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 →
The COVID-19 pandemic is driving a fundamental shift in the way companies operate, accelerating the need for an adaptable and agile workforce to drive business success. According to 
More than 40 percent of young people aged 16-24 surveyed in the UK say they are putting their career or education plans on hold until the pandemic is over. The research, commissioned by 
Take-up of office space in the cities outside of Central London during Q4 2020 totalled 1.1m sq ft, an increase of 138 percent compared to Q3 2020. However, the overall take-up for 2020 reached 3.9m sq ft, a decline of 40 percent on the five-year average, according to research from real estate advisor 
Let’s be honest, work life pre 2020 had its flaws, whilst the longing for variety of scenery, change of pace and even a train journey (somewhere…ANYWHERE) would be welcomed by many of us right now, many of us had become a bit ‘hamster wheel’ in our approach. Commuting was stressful, expensive and time hungry; our natural and individual rhythms squeezed into a set 9-5 schedule and workplace design had become a bit ‘quantity over quality’ – desks have been reducing in size year upon year in order that capacity could be increased. We had reached a point at which everything was ripe for change but there was largely a resistance to both flexible working requests and embracing much of the technological advancements that were already at our fingertips. 
HR leaders are finding it increasingly difficult to quickly find and develop talent with the most in demand skills, yet 58 percent of the workforce needs new skill sets to get their jobs done, according to 
Working together in person has far-ranging benefits on everything from mental health to economic growth according to a new report by 
The UK jobs market recovered 170,000 jobs in January as the COVID-19 vaccination roll out boosted employer optimism, claims new research from job search engine 
How good your line manager is makes the difference between an employee coping or struggling in lockdown. But too often line managers’ heroic efforts are not noticed by their employers, claims new report, titled 
Outdated attitudes towards technology amongst senior facilities management business leaders are at risk of jeopardising future business survival, claims new research by 
The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the way in which we work and has brought in to focus the challenges around mental health and wellbeing. The recognition that we are in the midst of the biggest mental health crisis since the Second World War brings the challenge in to stark focus. Time to Talk Day (today) aims to get the nation talking more openly about mental health, and there could not be a better time for it. Research from 
February 9, 2021
Getting the measure of better working cultures
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design