June 8, 2022

Burnout doesn’t have to be the inevitable outcome of proving your value at work

by Dr Sahar Yousef • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

Research from Asana shows that three quarters (75 percent) of UK knowledge workers experienced burnout in 2021. Perhaps even more concerning is that over a third (36 percent) of workers believe burnout is inevitable to career success. This worrying and unsustainable trend shows that for many employees, constantly checking email, working weekends, and burning out seems to be the best way to show their value at work. (more…)

May 31, 2022

A third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Over a third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home, and only 6 percent have been trained for hybrid meetings, claims a new report from Leeds University Business School. The report is an interactive tool and suggests practical measures based on evaluation of stakeholders and employee interviews, industry workshops, cross-industry surveys of UK office workers, employee diaries and case study corporations. (more…)

May 18, 2022

‘Return to office’ remains a divisive issue

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

According to a survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Citrix Systems, employees remain divided on how they want to work going forward. Based on the poll: the majority enjoy the flexibility they’ve been given to work from anywhere and are willing to leave jobs to maintain it. Of the 6,500 workers polled in ten countries, 57 percent prefer hybrid work, and 69 percent will ditch their current positions if it isn’t an option and they are asked to return to office based working. (more…)

May 11, 2022

Job dissatisfaction is rife among senior executives – and hybrid working doesn’t help

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

Widespread job dissatisfaction means a large proportion of senior executives from top US companies plan to leave their organisations in the next two years, according to a new report from KellyOCG. According to the 2022 KellyOCG Global Workforce Report – Re:work – there’s a significant disconnect between employees’ expectations and the support employers provide. Through a survey of C-suite leaders, board members, department heads, directors, and managers in 12 countries, including the United States and Canada, the report claims that 78 percent of US executives and 52 percent of Canadian executives, compared to 72 percent of leaders globally, aim to leave their jobs by 2024. (more…)

May 2, 2022

British Council for Offices honours the North’s best workplaces at annual Regional Awards

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

Six workplaces across the North of England and Northern Ireland have been recognised at the annual British Council for Offices (BCO) Regional Awards today. The Northern BCO Awards dinner returned in-person to the Kimpton Clocktower in Manchester, recognising the North’s highest quality developments and setting the standard for excellence in the office sector across the UK. (more…)

April 20, 2022

Women working from home more likely than men to say their careers are harmed

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Women working from home regularly are less positive about their career prospects than men are, new research suggests. They are also less optimistic about getting recognition for good work and being included in important consultations when compared to men who often work from home, the study found. The research, presented at the British Sociological Association’s online annual conference today [Wednesday, 20 April 2022], comes at a time when employers and staff are deciding how much they will work from home as pandemic restrictions are removed.

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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…)

March 29, 2022

Making sense of an uncertain but energetic return to some sort of normal

by Eugenia Anastassiou • Features, Flexible working

The first Omnirama event on the 23rd of March launched the series exploring different factors challenging the world of work in a time of prevailing uncertainty. Underlying Ominirama’s raison d’etre is that recent events have turned the status quo on its head with some major structural and systemic changes taking place. Nobody seems to have any clear idea of how to deal with this enormous transformation in the ways we work All the playbooks and all the guidance that we have all relied upon for so many years have now gone out the window. (more…)

March 23, 2022

A burst of technological innovation is reshaping the future of work

by Toby Benzecry • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design

Even as we begin to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel of the pandemic, evidence suggests that many workers want to carry over the working flexibility that the pandemic afforded into the post-pandemic world and a new future of work. Namely, employees are wanting to adopt a ‘mixed’ working style – spending time both working in the workplace, enjoying the office’s many benefits, as well as spending some time during the week working from home. A YouGov poll suggests that close to 40 percent of employees wish to continue to work from home some of the time post-pandemic – a fact that is supported by CIPD research. (more…)

March 15, 2022

Inclusive office design guide published by Business Disability Forum

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace design

The Business Disability Forum (BDF) has published a new global guide which sets out to showing how all businesses can make their built environments accessible to the one billion people in world who have a disability. Having a disability can affect how a person accesses, navigates, and uses the spaces and structures around them. Built environments include everything from entrances, exits, stairs, lifts, signage, to parking, green spaces, roads, and transport systems so inclusive office design should address a wide range of issues. (more…)

March 8, 2022

Workplace apps make it difficult for people to switch off

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

A new survey claims that workers with access to workplace platforms and apps on their personal devices check notifications more regularly out of office hours than those without access. The Digital Detox survey, conducted by Just Eat for Business, claims to uncover workers’ habits towards breaks and computer use, focusing on screen time. The study also includes expert comments on the mental impact of skipping breaks, and offers advice on how to combat it. (more…)

March 3, 2022

What really happens when we start using offices again?

by Henry Stainton • Comment, Flexible working, Property

Should I stay or should I go? – we have all faced that dilemma in recent weeks with our offices opened by hopeful employers versus the enticement of a warm kitchen, fresh coffee and swerving a long commute also on offer. It is a decision we are all having to make and, which seems loaded with potential, previously unimagined outcomes. (more…)