May 17, 2021
Search Results for: employment
May 14, 2021
Ditching ageism and ableism at work could pay dividends
by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture
A new report launched by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) highlights how pervasive ageism and ableism in the workplace are still locking far too many people out of work as they age, costing not only individuals but employers and the economy. (more…)
May 4, 2021
Why some people are more productive working from home than others
by Stephen Bevan • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing
Has working at home during lockdown made people more productive or not? This has been the subject of some lively debate recently. Many companies do not routinely measure productivity. A large number will have traditionally assumed that they get the highest output when staff work longer hours or under close supervision, but remote working is clearly causing some to re-evaluate this. Major firms, for instance professional services group PwC, have been sufficiently impressed to make remote working a permanent option for their staff. (more…)
April 23, 2021
Pandemic drives shift in attitudes to sustainability
by Jayne Smith • Environment, News
The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated consumers focus on sustainability and willingness to pay out of their own pockets – or even take a pay cut – for a sustainable future, according to a new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) survey of over 14,000 consumers in nine countries. (more…)
March 31, 2021
From the archive: A new approach to office design is redefining property 0
by Gary Chandler • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design
At the end of the 18th Century it was becoming apparent that overpopulation was something the human race would need to address for perhaps the first time. Advances in technology and the urbanisation that followed the Industrial Revolution had created a new set of challenges. These were most famously laid out in a 1798 book called An Essay on the Principle of Population, written by an English cleric called Thomas Malthus.
March 30, 2021
New normal looking more and more like old normal, say facilities managers
by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, Flexible working, News
Workers across the UK could return to offices faster than anticipated, according to a new RICS survey of facilities managers. According to the poll, a growing number of respondents say that up to 80 percent of employees will head back once the pandemic is resolved. This is up from less than 60 percent expected in the same poll from the previous quarter ending November 2020. As evidence suggests the UK vaccination programme is taking hold across the country, results to the RICS UK Facilities Management Survey show more respondents starting to believe employees could return to the office in greater numbers than many initially expected in the previous quarter. (more…)
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…)
May 10, 2021
The workplace industry needs to think outside its ever-shrinking boxes
by Andy Lake • Comment, Flexible working