January 21, 2021

Hybrid working gives managers the chance to excel

by Paul Jewitt-Harris • Comment, Flexible working

The past year will go down in history as one of dramatic change. One of the most notable upheavals was the almost overnight transition to full-time remote working for millions of ‘non-essential’ employees. With England now in its third national lockdown, many of us will likely not be going back to our offices until April 2021, over a year since we left them. Even when people are able to return to our old workplaces, just 12 percent of employees want to do so full-time, according to Future Forum. This leaves no doubt that, when we are finally able to leave the pandemic behind us, hybrid working (partially from home and partially in the office) will remain. (more…)

January 21, 2021

Furlough scheme should be extended ahead of the Budget, says CIPD

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

With six weeks still to go until the Chancellor’s Budget, the CIPD is urging the Government to act early to extend the furlough scheme to protect jobs, support incomes and enhance skills development. Its calls are outlined in a report called The Future of Furlough – Recommendations for now and for any future wage subsidy. In order to support smaller firms who don’t pay an apprenticeship levy, the CIPD is also recommending the creation of a furlough scheme training fund of up to £100 million, which would be funded from levy-paying firms’ expired levy funds that would otherwise go to HM Treasury. The CIPD estimates that this could pay for training or outplacement skills development support for nearly 160,000 workers in small firms. (more…)

January 15, 2021

Pandemic has improved employee engagement levels say employers

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

Employee engagement levels may have actually improved during the COVID-19 pandemic, claims a recent survey undertaken by intermediary Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing. (more…)

January 15, 2021

Salary tops employee priority list as UK workers focus on self-preservation

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working lives

As businesses attempt to stay afloat amid the fluctuating circumstances in the UK, research claims that UK employees are increasingly placing salary packages as the most important factor when it comes to career management. The research by SD Worx, examined what employees in Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom consider important in the context of their work. (more…)

January 15, 2021

Staff in small companies need less employer support than those in larger firms

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working culture

According to a recent Kaspersky survey, people who work in companies with fewer than 50 employees, on average, need less employer support when working remotely, compared to staff in larger businesses. Emotional or psychological support is an exception. (more…)

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…)

January 14, 2021

Lockdown forces one-in-three working parents to lie to bosses about home schooling

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives

New research by MHR International, shows one-in-three working parents (33 percent) have lied to their boss about how they are coping with the balance between home schooling and work during the current lockdown. (more…)

January 14, 2021

Mace achieves net zero carbon

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Mace has announced that it has achieved its ambition to be a net zero carbon business in 2020. Following the statement in January 2020 that the company had committed to the ambitious target, the executive board has confirmed that after driving down its carbon emissions as far as possible across its developments and operations it has offset the remaining emissions. (more…)

January 14, 2021

Over two-thirds of British office workers currently suffer from imposter syndrome

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture

Asana, the work management platform, has launched a new research study, which highlights the increased levels of imposter syndrome, anxiety and burnout now being felt by British office workers. At a time when many workers are now facing the reality of a new national lockdown, over two-thirds (69 percent) claim they are currently suffering from imposter syndrome, and nearly half (45 percent) say this has increased while operating in a remote working environment. (more…)

January 13, 2021

Workspace Show in London opens its doors for first time this year

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

Workspace Show is an exciting addition to the global design events calendar, launching on 21 January this year, with the inaugural edition taking place from 4-5 November 2021 at London’s Business Design Centre, at the heart of the UK’s commercial interiors community. With a theme of ‘re-designing tomorrow’s commercial interiors together’ the show aims to unite architects, designers, developers, contractors, facilities managers, procurement managers and more in one place to explore and share the latest industry thinking from product launches to a comprehensive talks program to networking opportunities aplenty. (more…)

January 12, 2021

Burnt out workers need to regain some balance

by Dan Zakai • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The pandemic and months of Zoom calls and remote work have begun to wear on us, so much so that in a recent survey from Blind – the anonymous workplace community app – 68 percent of respondents said that they are experiencing more feelings of being burnt out now, than they were before the pandemic began. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 29 percent of the respondents said their relationship with their direct boss was now worse than it had been before they began working remotely. And it’s not just top-down relationships at work that have deteriorated. (more…)

January 12, 2021

Workers feel overworked as a result of the pandemic

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

Hardworking professionals are feeling the effects of longer working days and unpaid overtime, according to new research by law firm, Wright Hassall. The study claims that on average workers are performing nine or more hours of overtime in a given week, which totals more than one working day, compared to just three or more hours before the start of the pandemic. The research also claims that more than half (52 percent) are actually doing so without being paid for this. (more…)