January 14, 2021

2021 presents the tech sector with once in a generation opportunities

by Uta Dresch • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic left businesses in an unprecedented position of having to rapidly adapt workplace practices and implement new processes at a moment’s notice. Of course, those companies that were already accustomed to home office set-ups and flexible hours were in a much better place to adapt to these changing circumstances. However, not all businesses were prepared for the sudden change to work routines. (more…)

December 11, 2020

Firms should be aware of the legal implications of employee monitoring

by James Castro-Edwards • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace

Employee 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…)

December 3, 2020

Businesses must face up to risks beyond the pandemic

by Jayne Smith • Business, News

There’s no question what has occupied the majority of attention for risk managers during 2020. But Healix International, believes the all-consuming consequences of the pandemic could leave governments and employers exposed to other risks in 2021. (more…)

November 4, 2020

Upskilling opportunities during lockdown: UK employers miss the mark

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Working lives

According to new research from Pluralsight, Inc. (NASDAQ: PS), the technology skills and engineering management platform, 43 percent of UK office workers are worried they will be left behind as companies seek new skills to cope with the rapid pace of change. Yet, despite these upskilling concerns, 47 percent have neglected learning any new skills since the lockdown began in the UK on March 23rd. (more…)

November 4, 2020

UK tech skills gap set to narrow as half of UK workers consider a career change

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Technology

New research from CWJobs claims the UK tech skills gap is set to narrow. Surveying over 2,000 professionals, comprising of 1,120 tech workers and 1,026 non-tech workers, the report suggests that over half (55 percent) of non-tech workers contemplating a career change have considered or have begun the process of moving into a tech-based role, with almost one in 10 (8 percent) having already made the move. (more…)

June 30, 2020

A chance to build a cleaner future as economy rebuilds

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News

The European Union is strengthening its efforts to make its energy systems cleaner and more resilient, reinforcing its global leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new energy policy review by the International Energy Agency.

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May 20, 2020

People miss the office but most do not want to return full time

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The latest report on the attitudes of people towards their working lives after lockdown comes from Okta, Inc. in its report The New Workplace: Re-imagining Work After 2020, which claims to highlight the technological and cultural challenges office workers have faced as well as the lesson businesses can take to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, which was conducted by YouGov, surveyed 2,000+ office workers across the UK, also found differences about the impact our new way of work has had on London based workers compared to workers in the rest of the country. (more…)

May 13, 2020

Pandemic threatens the transition to clean energy

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News

The coronavirus pandemic risks cancelling out recent progress in transitioning to clean energy, with unprecedented falls in demand, price volatility and pressure to quickly mitigate socioeconomic costs placing the near-term trajectory of the transition in doubt. Policies, roadmaps and governance frameworks for energy transition at national, regional, and global levels need to be more robust and resilient against external shocks, according to the latest edition of World Economic Forum’s Fos tering Effective Energy Transition 2020 report published today. (more…)

April 13, 2020

Finnish consortium creates new global smart buildings standard

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

A consortium of Finnish companies backed by government funding have launched a smart buildings platform that they hope will will enable the collection, analysis and automatic application of data in building maintenance and design worldwide. (more…)

April 7, 2020

Manchester set to be the next UK tech hub

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News

Manchester could be set to see an influx of tech talent in the next three years, according to new research from CWJobs, the UK’s leading tech job board. Surveying 1,000 tech workers, Manchester emerged as the top choice outside of the capital (22 percent) to work in, with a fifth (20 percent) also revealing it’s the city they would choose to set up a tech business in the next three years, ahead of Birmingham (11 percent) and Edinburgh (8 percent). In the same survey, 505 IT decision makers (IT DM) also placed Manchester as the best location to set up a tech business, with over a quarter (27 percent) choosing the city. (more…)

March 18, 2020

The UK`s tech sector continues to thrive

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Britain’s digital sector is growing at six times the pace of the country’s other industries, according to new research from Tech Nation. According to the annual study, technology businesses contributed around £149 billion to the UK economy in 2018, nearly 8 percent of GDP. Since 2017 staff numbers at digital companies have risen by 40 percent to 2.9 million, nearly tenth of the total UK workforce. (more…)

March 9, 2020

Out of the shadows – and staying out?

by Neil Usher • Comment

Our understanding of the positive contribution a fantastic workplace can make to the people and organisations that inhabit them has come a long way since the Hawthorne experiments almost a hundred years ago. The conclusions of the study were that the physical workplace was a mere hygiene factor, able to make little difference. Claims to its almost mystical powers we frequently hear today would have been unthinkable for the majority of the century that the workplace spent in the shadows. (more…)