February 19, 2021
Search Results for: business
February 18, 2021
The return to buildings will now focus attention on ventilation
by Hywel Davies • Facilities management, Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design
The UK COVID-19 vaccination programme is well underway. Once the over 50s, younger people with health conditions, NHS and care workers have received the vaccine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been clear that current lockdown restrictions could be lifted in stages with schools and business a top priority. The situation is under review, but there is an expectation that business premises could reopen as early as Easter, when a large proportion of the working age population may not have been vaccinated. That means the focus in workplaces and other multi-occupant spaces, especially those open to the public, must remain on limiting transmission to prevent the spread of coronavirus to un-vaccinated people, and especially on factors such as ventilation. (more…)
February 18, 2021
Self-employed workers and side hustlers to drive the UK’s economic recovery
by Jayne Smith • Business, News
Research released by Mettle and YouGov estimates that the UK’s growing self-employed and side hustler movement will contribute an estimated £125 billion in turnover to the UK’s economic recovery in 2021. Furthermore, small and medium-sized businesses (with 1-49 employees) are estimated to contribute approximately £310.46 billion. (more…)
February 18, 2021
AI fosters a happier and more productive workforce, research claims
by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Working culture
Businesses using artificial intelligence (AI) solutions benefit from a happier and more efficient workforce, claims new research from Fountech Solutions. A survey of more than 750 decision-makers within UK businesses highlights the employee and organisational benefits of deploying artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. (more…)
February 18, 2021
Four new companies join WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment
by Jayne Smith • Environment, News
WorldGBC has announced four new companies as signatories to its Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment), signalling global industry leadership to decarbonise the built environment and combat climate change. The Commitment now has a total of 132 signatories, with 98 businesses & organisations, 28 cities and six states & regions. The businesses and organisations signed up to the Commitment now account for over 5 million (tCO2e) of portfolio emissions. (more…)
February 17, 2021
Learning by observation reduces cognitive bias, research suggests
by Neil Franklin • News, Working culture, Workplace design
Research from the Business School (formerly Cass) suggests that observing others’ decision-making can teach people to make better decisions themselves. The study, co-authored by Professor Irene Scopelliti, Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science, tested the effectiveness of a new debiasing learning strategy and claims the first evidence that watching others make decisions can improve our own decision making. (more…)
February 17, 2021
Hybrid working is the new expectation of pressured employees
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture
The past twelve months have proved to be a watershed year for workplace digital transformation and the urgent shift to remote working has seen the world experience two years of digital transformation in two months. New research from Microsoft Surface claims to examine the impact of this transformation on the UK workforce, suggesting that employees are happier, but under more pressure working from home – despite almost 9 out of 10 (87 percent) of employees reporting their businesses have adapted to ‘hybrid working’. (more…)
February 17, 2021
More than half of UK workers planning to take on a side hustle
by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working lives
February 17, 2021
New social enterprise aims to bring work back to unemployed people with disabilities
by Freddie Steele • Company news
Two and a half million Brits are expected to be unemployed this year after the fall out of the pandemic. A concern for many has been how disabled people will fare with the aftermath. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is more than twice those who are able bodied. (more…)
February 16, 2021
Investment in digital technology set to deliver £232bn boost to UK economy by 2040
by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Technology
Investment in digital technology is set to increase UK GDP by £232bn (6.9 percent) in 2040, according to a new study by Virgin Media Business and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The research, which examines how more digital ways of working can support the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19, claims investment in technology could boost the economy by £74bn in 2025. (more…)
February 12, 2021
Mental health related workplace absenteeism costs soared to £14bn in 2020
by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Wellbeing
The impact of the nation’s deteriorating mental health from Covid-19 lockdowns and other restrictions cost UK businesses £14bn last year, according to a study by Westfield Health. The cost of absenteeism from work due to mental health reasons increased last year by £1.3bn from 2019’s totals as work from home, travel restrictions, furlough and pay cuts changed the workplace for millions of people across the UK. (more…)
February 16, 2021
We must seize the chance to go full circle on sustainable office design
by Joanna Knight • Comment, Environment, JK