June 16, 2020

Study suggests need for UK employers to offer employee mental wellbeing support

A survey of 2,000 UK consumers by digital health company BioBeats suggests that nearly a quarter (21 percent) of UK employees say that their mental health will be negatively impacted by extending remote working measures post-lockdown. Only 5 percent of respondents state that their mental health will improve as a result of extended remote working but alarmingly only 3 percent say they would ask for help in coping with this new way of working, which presents a striking gap between employees’ needs and their ability to seek support from their employer. More →

June 15, 2020

Wellbeing for remote workers should not be lost in translation

by Brendan Street • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the world of work – seeing many businesses remote working – employers are learning more about the importance of effective communication. Diminished in-person contact can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness among employees. And managers are also facing new challenges in providing the level of social interaction and support that is crucial in maintaining the mental health wellbeing of employees while away from the office. More →

June 15, 2020

The here and now, no BS guide to the workplace

by Colin Macgadie • Company news, Workplace design

For years, forward-thinking employers have offered a choice of work spaces to match the varying levels of concentration and collaboration different tasks demand. And those spaces included employee’s homes. In March, all organisations were suddenly bounced by the COVID-19 restrictions into supporting homeworking for their office employees. It’s too early to say what lasting impact this will have on work patterns, though it’s a fair guess that the effective mass trial of remote working could trigger a cultural shift as more employers and employees see the benefits of using the home as an extension of the workplace, when it suits both parties. Research commissioned by BDG in April found that of 200 CEOs surveyed, almost one in four believes the long-term impact of COVID-19 will be “continued remote working”. More →

June 12, 2020

Building a culture of trust has never been more important

by Jonathan Richards • Comment, Workplace

Trust is a concept we often find hard to describe. It’s sticky, intangible and difficult to pinpoint but we know when trust is absent. When it’s missing from a workforce, a culture can unravel. According to the Culture Economy Report 2020, 43 percent of employees in UK SME’s don’t trust their employer to do the right thing – a 16 point decline since 2018. This is alarming. Working remotely over the last few months has highlighted just how important workplace trust is, between employees and management, and vice versa. More →

June 12, 2020

Fewer than one-third of UK employees feel a sense of belonging

by George Eltringham • News, Working culture

Just 32 percent of UK office workers feel as though they completely belong within their company, despite this being essential in order for employees to feel motivated and loyal, according to new research. Over a third claim they have no bond with their employer at all. More →

June 12, 2020

Half of HR managers say profession must change post-pandemic

by George Eltringham • News, Workplace

The role played by HR teams during the Coronavirus crisis has thrust the function into the spotlight and demonstrated the importance of an effective people strategy. That’s according to new research from Personio, which also finds that HR teams are eager to maintain a more influential and strategic role in the future. And with half (51 percent) of managers claiming that the function cannot continue as it did prior to the outbreak, it’s clear the pandemic has only accelerated the profession’s ongoing evolution. More →

June 11, 2020

The lessons learned under lockdown will help us grow and improve

by Alicia Michael • Features, Workplace design

As the global community navigates the Coronavirus crisis, the nature of the workplace will be more important than ever. We have been working remotely on an unprecedented scale, and the benefits are clear – flexibility, time with family, and reduced commuting as a start. In some form, working from home is here to stay, even as returning to the physical office becomes possible. However, we have also discovered the limitations to remote working. While teams have been able to stay connected virtually, this cannot substitute for face-to-face collaboration, which is essential to fostering innovation. More →

June 10, 2020

Firms should adopt a hybrid model as they return to work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

As mandatory working from home lifts, managers should be aware that employee expectations around how they work have evolved significantly. In a report (registration) published by Soldo in collaboration with several UK universities, management experts advise that companies need to radically redesign their business processes. Employees who worked productively at home throughout the lockdown will strongly resist managers enforcing limitations on where and when they do their work. More →

June 9, 2020

A thank you for the bitter knowledge offered by the lockdown

by Adam Burtt-Jones • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

With all challenges come opportunities. Covid-19 will most likely be the single largest challenge and disrupter of a generation. It has the potential to create the greatest significant shift in working behaviours and standards of the past hundred years. Workspace consultants, enlightened clients, designers, researchers and commentators have been hammering the agile / home/ remote working drum for the past twenty years or more, waiting patiently for this kind of opportunity. More →

June 9, 2020

Piecing together a new world of work after lockdown

by Grant Gibson • Features, Working culture

After months of lockdown nobody can be certain how the world will look when we eventually re-emerge from the Covid 19 crisis. Yet something seems certain – things will never be the same again. Just as the Second World War spawned the NHS, it’s clear that society is going to be re-shaped quite possibly around a bigger, more proactive government, forced to step in to help any number of industries. Unlike the banking crisis of 2008, the powers that be won’t simply be able to re-assembled the shattered economic jigsaw as it once was. More →

June 8, 2020

The paradox of how routines can help us be more productive and creative

by Nick Chater • Comment, Flexible working

Former US president Barack Obama famously had a wardrobe full of identical suits. As a world leader, life presents more than enough big decisions – Obama’s reasoning was that it made sense to minimise the complexity of the small decisions. Artists are often thought of as rather different. Francis Bacon, for example, had a tempestuous personal life, a notoriously chaotic studio, and a penchant for late nights at London’s seedier drinking clubs. Yet even Bacon’s working habits were surprisingly regular – usually starting work at first light with strong tea, before heading out around midday for his first glass of champagne.

June 5, 2020

Working under lockdown is straining mental health

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

New research from Quinyx, claims to reveal the impact coronavirus is having on the mental health of the UK’s “deskless workers.” The research indicates that a pre-existing mental health issue among workers is being made worse as a result of the lockdown. Prior to the outbreak, 38 percent of remote workers said that their job had negatively impacted their mental health in the last twelve months. Since the outbreak, more than half of respondents (52 percent) say that coronavirus has made this worse.