October 24, 2022

Offices remain largely unchanged in wake of pandemic

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Most businesses are failing to invest in collaborative offices that could encourage people to spend more time in them and take advantage of new work cultures, a report claims. More than four in five UK workers (83 percent) surveyed by YouGov on behalf of Microsoft Surface find themselves still in the same office environment as before the pandemic. The majority of those surveyed believe that office work is better suited to both socialising with colleagues (57 percent) and strengthening relationships with colleagues (65 percent) compared to remote work. More →

October 20, 2022

Hybrid working balance isn’t right for a third of people

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Some 39 percent of office workers are so-called hybrid “misfits” and don’t have the right balance of home and office working, a survey funded by the Economic and Social Research Council claims. The researchers discovered that workers who were in the office more often than they wanted were more likely to want to change jobs, have lower job satisfaction and have worse work-life balance.??The research suggests that office working is often beneficial for people who are able to enjoy hybrid working. More →

October 20, 2022

Winter is coming: don’t be in the dark about blackouts

by Jo Sutherland • Environment, Features, Wellbeing

The National Grid has warned that the UK could face blackouts this winter. The worst-case scenario is that homes and businesses could lose power for pre-defined periods of up to three hours if gas power plants are not able to keep running due to the energy crisis that keeps on giving – or rather, taking. While the British government has dropped its energy rationing campaign, which once formed a crucial part of its plan to prepare for potential energy shortages and blackouts, countries across Europe are drawing up winter contingency plans, as are forward-thinking businesses. More →

October 20, 2022

Economic uncertainty kills talk of quiet quitting and the great resignation

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

In spite of all the talk of a ‘great resignation’ and ‘quiet quitting’, more than three quarters of British workers (81 percent) are planning to ride out the recession with their current employer. This is in spite of the fact that nearly half (46 percent) say that they’d like to change jobs, according to a new poll from people analytics company Visier. When asked why they wouldn’t be keen to change job roles during a recession, concerns over job security in a new role (57 percent), having to settle for a lower salary compared to a current role (42 percent), and increased competition for current vacancies as a result of increased redundancies (28 percent) were cited as the leading reasons. More →

October 19, 2022

Remote workers can find it hard to switch off. There’s now an app for that

by Anthony Thompson • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The last few years have seen our approach to work change dramatically. Technology has helped to unlock whole new ways of communicating and interacting, providing the flexibility for employees to work in a way that suits them best and creating a large number of remote workers for the first time. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, this switch was on the cards. From an employer perspective, digital tools can allow for communication across the world, opening up access to a whole host of talent and wider consumer exposure. More →

October 18, 2022

Three tips for battling noise in the workplace

by Judith Hogan • Company news

Offices have been reopening and trying to entice employees back for a while now. And while many people have thrived while working from home, the return to office has been a welcome change, with staff missing in-person interactions with their clients and colleagues. However, as people have become accustomed to the relative quiet at home (kids excluded, of course), being thrust back into an office setting could take some getting used to. Research shows 56 percent of office workers are concerned that noise levels in the office will make them less productive. Between colleagues chatting over each other, desk-phones ringing, and impromptu virtual calls, there are a range of distractions staff must contend with. More →

October 18, 2022

Monitoring remote workers is a good idea according to half of bosses

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

A new poll from the CIPD and HiBob claims that more than half of bosses (55 percent) agree with collecting information on regular home workers, including the amount of time spent on laptops each day and email sending behaviours to identify risk of burnout. However, only three in ten (28 percent) leaders say their organisations are using software for monitoring remote workers and their productivity, according to the study. Where workplace monitoring is in place, the CIPD and HiBob urge employers to consider its purpose, and to be clear to staff about what is being monitored and why. More →

October 17, 2022

Working habits are changing in response to cost of living increases

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The so-called cost of living crisis is having a fundamental impact on people’s working habits, according to Beamery’s latest Talent Index – Sixth Edition. Almost a third (29 percent) of workers polled for the report are now avoiding the office because of the increasing cost of travel whilst another third cited (31 percent) they were considering leaving their jobs completely due to lack of salary increases. More →

October 17, 2022

Flexible working may help to entice large numbers of older people back into work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

There are 712,000 additional people aged over 50 who are economically inactive compared with the same period three years ago (pre-covid pandemic), according to new analysis from Rest Less, a digital community and advocate group for people in their 50s, 60s and beyond. The organisation is now calling on firms to ensure their flexible working practices and in-house training schemes are suitable for all age groups and not just targeted at younger people. More →

October 13, 2022

The success of hybrid working hinges on creating a great workplace experience

by Lee Rubin • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Recent statistics underline the extent to which hybrid working is now a permanent fixture of US business life. A recent report suggests that 74 percent of US companies are using or plan to implement a permanent hybrid working model, whilst 44 percent of US employees prefer a hybrid work model, compared to 51 percent of employers. 55 percent of employees want to work remotely at least three days a week and 59 percent of employees are more likely to choose an employer that offers remote work opportunities over one that doesn’t. More →

October 12, 2022

People going back to basics in terms of what they want from work

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

A new poll claims that growing economic uncertainty has forced employees to reprioritise what they want from their employers. People are increasingly interested in basics such as job security, a safe and comfortable workplace, salary and benefits, and a better workplace culture. The BCW Expectations at Work study [registration], which surveyed more than 13,000 people across five industries and 15 countries around the world, claims that one in two workers say they value the basics of job security (52 percent), workplace safety and comfort (50 percent), salary and benefits (49 percent) and workplace culture (48 percent) most out of 62 components across five dimensions of the employee experience. More →

October 7, 2022

Third of firms expect the four-day week to become a reality ‘for most’ in the next ten years

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A third of respondent organisations (34 percent) to a CIPD poll think the four-day week will become a reality in the UK for most workers within the next ten years. However, only a small minority of firms have moved towards the four-day week to date by reducing hours without reducing pay for their employees, or plan to do this over the next three years. One in ten (10 percent) organisations report they have reduced working hours without reducing pay for the whole or a significant part of their workforce over the last five years, although of these, under half of employers (42 percent) did so as a result of the furlough scheme. More →