Search Results for: business

Basic income experiment increased wellbeing but did not encourage people to find work

Basic income experiment increased wellbeing but did not encourage people to find work

by • News

Giving jobless people in Finland a basic income for two years improved their self-perceived wellbeing but did not lead them to find work, researchers have concluded. In the trial, from January 2017 until December 2018, 2,000 unemployed Finns were paid a monthly flat amount of €560.  The aim was to see if a guaranteed payment would help people to find jobs and support them in taking on more insecure work. While employment levels did not improve, participants reported to the researchers that they felt happier and less stressed.

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A worthwhile workplace trends list, permanent beta, nudge nudge, think think and some other stuff

A worthwhile workplace trends list, permanent beta, nudge nudge, think think and some other stuff

by • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

If there’s just one thing that makes my heart sink more precipitously than the word ‘trends’, it’s when it’s preceded by the words Top and Ten. So it’s nice to have been surprised by this list of workplace trends that displays the wherewithal and insight to call on those people in the sector who might have something informed and interesting to say about where it all might be headed this year. Don’t be put off by the headline, even if you’re as jaded as I am.

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Post digital era offers the chance to create personalised experiences at work

Post digital era offers the chance to create personalised experiences at work

by • AI, News, Technology

The enterprise is entering a new “post-digital” era, where success will be based on an organisation’s ability to master a set of new technologies that can deliver personalised realities and experiences for customers, employees and business partners, according to the Accenture Technology Vision 2019 annual report that sets out to predict the key technology trends that will redefine businesses over the next three years. More →

Staff wellbeing moves up the HR agenda and yes, includes the provision of free fruit

Staff wellbeing moves up the HR agenda and yes, includes the provision of free fruit

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employers have placed wellbeing high on their agenda in a bid to encourage employee engagement and reduce absence, claims new research from XpertHR. More than half of employers (54.4 percent) run informal employee wellbeing initiatives, while one-in-five (22 percent) has a formal programme in place. The majority of these formal employee wellbeing programmes (69.6 percent) have been in place for a year or more – demonstrating a high level of employer commitment but also that programmes have gained traction within organisations. More →

Finding the Goldilocks Point for collaborative workplace design

Finding the Goldilocks Point for collaborative workplace design

by • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

two people working togetherOne of the great paradoxes of modern life is the ever increasing likelihood of breakdowns in communication in a world in which we have more ways to talk to each other than ever before. This can play out in especially toxic ways in the wider world, but its effects in the workplace can also be problematic. Most importantly, what we often assume to be true about communication and collaboration may not be borne out by the facts and this in turn has implications for workplace design.

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Half of HR departments plan to offer new employee benefits

Half of HR departments plan to offer new employee benefits

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

According to Gallagher’s Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey (registration required), 45 percent of HR practitioners are planning changes to current employee benefit offerings amid a highly competitive labour market. The survey shows an increasing number of organisations are fully aware of the measurable impact that benefits have on engagement and productivity. Among HR practitioners planning changes, 72 percent are seeking to enhance benefits, thereby improving their employer brand and becoming more competitive in recruitment. The second-most popular planned change is improving flexibility in benefits, with 47 percent attempting to bolster flexible options to extend individual choice. More →

Maybe the time has come to shoot the workplace messenger

Maybe the time has come to shoot the workplace messenger

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

I spent some time with Frank Duffy recently, releasing a stream of memories of working with him, first as an employee at DEGW during the 1980s, and then as a client while directing developer Stanhope’s research programme during the 1990s. Along with his long-term business partner, John Worthington, and thinkers including Franklin Becker, Gerald Davis, Michael Joroff and Jack Tanis, to name a few, Frank helped sketch out the grand scheme of what we now call ‘workplace’. Much of the work of their successors has involved filling in the matrix of detail within the grand scheme. But further reflection has caused me to ask whether, in filling in the finer details, we have recently somehow lost our way. Are we, the ‘workplace profession’, instead of standing on giants’ shoulders, now just pandering to fads and fancies? Or, even more radical, might it be that ‘workplace’ is now done, and that we’ve run out of meaningful things to say? More →

Sleeping on the job: the cultures of sleep and napping from around the world

Sleeping on the job: the cultures of sleep and napping from around the world

by • News, Wellbeing

There’s a pretty well proven link between lack of sleep and negative emotion, but is catching 40 winks whilst at work a proven solution? Research from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) suggests that lack of sleep can have a negative impact on emotion. Could naps of 20-30 minutes make for a more productive workforce, and have a positive impact on mood, concentration and attention? Following the findings that loss of sleep could be costing the UK £40bn a year, is it time to make a change to our sleeping habits? To find out, Brother has produced a study of the eight sleeping customs from around the world, and explored how they could have a positive impact on people and businesses.

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Employees think Internet of Things will be most important workplace technology trend

Employees think Internet of Things will be most important workplace technology trend

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

A team from Savills’ flexible office platform Workthere has predicted the top five tech trends we’re likely to see arriving into offices across the UK in 2019. Supporting the research, Workthere also completed a survey of 2,000 office workers to find out their views on the future of workplace technology as defined by the original study. The poll suggests that employees think that the Internet of Things will have the biggest impact on their day to day working lives followed by voice activated technologies and wireless charging.

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Employee use of apps at work puts their organisation at risk of cyber-attack

Employee use of apps at work puts their organisation at risk of cyber-attack

by • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

Employee use of apps at work leaves their organisation at risk of cyber-attackWorkers continued use of unapproved apps in the office, including Instagram, Facebook Messenger and Snapchat, to communicate with colleagues as well as friends and family is putting their organisations at risk of cyber-attack, new research suggests. Four in ten employees (41 percent) admit to using Instagram for more than two hours each day, despite the app being banned in almost half of UK organisations. The majority of employees are well aware that certain apps are not approved for workplace use, but this hasn’t stopped them breaking the rules.

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Green Building Council sets out to define net zero carbon building

Green Building Council sets out to define net zero carbon building

by • Environment, News

The UK Green Building Council has published a consultation paper inviting feedback on a proposed definition for net zero carbon buildings. The consultation sets out the initial proposals from the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Task Group which is developing a framework definition in line with the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement.

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UK cities joining the global movement to net zero building

UK cities joining the global movement to net zero building

by • Cities, Environment, Features

The UK is joining a global drive towards a ‘net zero carbon’ future, with its biggest cities setting ambitious decarbonisation targets in an effort to reduce their impact on the environment. Manchester plans to be a carbon-neutral city by 2038, while Bristol aims for full decarbonisation by 2030. In London, all new buildings will be net zero carbon by 2030, as the UK strives to meet targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement.

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