December 10, 2020

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 →

December 10, 2020

UK tech workers prefer better work-life balance to a pay rise

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working culture

When it comes to job satisfaction, Denmark tops the list of the best places to work in digital in Europe – beating the UK, Germany and France – according to the 2020 Digital Talent Global Work Happiness Index. The Nordic country scored highly for work-life balance, family-friendly working models, purpose, personal safety and personal impact, which describes how much impact an individual feels they are making to their business. More →

November 30, 2020

We need to understand and channel workplace conflict in the right way

by Jon Maddison • Comment, Workplace

Earlier this month, in a sudden and unexpected turn of events, the prime minister’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, walked out of 10 Downing Street for the last time, having resigned/been asked to leave, depending on whose account of the episode you believe. However, the affair unfolded in reality, it seems clear that the departure of Cummings and Director of Communications, Lee Cain, was precipitated by workplace conflict and a series of internal disagreements, which had pushed their relationships with certain colleagues to breaking point. More →

November 26, 2020

People still struggling with shift to remote living

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Wellbeing

A lack of balance through lockdown has been felt most dramatically by Brits living in house shares according to new research released by Microsoft Windows. The research claims that over 40 percent of people living with house mates, friends or professionals are finding it increasingly difficult to destress and unwind after a long and challenging day; while a further 1 in 5 of the UK population admit that work and play has become blurred in 2020. More →

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 20, 2020

Men and young people more likely to disregard COVID-19 regulations

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

Men, younger people, and those with conservative political views are less likely to comply with Covid-19 measures such as social distancing, claims new research from BI Norwegian Business School. The findings also claim that detailed instructions on the virus and health behaviours can help increase adherence to Covid-19 measures. More →

November 19, 2020

Covid-19 is levelling the playing field for disabled workers

by Ruby Gullon • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

As many of us cope with yet another lockdown, optimism is easy to misplace but, for disabled workers, this could result in monumental change for future employment. On the month commencing the 25th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act and the run-up to International Day of Disabled Persons, could this be the final push for change? As we swing in and out of remote-working, whether you love it or loathe it, one thing is abundantly clear – it can be done. Something that the 2 billion people currently living with disabilities have always known. Life can be accessible anywhere if you put your mind to it. More →

November 16, 2020

Built environment sector must think in radical ways and act quickly

by Neil Franklin • Cities, Environment, News

The construction sector, the real estate industry and city planners must give high priority to the same goal – to drastically reduce their climate impacts. Powerful, combined efforts across all of the built environment sectors are absolutely crucial for the potential to achieve the UN’s sustainability goals. And what’s more – everything has to happen very quickly. These are the cornerstones to a roadmap presented at the recent Beyond 2020 World Conference. More →

November 12, 2020

New to working from home? Here is how you should set up

by Freddie Steele • Company news

The past year has been something of a game-changer in many ways and perhaps one of the most unexpected has been how people have had to embrace the idea of working from home. More →

November 5, 2020

Leadership in a new age of virtuality

by Andrew Mawson • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Technology, Workplace design

We are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work. The pandemic has forced organisations to go virtual. New government guidelines, including a tiered alert system, suggest that this will be the norm for the foreseeable future. But step back from the noise and it is easy to see how the current crisis is simply accelerating the inevitable. A confluence of forces, including advancements in technology and infrastructure, increasing globalisation, shifting demographics and COVID-19, has enabled greater connectivity and mobility, making obvious to organisations, their leadership and individuals the wisdom of adopting flexible work models. More →

October 29, 2020

Oslo tops list of cities with the best work-life balance

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

Cloud-based access control company Kisi has released their 2020 work-life balance city index, highlighting how major cities from the 2019 edition have since been impacted by the global pandemic. While every city in the index suffered economic, social and structural consequences, the results of this year’s edition claim that having a safety net in place for workers made a large difference in how a city navigated the crisis. More →

October 27, 2020

Worker burnout has increased by a third, research claims

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

According to new data from people success platform Glint, employee burnout is reaching new highs — with no signs of abating. People worldwide have been coping with a range of hardships this year, including a pandemic, social isolation, enforced working from home, school disruptions and major layoffs. More →