March 23, 2021

Hybrid working must be at heart of plans for regeneration and growth, claims new report

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Property

A new report from think tank Demos and Legal & General calls on the UK Government to back policy change that supports growth of hybrid working and local offices to drive forward its plans for regeneration and economic growth. The report, Post Pandemic Places, claims that huge increases in home working, coupled with a desire for continued flexibility, could support significant increases in local spending. On the back of the findings, the report calls on the government to incentivise the establishment of more local offices and hybrid working initiatives. More →

March 19, 2021

Job security and flexibility now more valuable than salary

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Working lives

Around a half (51 percent) of employees believe job security and flexibility (40 percent) are more important than salary (32 percent) when considering whether to remain at their current employer, according to a new report by UK law firm, Winckworth Sherwood. More →

March 17, 2021

No jab, no job? Can employers enforce a vaccination programme?

by Karen Holden • Comment, Legal news, Wellbeing

The UK COVID-19 vaccination programme is underway and it’s only a matter of time before it’s available to the wider population. Although the vaccine could be especially beneficial for those who need to work on company premises some are still sceptical over the vaccine and may not wish to take it. This could potentially be problematic for employers if this prevents employees from fulfilling their roles. But can employers legally ask employees to be vaccinated? More →

March 15, 2021

Serfs up for the self-employed and gig economy workers (and the middle class)

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Flexible working, Working culture

One of the most significant consequences of the 2008 economic crash was a remarkable shift in the nature of employment. The recession led to a surge in the number of people categorised as self-employed. The numbers have been increasing ever since, albeit at a lower rate. By the end of 2019, the number of self-employed people in the UK exceeded five million people for the first time. Fifteen percent of the workforce. More →

March 10, 2021

Frontline workers overlooked in employee engagement strategies

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working culture

New research from Opinion Matters, commissioned by SocialChorus, claims there is a stark disparity between desk-based/wired and frontline workers when it comes to Digital Employee Experience (DEX) with a fifth of HR and Internal Communications (IC) respondents admitting to focusing on employees in the office, and just 12 percent prioritising deskless workers. More →

March 5, 2021

From the archive: Flexible working may improve productivity, but does it diminish creativity?

by Maciej Markowski • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

Originally published in December 2014. Homeworking seems to have become a bit of a hot topic this year, but one sentence published on the www.gov.uk website brought a cold sweat to the brows of many managers and employees across the United Kingdom. “From 30 June 2014, all employees have the legal right to request flexible working – not just parents and carers.” More →

March 5, 2021

London crowned the most desirable city in the world to work

by Jayne Smith • Business, Cities, News, Working culture

A new study on recruitment and workforce trends has crowned London as the world’s most desirable city to work in, with the UK capital holding onto the top spot, despite uncertainty around Brexit and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. More →

March 4, 2021

Highly educated entrepreneurs rarely want to grow their firms

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Working culture

Highly educated solo-entrepreneurs value the autonomy of their work above everything else and as a result do not want to employ people, according to new research from Trinity Business School. The researchers used a survey to interview solo entrepreneurs as they started their business to investigate their hiring plans. They claim that only one third of solo entrepreneurs intend to hire employees later on. More →

March 2, 2021

Progress for women in work back at 2017 levels due to COVID-19

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

Progress for women in work could be back at 2017 levels by the end of this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to analysis conducted for PwC’s annual Women in Work Index, which measures female economic empowerment across 33 OECD countries. More →

March 2, 2021

The Collective open new offices in iconic Folkstone building

by Freddie Steele • Company news

The Collective cements its commitment to the UK creative industry with the opening of new offices and showroom in iconic Folkestone building ‘The Glassworks Building’, and support emerging talent by appointing newly founded Studio Morelli for their debut interior project. More →

February 26, 2021

UK workers put in £24 billion worth of unpaid overtime during the pandemic

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

UK employers claimed £24 billion of free labour last year because of workers doing unpaid overtime, according to new analysis published by the TUC. More than three million people did unpaid overtime in 2020, putting in an average of 7.7 unpaid hours a week. On average, that’s equivalent to £7,300 a year of wages going unpaid for work done. More →

February 26, 2021

Quarter of Brits addicted to checking work emails when on their phones

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Working lives

Almost one year on and a third lockdown in, it seems the pandemic has Brits re-assessing and taking more control of their work-life balance, however not everyone seems to be so successful. A 2021 survey conducted by money.co.uk, claims 25 percent of the UK workforce still can’t keep themselves from checking work emails regularly when they’re on their phones. More →