Search Results for: Working from home

January 7, 2016

Constant email checks may increase workplace stress as much as high volumes ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

New research being presented today at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Nottingham suggests that it’s not just the volume of emails that causes stress; but well-meaning habits and a need to feel in control. The research by Dr Richard MacKinnon from the Future Work Centre, suggests many people have developed some bad habits when it comes to managing email. Nearly half of those surveyed have emails automatically sent to their inbox (push notifications) and 62 percent left their email on all day. Those who checked email early in the morning and late at night may think they are getting ahead, but they could be making things worse, as the study showed that these habits were linked to higher levels of stress and pressure. The research also shows the role personality plays in our experience of email and how email has the potential to both positively and negatively impact our work-life balance.

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January 6, 2016

Third of employees did not feel motivated or engaged at work last year ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Just over a third (34 percent) of UK employees could not name a single occasion that motivated them at work last year, new research claims. The ‘Employee motivation: Who came out on top in 2015?’ report suggests that despite a quarter (24 percent) of staff saying ‘yes’ they felt motivated at work in 2015, nearly half of the UK workforce collectively felt neutral or negative feelings towards their job over the course of the whole year. The survey was commissioned by Red Letter Days for Business, to explore one of the building blocks affecting the low engagement and productivity rates in the UK – employee motivation. It found that 25-34 year olds were the most motivated at work last year, as this age group are likely to be working their way up the career ladder. And unsurprisingly, when asked what would be most likely to motivate them at work, nearly half of respondents, whatever the age, suggested a good work/life balance.

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December 13, 2015

Best Places to Work + Make the most of each day + Strategic role of offices ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Furniture, Newsletter, Wellbeing

In this week’s newsletter; Mark Eltringham on the prescience of philosopher Seneca on a time and a place to work; and a report by Sara Bean finds the boardroom increasingly views office space as a strategic asset. Glassdoor announces the best places to work for 2016; researchers reveal the phenomenon of ‘inattentional deafness’; a new Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction is announced; and Gartner says we’ll be using three technical devices by 2018. Over 100 councils to join an office-sharing scheme; Gen Z will blur the boundaries between home and work, and too much focus on standing in the sit-stand debate. Download the new issue of Work&Place and access an Insight Briefing, produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

December 9, 2015

Generation Z imagines its future workplace design, pods and all ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Research by Leesman Index (among others) shows how the design of learning environments influences a student’s choice of university. This thinking now also applies to offices, with the commercial office design sector creating the kind of facilities available on the modern university campus. A new workshop organised by furniture brand HÅG has discovered how Generation Z imagines its future workplace. For example, in the same way that a college library offers collaborative and silent spaces; the young people in the workshop didn’t share the current trend of shared workspaces but wanted a mix of collaborative areas combined with isolated working pods that they could customise for their own requirements and mood. However, Gen Z goes further than ever, in blurring the boundaries between home and work, with a great deal more emphasis on wellbeing and areas to relax compared to previous generations.

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December 8, 2015

Two thirds of UK staff will work or check emails over Christmas ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

A common complaint over the Christmas period is that the vast majority of the population is off from Christmas Eve to after New Year’s Day. In fact a new survey shows that almost two thirds (66 percent) of people in the UK will be working during the festive period, almost 1 in 3 (31 percent) will be working on Christmas Day and 63 percent will check their emails over the period. Although 40 percent of those polled in the survey, which was carried out by retailer Cotton traders, do not have a choice about working over Christmas; of those that do, 46 percent are doing so to earn extra income to fund their Christmas and in the spirit of the season, 39 percent swapped shifts to allow colleagues with a young family to have the day off. Meanwhile, with a clear indication that the Christmas season has begun, advice has been issued by the TUC to staff and employers on how to avoid an embarrassing Christmas party.

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November 27, 2015

Over a third of UK workers are miserable at work and most plan to leave ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Workplace

Only 35 percent of UK workers are happy with their job, and over a third (39 percent) admit that they feel miserable at work. In a new survey by Workwear Express of over 1,000 people, just 14 percent said they planned to stay in their current job for the next year. This appears to be reflected in the amount of sickness they take, with 25 percent admitting that they’ve taken sick leave from work due to being so unhappy. Poor management was seen as the biggest contributor to an employee’s low sense of satisfaction at work, as just over 31 percent of those polled agreed that being badly managed was their biggest issue in the workplace. However, having a heavy workload was a close second, with 29 percent of people citing this as the reason for their unhappiness. A third (35 percent) of those polled said that Monday was the most miserable day of the week to work.

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November 10, 2015

Research reveals the main reasons why people still go to work when ill ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

High job demands, stress and job insecurity are among the main reasons why people go to work when they are ill and should probably stay home, according to new research from the University of East Anglia. The study sets out to improve understanding of the key causes of employees going to work when sick, which is known as one of the main forms of presenteeism, and to help make managers more aware of the existence of the phenomenon, what triggers the behaviour and what can be done to improve employees’ health and productivity. A key finding of the study, published yesterday in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, is that presenteeism not only stems from ill health and stress, but from raised motivation, for example high job satisfaction and a strong sense of commitment to the organisation. This may motivate people to ‘go the extra-mile’, causing them to work more intensively, even when sick.

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November 9, 2015

Non-death of the office + Property owners lag behind + New issue of Work&Place ⁰

by Sara Bean • Insight Briefings, Newsletter, Property, Wellbeing, Work&Place, Workplace

In this week’s newsletter; Philip Ross says the main driver of the growing convergence of HR, IT and FM roles will be the availability of data to make informed decisions and Mark Eltringham gives a number of reason why office has an enduring appeal. In news; HR guru Cary Cooper warns about the deleterious effects of email on productivity and wellbeing, a third of home workers fear they’ll get fat, commercial property owners are not keeping up with tenant’s needs and the launch of a new study to develop a prototype UK scheme that mirror’s Australia’s ‘design for performance’. You can also download the new issue of Work&Place and access our first Insight Briefing, produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories

October 22, 2015

Seven ways to make your office work for different workstyles ⁰

by Brittney Herrera • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The conversation around office space is shifting. Baby Boomers brought us cubicles, and as millennials joined the workforce, so did the trend of a collaborative, open office. Now, as Generation Z begins to make its way into the workforce, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your office appeals to all generations, and more importantly, all work styles. This trend is taking off in companies of all sizes and types. To begin, study the culture, brand, demographics and interactions of employees and you’ll find that people want to move throughout the day and change their work setting based on tasks. This can be applied to all organizations on different scales. Providing the right environment for unique tasks has the power to energize teams, reinforce the culture and allow for serendipitous interactions all at once.

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October 17, 2015

Insight briefing + Changing face of office design + Global cities ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Public Sector, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

This week’s newsletter features our first Insight Briefing, produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Adrian Campbell says office design needs the direct contribution of its most important influencer, the end user; and Mark Eltringham welcomes a new report that debunks the belief that ‘sitting is the new smoking’. Demand for flexible co-working space looks set to soar; investment in commercial property is at its highest level worldwide since 2008, and businesses continue to find the creation of a productive workplace challenging. Sydney leads the world in Activity Based Working according to the Global Cities report; and working parents in the US are reluctant to let employers know how stressed they really are. Visit our new events page, subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and weekly news here. And follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

October 15, 2015

SMEs appreciate flexibility and freedom of running their own business ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The latest ONS employment figures indicate that the boom in self-employment appears to have ended, as the number of self-employed people has fallen for the first time since before the recession. Yet those who’ve successfully started their own businesses have something to celebrate. According to a report from AXA PPP, SME owners appreciate the greater flexibility (58 percent) and the greater freedom (37 percent) that owning a business gives them. Seventy per cent of owners also said they are proud, inspired, content or fortunate to own their own business, highlighting the positive effects that having control over your working life can bring. More than a third (35 percent) admitted they could delegate more to improve the way they manage their business – with nearly half (47 percent) of business owners reporting that the pressure of work spills over into their home life.

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October 12, 2015

How workplace design is more closely reflecting how we actually work ⁰

by Adrian Campbell • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

In years gone by, a ‘one size fits all’ approach to office design might have been the norm, but as the decades have progressed, so too have the options available to businesses designing ‘homes from home’ for their office-based workforces. As new interpretations of the office environment proliferated, so the open plan model came to into being and eventually evolved into the default office design model. This initially brought greater variety than ever before but, ultimately, a one size fits all mentality in workplace design ultimately prevailed – every worker was expected to work in certain ways, utilising the equipment and furniture supplied and designed for them. From inception through to occupancy, the average new office involves a six-year period of design and construction involving varying teams of people discussing the best and most attractive solution for the actual end user.