Search Results for: employee experience

Creativity, thinking and expertise in the workplace should be safeguarded from AI

Creativity, thinking and expertise in the workplace should be safeguarded from AI

Workplace professionals and general managers should proceed with caution if they want to use AI to improve efficiency and human capital in the workplace, and should take steps to ensure creativity and critical thinking are preserved, new research from the University of Bath School of Management suggests. The research team identified two types of knowledge which appeared partially compatible with AI – encoded knowledge, which encompasses rules, procedures, policies, and datasets; and embedded knowledge – essentially digitalised processes and routines. (more…)

Traditional open plan offices linked to higher risk of workplace bullying, study claims

Traditional open plan offices linked to higher risk of workplace bullying, study claims

Employees working in traditional open plan offices are significantly more likely to experience workplace bullying than those in private or smaller shared spaces, according to new research published in the journal Occupational Health Science.Employees working in traditional open plan offices are significantly more likely to experience workplace bullying than those in private or smaller shared spaces, according to new research published in the journal Occupational Health Science. The study, based on a nationally representative sample of 3,307 workers in Sweden, examined whether office design influences the likelihood of negative interpersonal behaviour at work. Researchers found that employees in open plan environments faced a higher risk of bullying even after accounting for factors such as personality, demographics and working patterns. (more…)

British workers happier and more productive than US and German contemporaries. Hey. We just report this stuff

British workers happier and more productive than US and German contemporaries. Hey. We just report this stuff

A major international study claims that team enjoyment is the strongest perceived driver of productivity, challenging long-standing assumptions about how organisations improve performance and that British workers claim to be happy and productive A major international study claims that team enjoyment is the strongest perceived driver of productivity, challenging long-standing assumptions about how organisations improve performance. The Global Workplace Happiness Report, published by The Happiness Index in partnership with employee benefits provider Pluxee, draws on responses from 80,000 employees across 115 countries. It suggests that social and emotional factors play a more significant role in productivity than operational systems such as workload management or process design. The poll also found that British workers are more likely to say they are happy and productive than their US and German contemporaries.  (more…)

Parliamentary group warns misuse of NDAs undermines workplace trust

Parliamentary group warns misuse of NDAs undermines workplace trust

While NDAs can serve a legitimate purpose, their use to mask harassment or discrimination risks undermining accountability and eroding trust within organisations.A cross-party group of parliamentarians, business leaders and experts has warned that non-disclosure agreements are “good for no-one” when used to conceal harmful behaviour in the workplace rather than address it. The warning followed a roundtable held in Parliament on 18 March, hosted by the Policy Liaison Group on Workplace Wellbeing. Participants agreed that while NDAs can serve a legitimate purpose, their use to mask harassment or discrimination risks undermining accountability and eroding trust within organisations. (more…)

Reimagining inclusive washrooms for the modern workplace

Reimagining inclusive washrooms for the modern workplace

As businesses continue to encourage employees back to the office, Fitzroy of London is urging organisations to rethink one of the most overlooked yet impactful areas of workplace design: the commercial washroomAs businesses continue to encourage employees back to the office, Fitzroy of London is urging organisations to rethink one of the most overlooked yet impactful areas of workplace design: the commercial washroom. Long treated as purely functional and often clinical in appearance, washrooms present a powerful opportunity to create inclusive, uplifting spaces that support everyone who uses them. In many commercial environments, inclsuive washrooms have historically prioritised compliance over experience, resulting in spaces that feel cold, uninspiring and disconnected from the rest of the interior design. Fitzroy of London believes this approach no longer reflects the values of modern workplaces, where inclusivity, wellbeing and design quality are key to attracting and retaining talent. (more…)

Rebuilding belonging: how offices can overcome loneliness  

Rebuilding belonging: how offices can overcome loneliness  

In the coming weeks it will be six years since the UK entered lockdown and working life changed overnight. While much has stabilised, the impact of the pandemic still shapes how people experience work, particularly when it comes to connection and belonging. Loneliness is widely recognised as a growing societal issue and government data shows that around a quarter of adults in Great Britain report feeling lonely at least some of the time, rising significantly among younger age groups. Hybrid working has not created this challenge but it has highlighted that for many people the workplace was a consistent source of social interaction. (more…)

AI will either save work or destroy it. Apparently.

AI will either save work or destroy it. Apparently.

It's too early to know what precise impact AI will have on jobs, writes Jo Sutherland. Fortunately for us, the future is still ours to shapeAs someone who works at the intersection of communications and responsible AI, I spend a lot of time thinking about how emerging technologies are explained, sold, feared, embraced and misunderstood. Nowhere is that more palpable than in conversations about AI and the future of work, where certainty is sometimes projected before it’s earned. Over the past few months alone, taking part in debates at both the Westminster Employment Forum and the University of Cambridge, I’ve been struck by just how wide the spectrum of opinion still is. Depending on who has the floor, AI is framed either as a magical productivity fix or an existential threat to jobs. The reality probably lies somewhere in the middle. (more…)

Hybrid working is stabilising around the world, office occupancy report claims

Hybrid working is stabilising around the world, office occupancy report claims

A new study of office utilisation trends around the world suggests hybrid working patterns have largely settledA new study of office utilisation trends around the world suggests hybrid working patterns have largely settled, with average occupancy remaining well below pre-pandemic norms and peak attendance continuing to cluster midweek. The Hybrid Occupancy Index 2025–2026 [registration] published by workplace analytics firm HubStar, draws on data from more than 300 million square feet of office space across 173 buildings in 13 countries, covering more than 27,000 workspaces between January 2023 and December 2025. (more…)

New white paper offers actions for managing trauma in the workplace

New white paper offers actions for managing trauma in the workplace

A new white paper offering practical guidance for employers on how to recognise, understand and respond to trauma in the workplace has been published by Nottingham Business SchoolA new white paper offering practical guidance for employers on how to recognise, understand and respond to trauma in the workplace has been published by Nottingham Business School (NBS), part of Nottingham Trent University. Recent national figures show that more than 8.5 million adults in England and Wales are survivors of childhood abuse, underlining the scale of trauma?related experiences within the UK workforce. Managing Trauma in the Workplace: Strategies for Wellbeing and Organisational Resilience brings together research, survivor perspectives, and evidence?based recommendations to help HR professionals and managers create psychologically safe working environments. (more…)

Intentional AI adoption is a leadership challenge, not just a technology problem

Intentional AI adoption is a leadership challenge, not just a technology problem

even in an AI-driven future, the real challenge remains deeply human—guiding teams with intention, empathy, and trust.A lot of conversations about AI jump straight to the end state. Leaders envision a future where the human workforce is focused on higher-order thinking and augmented with agentic capabilities across the enterprise, and where operational costs are much lower. While visionary thinking is not negative, we’re discovering that the transition from today’s version of the organization to a more automated state will require a massive transformation to achieve. Effective, sticky change requires active work and leadership to truly pivot processes, integrate technology, cultivate new skillsets, establish the cultural foundations, reformat the organizational structure, and ramp to new ways of working. Machines can’t steer that kind of change; humans still have to. (more…)

Artificial intelligence appears to cut more jobs than it creates

Artificial intelligence appears to cut more jobs than it creates

Artificial intelligence appears to be contributing to a net loss of jobs, according to a new analysis of how organisations are adopting the technology across their operations.Artificial intelligence appears to be contributing to a net loss of jobs, according to a new analysis of how organisations are adopting the technology across their operations. Research by Morgan Stanley, based on responses from nearly 1,000 companies that have been using AI for at least a year, suggests that British firms have shed more roles than they have created as a direct result of AI deployment. The study indicates a net reduction of around 8 percent of roles in the UK over the past twelve months, a higher figure than reported in comparable surveys of companies in the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia. (more…)

The coming year will see a recalibration of the workplace, report suggests

The coming year will see a recalibration of the workplace, report suggests

WORKTECH Academy has published a new trends report setting out what it describes as the key forces reshaping work, workplace and workforce strategy in 2026.WORKTECH Academy has published a new trends report setting out what it describes as the key forces reshaping work, workplace and workforce strategy in 2026. The report, The World of Work in 2026, claims to identify twenty trends grouped into four “megatrends”: Human Performance Reset, Workplaces Without Walls, Sustainable Growth and Back to Basics. Together, they suggest organisations are moving away from short-term fixes and “spectacle”, and towards building long-term resilience through adaptability and human capability. (more…)