October 14, 2021

To hit net zero, sustainable tech investments need to increase tenfold

A large increase in investment in breakthrough technologies such as hydrogen-based fuels, bioenergy and carbon-capture storage solutions is needed to hit the global goal of net zero emissions by 2050. To scale these technologies and take them to market, at least a tenfold increase in investment is needed, according to the How to Finance Industry Net-Zero report. Released by the World Economic Forum and Oliver Wyman, the report outlines how to address the supply-and-demand-side gap and take these technologies to the next level. More →

October 14, 2021

Remote workers to enjoy increased tax relief, Irish government announces

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Remote workers in Ireland will now enjoy increased tax relief on the cost of heating, electricity and broadband, following the government’s latest budget announcement. Those working from home will see income tax deductions of 30 percent of the cost of certain expenses, which the Minister for Finance claims will help to offset some of the expected increases in energy costs. More →

October 6, 2021

Hybrid workers retain concerns of discrimination, career and always on culture

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives

Poly has released a new report outlining the evolution of the workplace and changing employee attitudes to the 9-5. The Poly Evolution of the Workplace report provides analysis on the findings of a survey of 7,261 hybrid workers from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Poland and the United Arab Emirates. It examines how attitudes and behaviours have evolved – looking at everything from working patterns and culture, to frustration and noise, right down to what we wear. More →

September 17, 2021

Over a third of UK adults have suffered discrimination at work

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture, Workplace

New research into workplace discrimination, commissioned by CIPHR, claims just how widespread employment bias is in the UK. On average, one in six people (16 percent) report having suffered ageism, one in ten (10 percent) say they have been the subject of gender-based discrimination (12 percent of women and 7 percent of men), and around one in twelve feel that they have been on the receiving end of prejudicial treatment because of a disability, their race or sexual orientation (9 percent, 9 percent and 8 percent respectively), at some point in their careers. More →

September 9, 2021

The importantance of women’s friendships in the workplace

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

The company of your work friends can make a long day fly by, with many of us finding long lasting friendships in the workplace. To find out more about how much people love their colleagues, Rovva conducted a survey of 1,000 workers across the UK. More →

September 9, 2021

Sedus Stoll AG appoint new Management Board member for Marketing and Sales

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Christoph Kargruber will be taking over as Sedus Stoll AG’s Chief Marketing and Sales Officer from 1 October 2021. The native Austrian graduated in business administration with a focus on corporate management from the Leopold Franzens University in Innsbruck and brings with him over twenty years of international management experience in the B2B2C sector. More →

August 30, 2021

Proportion of over 50s in work set to hit record high

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture, Working lives

The proportion of people over 50 in employment is set to hit 47 percent by 2030, following a 36 percent increase in the absolute number the last two decades, according to a new report from Legal & General Retail Retirement (LGRR) and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). More →

August 26, 2021

Working from home: how far we’ve come and where we might be headed

by Georgina Smith • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

We’ve all learnt a great deal about working from home over the past eighteen months. We’ve seen how for some, it can be incredibly beneficial to employees, enabling them to better balance their work and personal lives and can also benefit the company, enabling business as usual during the Covid-19 pandemic, even improving efficiency. It’s also prompted some important conversations about mental health that simply hadn’t been had, normalising the challenges that we all face, especially during lockdowns. More →

August 17, 2021

Return to office doesn’t mean occupiers have lost sight of flexibility, claims report

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Property

Offices will repopulate over the remainder of this year, led by small companies – those with fewer than 100 employees, according to the EMEA Occupier Survey of 130 companies from real estate advisor CBRE. The survey found that small companies are further advanced in their return to office. Over 80 percent of small companies report all locations are now open. This compares with only a third of the largest companies, although a majority of them have opened more than half of their sites. More →

August 10, 2021

Mid-Senior Level jobs offer the best remote work opportunities

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives

Scotland and Wales are the two UK countries where the most companies offer remote work positions at 2.96 percent and 2.48 percent respectively, according to a new study by the AA. More →

August 9, 2021

Earned wage access partnership between Sage and Flexearn helps people take control of their salary

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace

Earnings on demand company, FlexEarn has agreed a partnership with payroll technology leader, Sage, to provide a new Earned Wage Access service to UK businesses using Sage Payroll software, supporting responsible financial wellbeing for employees. Available now via Sage Business Cloud Marketplace, the app allows employees to withdraw a portion of their salary in advance of their regular salary payment date, helping them budget more easily and with less stress. More →

August 5, 2021

We need to take a long term view on workplace sustainability

by Guenaelle Watson • Comment, Environment

One of the more welcome outcomes from the pandemic has been a reinvigorated and better conversation about the environment in general and workplace sustainability in particular. There were some immediate quick wins in the Spring of 2020. Cleaner air became evident in atmospheric readings and satellite images. People literally took to the streets as traffic all but vanished. Planes were grounded. We could hear birdsong. Wild animals populated some streets. It was as if Nature itself breathed a sigh of relief. More →