September 25, 2019

Flexible working in the age of longevity

by Richard Morris • Comment, Property, Wellbeing, Working lives

Global life expectancy is growing at its fastest rate since the 1960s. Today, a 20-year-old has a 50 per cent chance of living to 100. Even if you are 60, you have an evens chance of reaching 90. A long life can be a gift, but of course it also has implications for how we live our lives and in particular how we plan to work and fund those extra years. Clearly there is a role for employers in creating work environments and flexible working cultures that recognise and maximise the potential of the 100-year life. (more…)

September 20, 2019

Flexible working now routine for two thirds of US workers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing

A new report from Owl Labs claims that although two-thirds of US workers now work away from their main place of work some of the time, there are still many people and organisations that are unaware of the benefits, processes and challenges involved in flexible working. The new report explores the effect flexible working has on personal happiness, recruitment, retention and skills as well as exploring the attitudes of people who are based in a fixed place of work.

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September 19, 2019

Workers want firms to do more about air quality

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Flexible working, sharing information about local clean air routes and incentivising active travel are just some of the ideas being put to businesses today as new research suggests employers need to do more to address the issue of air quality and pollution for staff both in the workplace and on their commute. (more…)

September 17, 2019

The four day week problem, WeWork delays IPO, harbingers of doom and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Flexible working, Property, Technology, Workplace design

It’s interesting to watch what happens when politicians – even more so than normal people – are faced with evidence they don’t like. And it’s especially interesting when they asked for the evidence in the first place. You can pick your own examples but it was interesting to note Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell’s immediate and decidedly lukewarm response to his own report into the wisdom of introducing a 4 day week, which concluded that the idea is ‘not realistic or even desirable’. (more…)

September 17, 2019

US firms dominate most desirable workplaces for tech workers

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace design

The BBC, Monzo and Skyscanner are the companies UK top tech talent wants to work for the most according to new research from Hired which has today released its annual Brand Health Report. However, despite the UK’s flourishing tech landscape, British business are not featured on the global list of the top 15 private or public companies indicating that UK brands are losing popularity. This is especially worrying at a time when 60 percent of London firms apparently anticipate a ‘Brexit Brain Drain’. (more…)

August 23, 2019

London is the most productive region in the UK

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News

London is the most productive region in the UK, followed by the South East and Scotland according to new research from the the University of Durham Business School. Economists Professor Richard Harris and Professor John Moffat conducted the research and also found that the least productive region was Wales, with London having productivity levels over double the amount of Wales. London receives between twice and three times as much per capita funding for transport than any other region. (more…)

August 9, 2019

Helsinki tops global rankings for work-life balance

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Wellbeing

Helsinki is the world’s best city for work-life balance according to a new study from technology business Kisi which compares data on a range of factors such as “livability”, work intensity, institutional support, equality and legislation to rank cities. Helsinki, Munich, and Oslo are the three best ranked cities while the cities deemed as having the worst work-life balance were Tokyo, Singapore, and Washington DC. Using data relating to work intensity, social wellbeing, and livability to analyse the interplay between work and life, the index claims to assess how successful residents are at achieving a healthy work-life balance in 40 cities around the world. (more…)

August 7, 2019

Flexible working has increased dramatically in last two decades

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

The proportion of people with some form of flexible working has increased dramatically in the last two decades. That is according to an analysis of working trends by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). According to the 1999 Labour Force Survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the percentage of people working flexible hours in the UK was 9.5 percent at that time. Recent statistics from CIPD, however, show that this number has drastically increased, with 54 percent of workers currently having the option of some form of flexibility in their time and place of work. (more…)

August 6, 2019

School holidays signal stress for home-workers

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace

For many working parents the summer school holidays can be a cause of stress instead of a time for rest and relaxation.With children no longer occupied at school, many parents choose to work from home to juggle both work and childcare, but productivity can suffer with family, pets and noisy household appliances found to be the main distractions for home workers. The 2019 Global Workspace Survey, conducted by IWG on 2000 UK respondents, claims that interruptions from children or other family members is the number one obstacle being faced by professionals who take advantage of home working. (more…)

August 1, 2019

Number of remote workers in US shows massive increase

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Based on an analysis of American Community Survey data by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs, the number of remote workers in the US increased 159 percent between 2005 and 2017. This new data is based on an analysis of the most current US government data available (from 2017, released in 2018), and represents the most up-to-date statistics about remote work in the United States. 3.4 percent of the total US workforce currently telecommute, up from 2.9 percent in 2015. The terms telecommuters and remote workers are defined in the report as non-self-employed people who principally work from home at least half-time. (more…)

July 26, 2019

Self-employment might be good for mental health

by Mark Stabile • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The general picture of self-employment, the gig economy work and mental wellbeing is not a pretty one. Around the world, Uber drivers face wage and security worries. Deliveroo workers have too much competition. Airbnb owners face legal problems in Paris and other cities. But while these headlines suggest a dark cloud over the heads of gig economy workers, recent data I’ve looked at unexpectedly shows that they are about 33 percent more likely to self-report positive mental health traits.
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July 19, 2019

Flexible working could be the default for all jobs in UK

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, Legal news, News

Flexible working could become the default for all jobs in the UK, under proposed legislation being considered by the UK government. The most important consequence will be that employees will no longer be expected to use their right request flexible working for an employer to consider, as is currently the case. (more…)