September 9, 2021
Search Results for: flex
September 8, 2021
Landlords and occupiers must work together to meet climate change challenge
by Neil Franklin • Environment, Flexible working, News, Property
Disruption, cost, building style, individual goals, responsibility and shared space are cited as the key sustainability challenges for the flexible office sector, according to the latest research report from The Instant Group. But while there is still a lot of work to be done in the sector as the role of the workplace evolves, Instant says that flex operators have an opportunity to lead the way in meeting the challenge of climate change. By creating innovative, low-carbon buildings, curating a clear engagement strategy with occupiers and landlords, and ensuring a low-carbon ambition is understood and adopted by everyone, flex operators can be the first to implement highly sustainable workplaces. (more…)
September 6, 2021
Uncertainty remains, but many people looking forward to meeting colleagues again
by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing
As businesses in the UK prepare to open their office doors en masse in the first week of September, new research reveals that office workers have got that back-to-school excitement and are feeling largely positive about the transition. Recruitment firm Michael Page questioned over 2,000 UK office workers on their attitudes to returning to the office and found that after eighteen months at home, around half claim to be ‘excited’ or ‘happy’ to spend more time in the office with their colleagues. Reminiscent of the first day back at school, almost three in ten (28 percent) said that they had picked out their outfit and packed their bag ahead of their first day back in the office. (more…)
September 3, 2021
Business confidence back to pre-pandemic levels, with fewer plans to shrink offices
by Neil Franklin • News, Property
CEOs of the world’s largest businesses are increasingly optimistic about the outlook for their own business, according to the latest KPMG CEO Outlook Survey. Despite a slower ‘return to normal’ than expected, their confidence in the global economy has returned to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic. The number planning to reduce their office footprints has fallen dramatically since the height of the pandemic, and instead there is a growing focus on introducing flexible working cultures. (more…)
September 3, 2021
Security and productivity main challenges for hybrid working
by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News
With a large number of firms now prepared to embrace a ‘hybrid working’ model, business leaders remain uncertain about how this may play out in practice according to a new report from Entrust called Securing the New Hybrid Workplace (registration). Respondents suggest that the most important challenges relate to the ongoing uncertainty about new Covid variants and the effect of hybrid working on security and productivity. As a result, while many are committed to changing their work culture, they are prepared to adapt their plans in response to any changing needs. (more…)
September 2, 2021
Artificial Intelligence is critical enabler of the energy transition
by Jayne Smith • News, Technology
The World Economic Forum has published a new study on how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to accelerate a more equitable energy transition and build trust for the technology throughout the industry. As the impacts of climate change become more visible worldwide, governments and industry face the urgent challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon global energy system. (more…)
August 27, 2021
Growing health concerns and preference for hybrid work among US employees
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Working lives
Envoy has released the results from its latest Return to Work report that gauges sentiment among 1,000 US employees who have returned to the workplace within the past year. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, many companies are wrestling with the decision to postpone reopenings, even as scores of office workers are already back in the workplace. (more…)
August 26, 2021
Working from home could help older workers stay in work longer
by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing
Older workers might choose to delay their retirement if offered the option of continuing to do their jobs working from home after the pandemic, according to new research from the UK’s Office for National Statistics. The ONS study found those in their 50s and 60s who worked from home during the coronavirus crisis said they were planning to retire later than those who were still travelling to their workplace. (more…)
August 26, 2021
Over half of UK employers say their staff work additional unpaid hours every day
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Working lives
In its latest whitepaper, Cendex, part of XpertHR, claims that staff at over half (53 percent) of UK organisations are working additional unpaid hours every day. A quarter (24 percent) of employers put this down to the pandemic and its resultant uptick in remote working, as they believe working from home blurs the line between work life and home life. (more…)
August 23, 2021
Hybrid is most popular working set-up, but most would rather be full-time in workplace
by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives
‘Hybrid’ is the ideal working environment among Brits today, but twice as many workers would like to be 100 percent office-based than work permanently from home, according to the latest research from LifeSearch. (more…)
August 19, 2021
Nearly half of British business leaders fear losing the UK’s best talent abroad
by Jayne Smith • Business, Flexible working, News, Working culture
MovePlan in partnership with Hanson Search, claims that 40 percent of business leaders fear that the combination of the pandemic and Brexit will see their best talent disappear abroad, making hiring more challenging, just as the country begins to return to the ‘new normal’. (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