April 25, 2022

The studied carelessness of agile workplaces

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design

In recent years we have grown very fond of borrowing foreign words to describe some of the more difficult to express ideas about wellbeing and the new era of agile, experiential and engaging work. We’ve adopted Eudaimonia from the Ancient Greek of Aristotle to describe the nuances of wellbeing, happiness and purpose. We went nuts briefly for the Scandinavian idea of hygge to describe a copy and laid-back approach to life that we felt we’d been lacking. (more…)

April 22, 2022

Hybrid working and how we escape the constraints of leadership

by John Higgins and Jennifer Bryan • Comment, Flexible working

Jennifer was at the ballet the other day, watching Acosta Danza, and there was a dance with ropes. In the movement of the relationship of the dancers, the mood, the emotion were all defined using the rope. It was very beautiful. Then towards the end the ropes were taken away and everything changed – the performers were liberated, unconstrained. At first like a frenzy, but then the dancers started to gel together letting go of the need for the rope. And this got her thinking about the role of constraint in leading change, especially in the new era of hybrid working. (more…)

April 22, 2022

Great Resignation: nearly half of job quitters think they were better off in the old job

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Nearly half of people (43 percent) who quit their jobs as part of the so-called Great Resignation during the pandemic now think they were actually better off at their old job. This revelation comes from a six-country survey of nearly 4,000 people by UKG that examines sentiment about quitting during the Great Resignation, including if job leavers felt that they made the right decision, the disconnect between managers and employees about why people quit, and the chances workers would boomerang back to their old job. (more…)

April 20, 2022

The effects of workplace change may not be the ones we expect

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

There’s a scene in the 1986 horror movie The Fly in which Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) persuades the reporter Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) to try two steaks, one of which Brundle has just sent between two teleportation pods in an effort to work out why the pods can’t process organic matter, including the organic matter that had recently belonged to a very unfortunate baboon. (more…)

April 19, 2022

Four-day working week can improve wellbeing and reduce social inequality

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Research from the University of Kent has shown how a national four-day working week can positively impact workers and their families’ wellbeing, improve social cohesion and reduce social inequality. In a paper published by the Journal of Social Policy, Professor Heejung Chung from Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research discusses how a shorter working week can help tackle issues by giving workers the ‘right to time’, shifting a balance between work and non-work activities in daily life. (more…)

April 14, 2022

Half of large office occupiers plan to rethink their property requirements

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

Larger office occupiers are getting to grips with the fallout following the pandemic and are now reassessing their office property needs, according to a new YouGov survey commissioned by law firm Irwin Mitchell. The survey of over 500 office property decision makers shows that nearly half (46 percent) of large businesses and (39 percent) of medium sized companies plan to rethink their office space- whether by upsizing, downsizing, or relocating. The survey shows that one in five large businesses plan to increase their existing office space, with the same proportion looking to reduce space and 5 percent to relocate. In addition, 11 percent are looking to reconfigure their existing space. While 37 percent plan to stay the same. (more…)

April 13, 2022

The cargo cult of modern office design

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design

The idea of the cargo cult derives from anthropological observations made about the behaviour of societies that encounter more technologically advanced societies. In particular it is rooted in those rituals and objects created by Pacific islanders in an attempt to attract modern goods and technology and generally earn favour with people who they thought could prevent terrible events. (more…)

April 13, 2022

Firms mark the cards of employees who go mute or turn cameras off in remote meetings

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Technology

Nearly all executives (96 percent) agree that primarily remote workers are disadvantaged compared to those who work primarily in the office, according to a poll of 200 executives at large US firms, commissioned by Vyopta. However, 92 percent of respondents also believe employees who are less engaged, either frequently on mute or don’t turn on their camera during remote meetings, probably don’t have a long-term future at their company. (more…)

April 6, 2022

Structural and cultural change are what we need to escape the wellbeing rut

by Simon O'Kane • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Wellbeing has been one of the largest challenges to the UK workforce over the last several years. A recent study by the Mental Health Foundation and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), states that mental health problems cost the UK economy at least £117.9 billion every year – around 5 percent of the UK’s GDP. Companies recognise the urgency to help: British employers planned to increase spending on employee mental health and wellbeing by 18 percent from 2021 to 2022. But the long and short of the issue is that this progress is being outpaced by accelerating burnout rates among workers. (more…)

April 5, 2022

Hybrid working burnout is inevitable, say third of workers

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Over one in three (36 percent) UK workers believe burnout is an inevitable part of their career, according to new data based on 2,000 UK knowledge workers. The figure, which rises to 41 percent of managers was noted by UK workers as a natural part of career progression by those who had experienced it. UK employees are feeling isolated at home when part of a hybrid working culture and they’re struggling to balance priorities and establish clear boundaries. (more…)

April 5, 2022

Wellbeing and mental health drop down business agenda, despite COVID fallout

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Wellbeing and mental health are beginning to slip down the business agenda, a new report from the CIPD and Simplyhealth claims, despite the fact that organisations are still dealing with the fallout from COVID-19 and it remains an on-going concern for workers. The Health and Wellbeing at Work 2022 report suggests that the number of HR professionals who think that wellbeing is on the agenda of senior leaders has fallen from 75 percent to 70 percent in the past year. There has also been a drop in the proportion of HR professionals who think senior leaders encourage a focus on mental wellbeing through their actions and behaviours, falling from 48 percent in 2021 to 42 percent in 2022. (more…)

March 31, 2022

Firms must do more to earn the commute of hybrid workers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

Steelcase has released a new global research report which reveals that outdated offices are no longer conducive to employees’ shifting needs for greater control, comfort, and privacy. The study found that if a workplace was made more in tune with shifting expectations, staff were more engaged, productive, connected to their organisation’s culture and less likely to leave. The Steelcase report, The New Era of Hybrid Work, surveyed nearly 5,000 workers in 11 countries. The findings reveal that whilst 87 percent of respondents now spend at least some of their time working from the office as the threat of the pandemic recedes, six in ten (58 percent) prefer working from home. One of the most appealing attributes of a home for two-thirds (65 percent) of UK employees is that they have a dedicated space for work. Whereas in the office, the majority (59 percent) have desks in open areas, with minimal privacy. (more…)