October 15, 2020
Search Results for: benefits
October 15, 2020
The office has the potential to adapt to meet new needs
by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives
80 percent of us want to get back to the office, according to a new report from Dale Office Interiors, but only if they become more than just “places to work”. The research, which surveyed the opinions of UK employees and HR professionals, suggests a disconnect between what we believe offices should do, and the performance of our actual real-world offices – a problem HR heads feel is all the more stark now that we face a return to the office in a post-COVID world. (more…)
October 13, 2020
Temporary work set to increase due to uncertainty during pandemic
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News
New research by digital staffing platform Coople, claims temporary work is set to surge as more than a quarter of firms (27 percent) in the UK reconsider the role agency workers have in their business. Currently, just one in six firms (15 percent) rely on a flexible workforce, with 1.5m temporary employees in the UK. (more…)
October 9, 2020
Home workers in America spend four percent of their week resolving tech issues
by Jayne Smith • News, Technology
There are some good things about working in an office. Constant supplies of tea and coffee (if you’re lucky), gossip with your co-workers, and paper clips in every colour. But one of the best things has to be that when something goes wrong with your computer, the in-house IT helpdesk will have it sorted out quicker than you can say ‘so which buttons do you want me to press?!’ However, home workers don’t have this luxury. (more…)
October 8, 2020
Most people with mental health issues would prefer a robot therapist to a human
by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Wellbeing
2020 has been the most stressful year in history for the global workforce and people want robots to help, according to a new study by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, an HR research and advisory firm. The study of more than 12,000 employees, managers, HR leaders, and C-level executives across 11 countries claims that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased workplace stress, anxiety, burnout and other mental health issues for people all around the world, and would prefer a robot instead of other people to help. (more…)
October 8, 2020
Mental health support from employers is top priority for employees
by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

Out of the four key pillars of wellbeing (mental, financial, physical and social), mental health is the number one priority that employees believe their employer should be responsible for supporting, with half (49 percent) of employees choosing this over the other areas of wellbeing, claims research from GRiD, the group risk industry body. (more…)
October 5, 2020
Coronavirus will lead to a permanent change in the way we work
by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News
Coronavirus will have a lasting impact on office use and levels of remote and flexible working, new figures from the Institute of Directors suggest. That is the unsurprising findings of a survey of close to a thousand company directors conducted in September. The poll claims nearly three quarters (74 percent) of respondents said their firms would maintain increased levels of remote and flexible after the pandemic ends. (more…)
October 2, 2020
Time for businesses to establish more meaningful wellbeing initiatives
by Jolawn Victor • Comment, Wellbeing
Over the years, mental health has become a prominent feature of wellbeing initiatives in many businesses, but especially in the wake of the pandemic. However, our research has found that more than half of the UK workforce (54 percent) do not feel that mental health benefits are a priority in their organisation. This is despite half of workers believing that mental health benefits are essential post-COVID-19. (more…)
October 2, 2020
What (nearly) everybody gets wrong about work and the coronavirus
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design
You’ve probably read and heard dozens, or even hundreds, of different viewpoints about the effect of the pandemic on the world of work. Most of them (until recently perhaps) have dished up one of the two binary options as part of a zero-sum game. Many are based on hackneyed ideas and expressed as clichés. (more…)
September 29, 2020
Flexible working is crucial for many older workers
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives
The Centre for Ageing Better and Timewise have launched a toolkit to help employers maximise the benefits of flexible working. Experts at the two organisations say that enabling flexible working is particularly crucial in retaining the skills and talents of workers aged over 50, enabling them to manage health needs and caring responsibilities as well as achieve a better work-life balance. (more…)
September 28, 2020
Nature positive cities have potential to transform the world
by Neil Franklin • Cities, Environment, News, Workplace design
COVID-19 recovery packages that include infrastructure development will influence the relationship between cities, humans and nature for the next 30 to 50 years. With the built environment home to half the world’s population and making up 40 percent of global GDP, cities are an engine of global growth and crucial to the economic recovery. (more…)





With current government advice encouraging all those who can work from home to do so, it’s no surprise that Britain’s businesses and employees are navigating a new normal. New research from 











October 8, 2020
The workplace has reached an inflection point as it adjusts to new realities
by Robin Davies • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design