Search Results for: covid

Supporting change during the pandemic with Simplicity Smart Lockers

Supporting change during the pandemic with Simplicity Smart Lockers

The way in which we work has changed in a way no one would have ever predicted as a result of last year’s pandemic. Consequently, many businesses have chosen to adopt to an agile working practise. This coupled with the rapid evolution of the hybrid workplace has allowed more employees than ever the flexibility to work from home, many people however still crave that interaction with colleagues, and the ‘corridor conversations’ that cannot be replicated via Zoom and can only happen with workplace collaboration. More →

The shape of things to come for the world and the workplace

The shape of things to come for the world and the workplace

Originally published in March, right at the start of all this. Makes me wonder how far we’ve come in nine months. In Dorian Lynskey’s The Ministry of Truth, a “biography” of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the author describes how Orwell’s  book was the end point of an obsession with utopian (and ultimately dystopian) fiction that characterised the first half of the Twentieth Century, and reflected the competing political, social and economic ideologies of the era. More →

Mental wellbeing needs of employees should be a greater priority for businesses

Mental wellbeing needs of employees should be a greater priority for businesses

Mental healthData from thousands of employees across the country has been aggregated in a new report, detailing the mental wellbeing of the workforce over the course of the year. The research from 87 percent, a digital platform that provides mental health assessment and support to businesses and their employees, shows how the workforce has struggled with the mental pressures of Covid-19. Since March, circumstances at work and pressures in our personal lives have badly affected our mental wellbeing. More →

Working from home stresses have had the greatest impact on women

Working from home stresses have had the greatest impact on women

working from homeA review of research in organisational and workplace psychology conducted by an international team of academics claims that working from home has been more disruptive for women than men. The review paper, entitled COVID-19 and the Workplace: Implications, Issues, and Insights for Future Research and Action and originally published in American Psychologist, features urgent insight from UCL School of Management Professor, Sunny Lee into the sex- and gender-related implications of changes in work practices that have taken place over the course of 2020. More →

Organisations weigh up options to make workplace fit for the future

Organisations weigh up options to make workplace fit for the future

a fit for the future workplaceAvison Young, realestateworks and HLM Architects have launched a new report that assesses the impact of this year’s pandemic on workplace and corporate real estate strategies in the longer-term. Over 100 private and public sector companies were asked about their evolving approach to working culture, office design and portfolio strategies in the context of multiple forces of change, including greater resilience, the decarbonisation agenda, personalisation, remote working and the integration of the physical and virtual workspaces. More →

Less than half of employers plan to take on a young person next year

Less than half of employers plan to take on a young person next year

Only 46 percent of employers plan to hire a young person between the age of 16 and 24 in the next year despite new Government incentives to do so, a report from the CIPD suggests. Over 1,000 employers were surveyed for the CIPD’s COVID-19 and the youth labour market report which examines the likely impact of new incentives to boost provision of traineeships, apprenticeships, and six-month work placements through the Kickstart scheme – as outlined in the ‘Plan for Jobs’, which was presented to Parliament in July 2020. More →

Trust is hard to find in the workplace, report suggests

Trust is hard to find in the workplace, report suggests

workplaceAs the world prepares to close the book on the unprecedented events of 2020 and looks ahead to 2021 with renewed hope and optimism, global research from The Workforce Institute at UKG explores the importance of elevating trust to a foundational imperative to create high-performing workplace cultures that better serve customers and their communities. More →

People centric innovation will be key business priority in near future

People centric innovation will be key business priority in near future

InnovationThe pandemic has shaken up business priorities and many predict that it will continue to have lasting influence on the future direction of organisations. It is predicted that innovation and more compassionate leadership will take centre stage, according to a new study by ‘Future Trends in Leadership & Management – shifting priorities’, from The Institute of Leadership & Management. More →

Preparing for a mental health epidemic is a shared responsibility

Preparing for a mental health epidemic is a shared responsibility

mental healthWith the continuous impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health due to isolation, work uncertainty, and anxiety over health, the topic has been dominating the news, begging the question of how we can achieve accessible and cost-effective treatment for all and prevent the expected acceleration of mental health issues in the coming months. As we juggle a different type of work-life balance brought about by working from home and the added worry of how the pandemic is affecting us, there is no doubt that our daily lives have been disrupted. The statistics are alarming; 60 percent of adults reported their mental health had gotten worse during the COVID-19 lockdown, and 51 percent said their mental health has got worse during this period. More →

The majority of employees admit to boozing while working from home

The majority of employees admit to boozing while working from home

working from homeTo say that 2020 has been a tough year is an understatement, and it appears that there has been an increase in the amount of alcohol being consumed whilst working from home since the pandemic began, according to Health and Safety software company Protecting.co.uk. More →

Firms should be aware of the legal implications of employee monitoring

Firms should be aware of the legal implications of employee monitoring

employee monitoringEmployee monitoring is an emotive topic. Businesses may wish to monitor their staff for a variety of reasons. For instance, they may wish to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of confidential or sensitive information, or detect attempts to steal valuable intellectual property. In the current conditions, dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses have opted to use automated means to monitor staff productivity. However, from an employee’s perspective, the use of monitoring software may be intrusive if not distressing. Further, if it has been implemented without regard to data protection law, it is potentially illegal. More →

19 million annual leave days lost in the UK

19 million annual leave days lost in the UK

annual leaveAs lockdown restrictions and tier systems continue to cause chaos, Direct Line Travel Insurance claims 16 million UK workers still have unused annual leave as we near the end of 2020. With many unsure what to use holiday for as they are unable to go away or socialise with people, more than 19 million days of annual leave look set to be lost by UK employees. More →