February 12, 2021
Mental health related workplace absenteeism costs soared to £14bn in 2020
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…)
Senior executives aged 55+ have fared better than ‘millennial’ leaders (aged under 35) during the global pandemic. 
Amazon has submitted plans for its new $2.5 billion headquarters campus, known as HQ2, in Arlington County. Virginia. The NBBJ designed proposal for the PenPlace campus includes a 350 ft glass tower, three 22-story towers offering 2.8 million sq. ft of office space, a 250-seat outdoor amphitheatre, public green space, and several other buildings. The centre piece tower, officially dubbed The Helix, is a plant covered structure to emphasize the firm’s commitment to the environment and biophilic design. 
Companies are searching for ways to reinvent the office and give employees reasons to return to their workplace and a new report by 
Research by 
As SME leaders plan for the year ahead, 
As businesses attempt to stay afloat amid the fluctuating circumstances in the UK, research claims that UK employees are increasingly placing salary packages as the most important factor when it comes to career management. The research by 
Mace has announced that it has achieved its ambition to be a net zero carbon business in 2020. Following the statement in January 2020 that the company had committed to the ambitious target, the executive board has confirmed that after driving down its carbon emissions as far as possible across its developments and operations it has offset the remaining emissions. 
BlackRock is one of the largest asset management companies on the planet. Each year, at the start of January, the CEO Larry Fink writes a letter addressed to the other CEOs of the world. In his New Year’s letter for 2020, Fink appealed in particular to his fellow CEOs’ sense of social responsibility. In particular, he focused in on the risks faced by the climate. “Climate risk is an investment risk,” and he called on all companies, both public and private, to create greater societal added value. “Society is looking increasingly to companies to solve social and economic problems,” he concludes, so asset managers should be encouraged to invest in companies with a ‘purpose’. 
Research published by 
February 10, 2021
Ten point green plan needs to be embraced by organisations
by Paul Scriven • Comment, Environment