November 17, 2020

Chris Kane discusses his new book on workplace transformation

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Podcasts, Premium Content, Property, Workplace design

The physician can bury his mistakes,—but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines. Frank Lloyd Wright’s eternal epigram is not just true for buildings. It also applies to the authors of books, especially those on the subjects most affected by this year’s pandemic. Speakers and blog writers can quietly inter the things they get wrong, while the book sits unchangeable on a shelf. Maybe behind a houseplant.
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November 17, 2020

Top priority for HR leaders in 2021: building critical skills

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working culture

Gartner, Inc.’s 2021 HR Priorities Survey of more than 750 HR leaders claims that 68 percent of respondents cited building critical skills and competencies as their number one priority in 2021. The survey, conducted from June through August 2020, claims the other top HR priorities for 2021 are: organisational design and change management (46 percent), current and future leadership bench (44 percent), the future of work (32 percent) and employee experience (28 percent). (more…)

November 17, 2020

Unused office space could cost London businesses almost £13 billion

by Jayne Smith • Business, Facilities management, News, Property

Unused office space after coronavirus could cost London-based businesses almost £13 billion according to a new report by Space Three Two, a new office timeshare marketplace born out of lockdown. According to a survey of London office workers, employees want to spend an average of 2.7 days back in the office once all Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted. 1 in 10 workers said didn’t want to go back to the office at all. (more…)

November 16, 2020

Millions will struggle to access the Government’s new Lifetime Skills Guarantee

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working lives

New analysis published by the Work Foundation and Totaljobs claims that millions of low paid workers will struggle to access the Government’s new Lifetime Skills Guarantee (LSG) when it is launched next year amidst a growing jobs challenge. (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 16, 2020

How to manage workplace capacity in 2020

by Freddie Steele • Company news

The pandemic has totally shattered workplace norms, so it’s going to take a while before we see organizations returning to work at full capacity. When it does happen, it will require extensive planning and constantly evolving styles of people management. In addition to the logistics of phasing people back into the office and staggering shifts, you’ll need to work with your team to address their anxieties and make sure they feel comfortable in their environment. (more…)

November 13, 2020

People working from home should be taxed for the privilege, says Deutsche Bank

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

People working from home should be taxed at a higher rate to compensate for the money they aren’t spending on commuting and other expenses, according to a new report from economists at Deutsche Bank. The report argues that the move could generate billions in additional revenue which could then be redistributed to lower paid workers and those who cannot work remotely. The report argues that this should have happened anyway given that the number of Americans who regularly worked from home had already increased by 173 percent between 2005 and 2018. (more…)

November 13, 2020

Productivity and wellbeing highest in companies with a connected culture

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture

RingCentral UK Ltd, has released the findings of its Connected Culture Report claiming that employees working for companies that foster a “connected culture” are twice as likely (34 percent vs. 15 percent) to be productive when working from anywhere, than those that don’t. (more…)

November 11, 2020

Burnout, stress and disconnection are now our most urgent workplace mental health issues

by Catherine Flynn • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

This has been a tough year all round, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to cause seismic shifts in how we live and work. Surveys across various countries indicate that employees are experiencing more feelings of burnout, stress and disconnection as the pandemic is taking a toll on people’s mental health. What’s causing this and what can we do to combat it? (more…)

November 9, 2020

Working from home could energise some of our overlooked cities

by Michel Serafinelli • Cities, Comment, Flexible working

For years, we have been promised a work-from-home revolution, and it seems that the pandemic has finally brought it to pass. In April this year, at the height of the first wave of coronavirus, 47 percent of people in the UK were working from home, the vast majority of them doing so because of the pandemic. In a sense this is overdue: the work-from-home potential for UK employees is 32 percent; in France, Germany and Italy between 24 percent and 28 percent. (more…)

November 9, 2020

More stability in sight for employment but three in ten employers still planning redundancies

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working lives

The pace of deterioration in UK job prospects is starting to slow this autumn due to very modest improvements in planned recruitment activity and a slight decrease in employers’ intentions to make redundancies. This is according to the latest quarterly CIPD/the Adecco Group Labour Market Outlook (LMO) survey – involving more than 1000 employers and covering all sectors of the economy. (more…)

November 9, 2020

Now is the time for employers to think differently about who they hire

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

As COVID-19 has forced businesses to change where and how they work this year, the learning disability charity Mencap is now calling on employers to think differently about WHO they employ. The pandemic has highlighted the invaluable contribution people with a learning disability and/ or autism can make as hardworking and valued employees. (more…)