September 17, 2019

US firms dominate most desirable workplaces for tech workers

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace design

The BBC, Monzo and Skyscanner are the companies UK top tech talent wants to work for the most according to new research from Hired which has today released its annual Brand Health Report. However, despite the UK’s flourishing tech landscape, British business are not featured on the global list of the top 15 private or public companies indicating that UK brands are losing popularity. This is especially worrying at a time when 60 percent of London firms apparently anticipate a ‘Brexit Brain Drain’. More →

September 11, 2019

Flexible working needs not met by employers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Fewer than a third (32 percent) of UK workers are allowed to work remotely whenever they want, according to research from Capita which explores employee attitudes to remote/flexible working and the challenge employers face meeting their expectations of IT to do so. ‘The State of IT – The Employee Verdict’ report (registration) claims that almost three quarters of workers (71 percent) would like the option to work remotely, citing a better work-life balance (60 percent), reducing their transport costs (47 percent), and carbon footprint (35 percent) as their biggest drivers for doing so. More →

September 6, 2019

Escaping the hell of hot desking

by Tim Oldman • Comment, Workplace design

Hot-desking is a scourge on modern work. That’s the only conclusion you will draw by reading ‘The hidden hell of hot-desking is much worse than you think’ (published in the FT on 28 July 2019) and dozens more like it that continue to appear in national media and top business titles. The piece contends that organisations are using the guise of agile working to excuse their cost-saving prerogative. In reality it is a penny-pinching ploy that “strips people of their own desk and casts them out to the noisy, chaotic wasteland of shared work spots,” or so we’re told. More →

August 30, 2019

Shaping the workplace of tomorrow

by Richard Glückman • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

The workplace, as we know it, is rapidly evolving and the role of the traditional office is changing. In fact, what current trends are pointing towards is that the whole work culture is shifting, with the employee experience becoming equally important as consumer needs. The new norm of the workplace is being flexible, dynamic, and versatile – yet, more often than not, companies lag behind in providing the right tools to support these trends. We can often see a significant gap between what the workforce needs and what the workplace offers. More →

August 30, 2019

More than a third of UK workers actively looking for job with flexible working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

New research among more than 2,000 UK adults, all in full-time or part-time work, commissioned by Nerd Wallet claims to have uncovered the importance of flexible working practices to employees today. Its main finding is that more than a third of full-time workers in the UK are currently looking for a new job because they would like a role with greater flexibility. It also claims that 71 percent of people consider flexible working – in terms of both the hours and location they work – as important to their job satisfaction. However, half (50 percent) cannot work remotely when they want or need to, and 46 percent have no flexibility in the hours they work. More →

August 28, 2019

Shifting cultural expectations in the workplace

by Stuart Templeton • Comment, Technology, Workplace

There has been much talk of digital, agile and organisational transformation for businesses for many years now. While the intricacies of each are separate discussions, one thing is clear – the world of work and the workplace are changing and as businesses we need to adapt.

August 27, 2019

Freelancers and the self-employed need holidays too

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Taking time off improves the work performance of freelancers, a new study from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) claims. The research suggests that almost two-thirds of freelancers believe taking holiday improves their work performance in some way. Asked what advantages came with taking more time off, 63 percent said it improved aspects of their work including productivity, energy, creativity and confidence in their work. More →

August 23, 2019

Two-thirds of people say work damages their mental health

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A new survey from CV-Library suggests that the UK’s professionals have a problematic relationship with work, with three-quarters (74.2 percent) claiming that their job is damaging their mental health. The research, which surveyed over 2,000 professionals, claims that four in ten (43.9 percent) workers even consider resigning from their job because of this, with a further 52.6 percent stating that their workplace doesn’t do enough to support employees. More →

August 15, 2019

Reasons to be agile, part three

by Sarah Booth • Comment, Workplace design

The Agile Manife st o, published in 2001, signalled a shift in approach to workplace design as well as technology. Though the document was conceived as a guide to speeding up software development, its contents have gone on to inform how organisations think and operate in ways that extend far beyond IT. “Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.” That’s the fifth of 12 ‘principles’ in the manifesto. More →

August 7, 2019

Flexible working has increased dramatically in last two decades

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

The proportion of people with some form of flexible working has increased dramatically in the last two decades. That is according to an analysis of working trends by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). According to the 1999 Labour Force Survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the percentage of people working flexible hours in the UK was 9.5 percent at that time. Recent statistics from CIPD, however, show that this number has drastically increased, with 54 percent of workers currently having the option of some form of flexibility in their time and place of work. More →

August 6, 2019

Gig economy worker rights demand a global approach

by Hina Belitz • Comment, Legal news, Working culture

British people increasingly work in temporary positions and on short term engagements: part of a fundamental global shift in the way we work. The domestic gig economy has seen the number of workers more than double in number since 2016, according to a recent report from the TUC and the University of Hertfordshire (conducted with Ipsos MORI). Based on interviews with 2,235 individuals, the report’s key finding is that gig economy platforms, such as Uber, Deliveroo and Upwork, are now staffed by 4.7 million workers – or one in 10 working-age adults, up from one in 20 three years ago. It also found that 15 per cent of survey respondents had undertaken gig economy work at some point – equivalent to almost 7.5 million people if extrapolated across the entire economy. More →

July 25, 2019

UK SMEs must leverage tech-friendly culture to secure talent

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Workplace

UK SMEs must create a tech-friendly culture to attract and retain top tech talent, according to a new white paper from Robert Half UK, Recruiting for the future: The challenges for UK SMEs. While remuneration and work–life balance are the top reasons for job moves, SMEs’ ability to offer an innovative culture with high levels of responsibility is central to their ability to secure and retain talent over larger organisations. With the UK talent market suffering from a lack of digital skills, companies across all sectors are locked in a war for talent, competing with one another to hire skilled technology professionals to help their businesses adapt to increased digitalisation. More →