June 15, 2022
If an employee makes a flexible working request, then employers should have principles and procedures in place setting out how these requests should be dealt with. Avoiding disputes in the workplace generally means adhering to three principles: clarity, consistency, and fairness. So, here’s a brief (non-exhaustive) guide to handling flexible working requests. More →
June 15, 2022
Fully remote working is no longer viewed as the ‘holy grail’ by tech employers, with hybrid working now viewed as the perfect model for aiding retention and recruitment of talent. That is the main conclusion of Robert Half’s Demand for Tech Talent report, which surveyed 750 tech hiring managers across the UK. The results of the survey suggest that remote working – which the report claims was widely touted as the ‘future of work’ both before and during the pandemic – is now being shunned by companies in favour of a flexible approach. More →
June 15, 2022
Two thirds of people working for small and medium sized businesses say they are are less likely to take sick leave when working from home and nearly half say they feel more pressure to justify their productivity when working remotely. The poll [registration] of around 1,300 people from Breathe suggests that the pressure people when working from home can lead to counterproductive forms of digital presenteeism. More →
June 13, 2022
This year’s World Workplace Europe saw 2022 hailed as the year of the worker. A worthwhile focus considering negative emotions are on the rise, with more depression, anxiety and loneliness plaguing society despite the claimed benefits of hybrid working. The pandemic robbed us of many things. It restricted our freedom for two years and forced us to live, love and work in a way that felt a little less human. But at least there was a sense of unity, working together for the common good, a mask-muffled cry of “all for one and one for all” as people considered how their actions would and could impact others. More →
June 13, 2022
Health and wellbeing lobby group ukactive has called for a radical rethink of health incentivisation in the workplace, including expanding the Cycle to Work scheme to cover gym memberships and equipment as more people work from home, in a new report called The Active Workforce. A study [registration] conducted by the ukactive Research Institute, informed by Sport England and business organisations including the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB), examined the state of workplace health and wellbeing for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) following the Covid-19 pandemic. More →
June 10, 2022
During the pandemic, around 100 million people in Europe switched to working from home – nearly half of them for the first time. This shift was rapid, with employees quickly noticing the benefits of remote work. These can include freedom from commuting, more time for personal wellbeing and increased productivity. As we move on from pandemic restrictions, we’ve seen a strong, global demand for more flexible forms of working, particularly to retain an element of remote work. While some employees want to work from home permanently, most want what’s coming to be regarded as the best of both worlds: hybrid working. Only a minority of workers now want to return to the office full time. More →
June 9, 2022
One of the ways I have found to inoculate myself against the hyperbolic certitude of the world’s futurologists is to watch YouTube clips of an old TV show called Rab C Nesbitt and observe the automated captioning as it struggles to cope with Glaswegians. And sometimes gives it up as a bad job. Works with Limmy’s Show too. Try it for yourself at the bottom. Includes bad language. A meringue? More →
June 9, 2022
Rising inflation and the UK’s cost-of-living crisis have put a lot of pressure on employers to increase wages and starting salaries this year, but a new survey suggests that there’s something that employees value more than pay – work-life balance. HR and payroll software provider CIPHR polled over 1,000 UK workers to find out which job aspects matter most to them. Based on the results, over two-thirds (70 percent of women and 65 percent of men) see work-life balance – albeit a term that can mean different things to different people – as being more important than their pay and employee benefits combined (selected by 60 percent of women and 57 percent of men). More →
June 8, 2022
Research from Asana shows that three quarters (75 percent) of UK knowledge workers experienced burnout in 2021. Perhaps even more concerning is that over a third (36 percent) of workers believe burnout is inevitable to career success. This worrying and unsustainable trend shows that for many employees, constantly checking email, working weekends, and burning out seems to be the best way to show their value at work. More →
June 8, 2022
New research from Peppy claims that twenty-five per cent of employers do not offer any male-specific health support in the workplace, despite as many as 81 percent believing that not doing so, risks losing their best talent. As working-age men are 32 percent less likely to visit a GP compared to women, serious issues often go untreated for longer, sometimes until it is too late, the report claims, and as a result of this male health inequality, one in five men do not reach traditional retirement age. More →
June 7, 2022
Hybrid work adoption is growing and becoming a permanent element of the future of work, according to the new Workforce Preferences Barometer report [registration] from real estate firm JLL. However, the report’s authors also conclude that, as employee expectations and reality reach an equilibrium, the continuing use of offices remains pivotal to work routines. More →
June 14, 2022
Loneliness might hold back hybrid working productivity gains
by Gosia Bowling • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing