August 1, 2019

The raging open plan debate should not lead us to make bad choices

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

The debate about open plan versus enclosed offices rages on. But the real debate is not quite so binary, it’s not black or white, and it’s not a dichotomy as it is so often presented. Office occupants clearly have different workplace preferences from the wide range of design solutions that are now available. The alternative to the open plan is not necessarily the cellular office. So, we need to understand what drives individual preferences. Is it factors like personality, personalisation, flexibility, sense of belonging and familiarity that affect where people prefer to work? Or is there more to it? (more…)

August 1, 2019

Working dads say their schedule means missing out on children growing up

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

One in five dads says their working schedule means they are missing out on seeing their children growing up, claims Quinyx. The research highlights the importance of opening up flexible working to all members of the workforce, including working dads and the impact the rigidness of the current system is having on families. 17 percent of working dads say their work schedule makes them feel like they are missing out on seeing their children grow up. (more…)

August 1, 2019

Number of remote workers in US shows massive increase

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Based on an analysis of American Community Survey data by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs, the number of remote workers in the US increased 159 percent between 2005 and 2017. This new data is based on an analysis of the most current US government data available (from 2017, released in 2018), and represents the most up-to-date statistics about remote work in the United States. 3.4 percent of the total US workforce currently telecommute, up from 2.9 percent in 2015. The terms telecommuters and remote workers are defined in the report as non-self-employed people who principally work from home at least half-time. (more…)

July 31, 2019

CIPD offers new guidance on non-traditional work roles

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Following the recent government consultation on improving the rights of variable hours workers, the CIPD has published new employer guidance to help ensure that ‘atypical working arrangements’ benefit both the organisation and individuals. The guidance, Atypical Working: A guide to successfully implementing atypical work in your organisation, defines atypical working as practices which include the self-employed, temporary workers, agency staff and people on zero hours contracts.

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July 31, 2019

Concerns about future of work not enough to dampen worker confidence

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

New research from ADP claims that the UK workforce feels confident, stable and well trained. The findings point to a more positive workforce that has continuously strengthened since the financial crash. Despite worries about the future of work generally, optimism has grown with just 27 percent of respondents reporting feeling very optimistic about their future in the workplace in 2019, up from 12 percent in 2012. (more…)

July 30, 2019

London now has its own Good Work standard

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched London’s Good Work Standard, pledging to make London ‘the best place to live and work’. The standard has been developed in partnership with CIPD, claims to bring together good employment practice with resources and guidance written by CIPD experts and tested with London based CIPD members, the framework sets out to support employers of all sizes across the city improve their people management practices and create good work for all.

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July 30, 2019

Employers missing opportunity to unlock emotional intelligence

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ) is an increasingly popular buzz phrase in business and understanding its impact in the workplace is becoming crucial to employers in getting the most out of their staff. A new survey from Lee Hecht Harrison Penna claims the importance placed by people managers both on finding EQ in staff, and demonstrating it themselves. The study claims the changing mind-set of managers, who see EQ as key to the career development and professional success of their employees. (more…)

July 29, 2019

Half of self-employed workforce now over 50

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

The number of over 50s working for themselves made up 46 percent of the UKs entire self-employed workforce in the first three months of 2019, according to new research from jobs and volunteering board Rest Less. There are now 2.27 million over 50s who are self-employed – up from 1.45 million 10 years ago, an increase of 57 percent in a decade. The survey looked at data from the Office of National Statistics to highlight self-employment trends amongst the different demographic groups in the UK. (more…)

July 26, 2019

Self-employment might be good for mental health

by Mark Stabile • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The general picture of self-employment, the gig economy work and mental wellbeing is not a pretty one. Around the world, Uber drivers face wage and security worries. Deliveroo workers have too much competition. Airbnb owners face legal problems in Paris and other cities. But while these headlines suggest a dark cloud over the heads of gig economy workers, recent data I’ve looked at unexpectedly shows that they are about 33 percent more likely to self-report positive mental health traits.
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July 25, 2019

UK SMEs must leverage tech-friendly culture to secure talent

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Workplace

UK SMEs must create a tech-friendly culture to attract and retain top tech talent, according to a new white paper from Robert Half UK, Recruiting for the future: The challenges for UK SMEs. While remuneration and work–life balance are the top reasons for job moves, SMEs’ ability to offer an innovative culture with high levels of responsibility is central to their ability to secure and retain talent over larger organisations. With the UK talent market suffering from a lack of digital skills, companies across all sectors are locked in a war for talent, competing with one another to hire skilled technology professionals to help their businesses adapt to increased digitalisation. (more…)

July 24, 2019

Commercial property sector shifts focus to wellbeing in response to tenant demands

by Mark Eltringham • News

A new report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), claims that the wave of interest in wellbeing in the UK is expected to translate into significant investment from the commercial property sector over the next three years. The report, Picture of health: the growing role of wellbeing in commercial real estate investment decision-making, has been published by the ULI UK Sustainability Forum to highlight the rise of wellbeing investment in commercial buildings. The report from ULI UK was sponsored by E.ON and addresses questions about the investment case for incorporating wellbeing into buildings and how to measure its impact. (more…)

July 23, 2019

Office design should take account of the quality of interactions as well as quantity

by Jonathan Hindle • Comment, Workplace design

Ever since technology first made it possible for people to work remotely from their colleagues, there has been speculation not only that office design should change but even that the physical office could be dispensed with entirely, and with it the idea that people should come together to work in the same place at the same time to achieve common goals and to share in a common identity.