May 27, 2020
Corporate wellbeing initiatives are often too focused on sick individuals, and firms should be addressing the root causes of physical and mental health by building healthy organisations instead. That is the main claim of a new report from the Corporate Research Forum (CRF) report, supported by Lane 4 and Mercer. The report is based on interviews with 150 HR leaders from FTSE 100 and similar sized businesses. (more…)
May 26, 2020
The wellbeing benefits from simple daily contact with nature can last for months, once initiated, according to a new review from The Wildlife Trusts. The review is based on surveys completed by people taking part in 30 Days Wild, a study based on three peer-reviewed papers. Researchers at the University of Derby evaluated survey responses from more than 1,000 people over five years and discovered the enduring effects on wellbeing from participation in 30 Days Wild – the positive effects are still felt two months after the challenge is over. (more…)
May 20, 2020
The latest report on the attitudes of people towards their working lives after lockdown comes from Okta, Inc. in its report The New Workplace: Re-imagining Work After 2020, which claims to highlight the technological and cultural challenges office workers have faced as well as the lesson businesses can take to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, which was conducted by YouGov, surveyed 2,000+ office workers across the UK, also found differences about the impact our new way of work has had on London based workers compared to workers in the rest of the country. (more…)
May 18, 2020
Until recently, the phrase ‘What’s neurodiversity?’ was a question I was frequently asked, often accompanied by a bit of a nervous stare. Fortunately, this is now changing, and thanks to continued research, community activism and representation in the media, people leaders now understand that neurodiversity means a unique talent to be tapped – not something to be avoided. (more…)
May 13, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic risks cancelling out recent progress in transitioning to clean energy, with unprecedented falls in demand, price volatility and pressure to quickly mitigate socioeconomic costs placing the near-term trajectory of the transition in doubt. Policies, roadmaps and governance frameworks for energy transition at national, regional, and global levels need to be more robust and resilient against external shocks, according to the latest edition of World Economic Forum’s Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2020 report published today. (more…)
May 12, 2020
The UK Government has issued new guidance to help people return to work safely. Measures include redesigns of all workplaces including offices to maintain social distancing, staggered times of work, the use of as many entrances to a building as possible and changed layouts. The guidelines cover eight workplace settings including construction, offices and contact centres, factories, plants and warehouses and shops. (more…)
May 11, 2020
Digital Twin technology will be catalysed in the wake of the coronavirus, transforming the way we construct, design manage and occupy buildings. That is the key finding of a new white paper from Cityzenith, which includes contributions from a number of global practitioners and technology experts. (more…)
May 11, 2020
As lockdown measures begin to ease, many UK office workers are concerned about going back to the office – with worries rife over being able to maintain social distancing (59 percent) and appropriate hygiene and cleaning standards (44 percent), according to new research. The YouGov poll, for the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) surveyed office workers across the country to reveal that over a third (34 percent) are concerned about getting used to a corporate office culture again after the lockdown. (more…)
May 9, 2020
In a recent piece for the Architects Journal, incoming BCO President Paul Patenall extolled the virtues of a Danish idea called Arbejdsglaede, (almost) literally the joy of work. There is no equivalent word in English, of course, but it also taps into our assumption that we can learn a thing or two from our Scandinavian cousins about wellbeing and the ways in which we should find happiness in our daily lives and surroundings.
May 7, 2020
Many of us have had little choice but to resort to remote working in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. It is just days since Google, Apple and Twitter were making headlines by ordering their employees to work from home, but you could now say the same about lots of companies. (more…)
May 6, 2020
Climate action is often about sacrifice: eat less meat, don’t fly, and buy less stuff. These things are essential. But climate action can also be about gain. Many causes of climate change make our lives worse. So transforming our societies to stop climate change offers us the chance to make our lives better. (more…)
May 19, 2020
People working from home have the same legal protections as they do in offices
by Chris Salmon • Comment, Legal news, Wellbeing