Search Results for: Working from home

Homeworking has environmental benefits, says Carbon Trust

by • Environment, Facilities management, Flexible working, News

Environmental and cost benefits of homeworking

There have been some doubts cast recently on the environmental benefits of flexible working. At the recent ThinkFM conference, Lord Rupert Redesdale, the CEO Energy Managers Association said that keeping buildings open for longer to accommodate flexible workers could become unfeasible for many businesses. But what if you simply increase the numbers of home workers instead? Homeworking reduces employee commuting, resulting in carbon, money and time savings. If office space is properly rationalised to reflect this, homeworking can also significantly reduce office energy consumption and rental costs. This is according to new research from the Carbon Trust, which found that if adopted and encouraged by employers across the country, homeworking could result in annual savings of over 3 million tonnes of carbon and cut costs by £3 billion.

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Are you working or shirking from home?

by • Comment, Legal news, Technology, Workplace

Staff ill health

During recent weather-related travel disruption, I was inundated with various pieces of information on software that spies on home based employees to check that they really are working, not shirking from home. As Acas opens a consultation on a draft Code of Practice regarding the extended right to request flexible working; and figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the number of people working from home in the UK has risen to over 10 per cent – the advent of these systems begs the question: do employers really trust their staff enough to let them work remotely?

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Four in five people say a lack of flexible working could be a deal breaker when going for a job

Four in five people say a lack of flexible working could be a deal breaker when going for a job

by • Flexible working, News

Nearly eight in ten employees say flexible working is important when considering a job, according to new research from workplace advisory body Acas.The vast majority of employees say flexible working is important when considering a job, according to new research from workplace advisory body Acas. The YouGov survey found that 78 percent of employees considered flexible working important, compared with 20 percent who said it was not. The findings come ahead of changes to flexible working rules under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Under the new provisions, employers considering turning down a flexible working request will be required to consult the employee before reaching a decision, and will only be able to reject the request where it is reasonable to do so. (more…)

As hybrid working resets the office’s purpose, its small rituals carry more weight

As hybrid working resets the office’s purpose, its small rituals carry more weight

by • Company news

Hybrid working has changed the arrangement. Many employees can now complete focused work elsewhere, often without a commute or the interruptions of a busy workplace. A trip to the office therefore needs to offer something beyond access to a desk and a screen.The question of what the office is for has become harder to answer. For much of its history, the office had a clear practical role. It was where the people, information and equipment needed for work were located. Attendance was largely assumed, and the working week developed around that shared presence. Hybrid working has changed the arrangement. Many employees can now complete focused work elsewhere, often without a commute or the interruptions of a busy workplace. A trip to the office therefore needs to offer something beyond access to a desk and a screen. (more…)

What frictionless work is removing from the working day

What frictionless work is removing from the working day

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

If you look around most offices at midday on a Tuesday, you will likely see a variation of the same scene: employees sitting at their desks with headphones in and responding to Slack messages while eating lunch. The physical environment of the workplace may still be thoughtfully designed, with ergonomic furniture, curated lighting and acoustic panels; however, the atmosphere often still feels flat. Creating a highly optimised, frictionless workplace means removing physical hurdles and operational delays, but it can also strip away the small moments of variation, spontaneity and connection that give working life its texture. Often, the result of frictionless work is an environment that feels psychologically monotonous and socially thin. (more…)

Fathers who work from home fear ‘return to office’ rules could force them to quit, study claims

Fathers who work from home fear ‘return to office’ rules could force them to quit, study claims

by • Flexible working, News

More than one in six fathers who currently work from home say they would quit their job if required to return to the office full-timeMore than one in six fathers who currently work from home say they would quit their job if required to return to the office full-time, according to new research from King’s College London, which suggests employers risk losing experienced staff if they tighten office attendance policies. The report, When Fathers Work from Home, from the King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, argues that remote working has become an important part of family life for many fathers, but warns that workplace cultures continue to discourage men from making full use of flexible working arrangements. (more…)

Distractions at home undermine the benefits of remote work, study suggests

Distractions at home undermine the benefits of remote work, study suggests

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

New research from Durham University Business School suggests that remote work may undermine people’s wellbeing and productivity when domestic distractions interrupt the working day. The study, led by Professor Jakob Stollberger, found that interruptions from home life can disrupt concentration, reduce task completion and have a negative impact on employees’ wellbeing. Based on diary data from 87 remote workers across sectors including IT, finance and education, the research tracked participants’ experiences over a ten day period. Respondents reported their workload and wellbeing four times a day, allowing researchers to examine how work patterns and interruptions changed over time. (more…)

Hybrid working is stabilising around the world, office occupancy report claims

Hybrid working is stabilising around the world, office occupancy report claims

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

A new study of office utilisation trends around the world suggests hybrid working patterns have largely settledA new study of office utilisation trends around the world suggests hybrid working patterns have largely settled, with average occupancy remaining well below pre-pandemic norms and peak attendance continuing to cluster midweek. The Hybrid Occupancy Index 2025–2026 [registration] published by workplace analytics firm HubStar, draws on data from more than 300 million square feet of office space across 173 buildings in 13 countries, covering more than 27,000 workspaces between January 2023 and December 2025. (more…)

Employers urged to expand flexible working ahead of 2027 legal changes

Employers urged to expand flexible working ahead of 2027 legal changes

by • Flexible working, News

Employers are being urged to widen access to flexible working during 2026, ahead of planned changes to employment law that will make flexibility the default unless it can be shown to be unreasonableEmployers are being urged to widen access to flexible working during 2026, ahead of planned changes to employment law that will make flexibility the default unless it can be shown to be unreasonable. A new report from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University suggests that workers with long term health conditions and those in low paid roles are significantly less likely to have access to flexible working arrangements, despite evidence that such measures can support job retention and participation. (more…)

Networking skills should play a key role in workplace development

Networking skills should play a key role in workplace development

by • Comment, Workplace

Networking is a core skill for everyone, writes Henry Strickland. Embracing it in the workplace can have compelling, far-reaching benefitsIt was recently reported that the art of networking is disappearing from modern workplaces. The skill is particularly lacking among young professionals, with around 60 percent of whom avoiding in-person networking events to the detriment of their careers. I read of this with interest and concern, being a strong believer that both internal and external networking remains one of the single most powerful accelerators for career progression, and that more opportunities come through relationships than any other channel. (more…)

Flexible working continues to be the enduring theme of workplace conversations

Flexible working continues to be the enduring theme of workplace conversations

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Economic uncertainty and rapid technological change are reshaping expectations for both employers and employees, with flexible working continuing to be underlying themeEconomic uncertainty and rapid technological change are reshaping expectations for both employers and employees, with flexible working continuing to be underlying theme of most workplace conversations. According to the 2025 Global Workplace Report from WorkL based on feedback from more than half a million employees across over one hundred countries, there are also widening divides between generations, differing attitudes towards career ambition and a continued rise in anxiety linked to automation. (more…)

The evolving workplace in the hybrid working era

The evolving workplace in the hybrid working era

by • Company news, Flexible working, Technology

A little over five years ago, most knowledge workers went home — and dialed into the office remotely. The pandemic triggered a massive uptick in the “virtual workforce,” and organizations raced to provide technology to make connectivity possible. The limitations of those early “quick and dirty” solutions became apparent as the majority of the workforce settled into a hybrid model. (According to Gallup, 51 percent of US workers with remote-capable jobs follow a hybrid schedule while 28 percent are fully remote.) (more…)

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