August 17, 2021
Right to disconnect should be enshrined in law, says report
An overtime “epidemic” driven by the rise in home working during the pandemic must be curtailed with new right to disconnect laws, according to a report from think-tank Autonomy. The authors claim that unpaid labour is a growing problem in the UK, exacerbated by home working during the pandemic. They say employees are frequently contacted by their employers after the working day has finished officially to complete tasks, which impacts their mental health. The report proposes draft legislation to implement a ‘right to disconnect’ based on French law, which ensures respect for employee rest periods and allows them to ignore work calls and emails outside of working hours. (more…)






Technology is now integral for short and long-term employee wellbeing following the dramatic changes to working life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Thomas Woods, Vice-President of Enterprise for 


New research commissioned by 
More than two-thirds (68 percent) of employees in the UK have admitted they get so many distractions and message notifications during work that it’s affecting their productivity. This is according to new research from 
New research from beauty company 
The Mayor of London, in partnership with Nesta Challenges, has announced the winners of the 
The new 


The global pandemic has blurred the lines between home and work for millions of people around the world. Where once there was a clear distinction between being on and off duty, the demands of remote working and ever-presence of smartphones has created an ‘always on’ culture in many organisations. The trend has led to a number organisations in the UK to now call for a ban on out-of-hours emails in order to alleviate pressures on employees mental health. But is this really necessary, or even logistically possible, for the new world of work? We asked four leading experts for their thoughts. 
Paradoxically, more in-person work environments and the concentration of jobs in cities could be a medium- to long-term impact of the pandemic’s shift to remote working, suggests 

July 23, 2021
The unshocking truth about work and workplaces
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design