workers cited on average over half a day less, 2.34 days per week, in the office. More →
December 2, 2020
Creative firms have most to lose from a loss of serendipity
by Gary Chandler • Comment, Workplace design