December 10, 2020

Three quarters of US workers suffering from burnout

A December 2020 online study of 1,136 employed U.S. adults carried out by wellbeing provider Spring Health claims that more than three-quarters (76 percent) of U.S. employees are currently experiencing worker burnout. The coronavirus pandemic — along with major political upheavals and natural disasters ranging from wildfires to hurricanes — has led to skyrocketing rates of depression, anxiety, and stress for U.S. employees, setting the stage for another crisis: worker burnout. Among U.S. employees experiencing worker burnout, 57 percent say worries about COVID-19 have been a contributing factor to their experiencing burnout, while 33 percent say worries about political issues have contributed to the problem. (more…)

December 10, 2020

Employers should explain their monitoring policies to workers

by Chioma Iwunze • Comment, Workplace

The number of companies monitoring their employees is growing. According to a Gartner survey, more than 22 percent of employees use employee movement data, while 17 percent of them are monitoring computer usage. With companies choosing to monitor employees, privacy laws are also catching up, and thus there is a need for explaining employee monitoring to prospective hires. Employee monitoring is defined as the use of monitoring devices and methods by companies to learn about their employees’ workplace behaviours and performance. (more…)

December 3, 2020

Hybrid working presents us with a once in a generation opportunity

by Michael Cockburn • Comment, Coworking, Flexible working, Technology

In the face of the revolutionary and long-lasting changes to workplaces across the world resulting from the pandemic, some commentators have suggested that the wide-spread necessity of adopting remote working practices may have made the office obsolete. However, such a dramatic upheaval to the very foundation of the workplace and working dynamic won’t come without a cost, and new data suggests that perhaps the office isn’t the dinosaur many assumed, but still a central pillar to effective businesses as part of a hybrid working strategy. (more…)

December 2, 2020

UK businesses still aren’t providing the flexible working employees want

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives

According to new research from Tiger Recruitment, UK businesses still aren’t offering workers enough flexibility. While the pandemic has required many to work more flexibly from home, more than a quarter of employees questioned say they still aren’t happy with the flexible working options available to them, and men are just as dissatisfied as women. (more…)

December 2, 2020

Workers demand green office technology from their employers

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Technology

Almost half (46 percent) of workers expect their employers to provide them with green technology equipment, such as laptops, printers and other devices, according to new research from Epson. (more…)

December 2, 2020

Cornerstone Innovation Lab unites data scientists across the company to advance AI in the workplace

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSOD), has announced the formation of the Cornerstone Innovation Lab for AI, a new centre of excellence within the company composed of data scientists and machine learning experts who specialise in innovating practical and ethical ways to apply AI technology to the workplace. (more…)

November 26, 2020

People still struggling with shift to remote living

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Wellbeing

A lack of balance through lockdown has been felt most dramatically by Brits living in house shares according to new research released by Microsoft Windows. The research claims that over 40 percent of people living with house mates, friends or professionals are finding it increasingly difficult to destress and unwind after a long and challenging day; while a further 1 in 5 of the UK population admit that work and play has become blurred in 2020. (more…)

November 25, 2020

Third of people working from home worry about mental health

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

In a recent survey of 4,000 office-based employees and 1,000 employers in the UK, U.S, Singapore and the UAE, a third of employees expressed concern for their mental health whilst working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, conducted by health benefits provider, Aetna International, examines the perceptions of both employers and employees when it comes to corporate health and well-being. (more…)

November 24, 2020

Digital skills gap poses major economic threat, Microsoft study claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The UK’s digital skills gap could pose a risk to economic recovery, new research from Microsoft claims, with over three-quarters of UK leaders citing a large digital talent pool as essential to driving UK competitiveness. The study, Unlocking the UK’s potential with digital skills, was conducted in partnership with Dr Chris Brauer at Goldsmiths, University of London to assess the UK’s skills gap and provide practical guidance for organisations on how to tackle it. It predicts the rise of a “Next Gen Worker” that is empowered by low-code and no-code technology, but also finds that a failure to embrace technological skills could leave companies struggling to compete on the global stage. (more…)

November 24, 2020

Covid-19 will transform the way technology is used in offices

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

A new paper from the British Council for Offices outlines how technology is being used in offices to combat Covid-19. While offices may be shut in the UK until 2nd December at the earliest, the paper outlines how the sector is adapting and embracing a range of new technology to ensure that offices can comply with hygiene and social distancing measures. (more…)

November 24, 2020

Area becomes founder membership of Studio Alliance network

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Workplace design and fit out company Area has become a founding member of Studio Alliance, a formal group of workplace experts who share common values, ethics and goals when delivering projects across Europe. Studio Alliance has been formed in response to accelerating globalisation and offers corporate occupiers and landlords local market knowledge combined with the experience of designing and delivering projects in over 5,000 buildings throughout 24 countries. (more…)

November 23, 2020

Younger workers suffer most from remote working, new study claims

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Working lives

Staff need on average three days a week (2.91) in the office to achieve maximum productivity, according to a new study by ISG. In results from the UK-wide “The Power of Place” study examining the future of the workplace, employees believed that spending on average three days a week in the office would be optimal for productivity. When asked how many days they thought would be needed to optimise their wellbeing, workers cited on average over half a day less, 2.34 days per week, in the office. (more…)