July 1, 2020

UK workforce wants hybrid-working, not the end of the office

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The majority (77 percent) of UK employees say a mix of office-based and remote working is the best way forward post COVID-19, according to new research by the Adecco Group UK and Ireland. The global ‘Resetting Normal: Defining the New Era of Work’ study, which surveyed 1,000 UK employees alongside workers in eight other countries to understand their desires and expectations for the world of work post COVID-19, found that 79 percent think it’s important that their company implements more flexibility in how and where staff can work. (more…)

June 30, 2020

Cracking the issue of work after lockdown

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Take any issue in the modern era and you’ll find a noisy schism. The big-endians and little-endians yelling at each other about the right way to eat a boiled egg, right over the heads of the majority of people who wonder if they’d be better off just having some toast and a nice cup of tea. Not that the toast-eaters can say anything without being accused by both sides of the divide of belonging to the other. (more…)

June 30, 2020

Younger workers careers suffer in lockdown, but are hopeful of better future

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

In the face of unprecedented health and economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘millennials’ and ‘Gen Zs’ express resolve and a vision to build a better future, a new Deloitte survey claims. The 2020 Deloitte Global Millennial Survey, now in its ninth year, suggests that both generations remain resilient in the face of adversity and are determined to drive positive change in their communities and around the world. (more…)

June 30, 2020

Companies fail to consider employee needs during digital transformation

by George Eltringham • News, Technology

Lenovo has published a new study which claims that organisations are placing business and shareholder goals above employee needs during their digital transformation. The research, conducted among 1,000 IT managers across EMEA, suggests that just 6 percent of IT managers consider users as their top priority when making technology investments. (more…)

June 29, 2020

Recruitment firms remain upbeat about longer term economy

by George Eltringham • News, Workplace

Research conducted by Bullhorn, suggests that recruiting professionals are optimistic about COVID-19’s future economic impact. According to Bullhorn’s Global Recruitment Insights and Data (GRID) COVID-19 Impact Survey, only two percent predict a sustained depression that extends past 2021, and more than half (56 percent) expect the economy to improve by the end of the year. (more…)

June 29, 2020

Winners announced for 2020 KI Award from Royal College of Art and Imperial College

by Freddie Steele • Company news

The winners of the annual KI Award, now in its fifth year, were announced in the lead up to the upcoming digital graduation show. The awards and cash prizes are given to final year students selected from the RCA’s ‘Design Products’ and the RCA/Imperial College London’s ‘Innovation Design Engineering’ double masters course. The winning projects showed an outstanding approach to functionality, durability, sustainability and enhancement to user experience for our future working or learning experiences. A summary of each award winner is included below. (more…)

June 26, 2020

Talkin` about the quarantine generation

by Anthony Brown • Comment, Wellbeing

The year is 2045. It’s well over twenty years since the Covid 19 pandemic created chaos and fear throughout the world. But just like the ‘baby boomer’ generation who were born, celebrated and cherished in the wake of World War II, so the ‘quarantinis’ are starting to make their way in the world of work. In contrast to baby boomers’ desire to throw off the societal shackles which paved the way for the swinging 60s, the quarantinis are much more reserved in their expectations, especially when their every move can be tracked and traced and their every conversation saved on surveillance software. (more…)

June 26, 2020

Work from home advocates beckon us to a living hell

by James Woudhuysen • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Look, I work from home. The liberal in me says: if you want to and can work from home, then why not? Yes, few of Britain’s cramped homes – especially those occupied by young people – are well equipped for home working, which can be stressful. But, as I say, I see no problem in working from home if you choose to. It’s one thing to say people should be free to work from home (WFH). It’s quite another to endorse it as the New Normal, the way to go, and as a path to a low-pollution, low-emissions paradise on Earth, as many are now doing. (more…)

June 23, 2020

The key features of the post COVID-19 office you should consider

by Paul Seddon • Company news, Workplace design

With millions of people now working from home or furloughed, they may be wondering when they will be asked to return to the office, perhaps imagining what their office will look like on their return and feeling a little anxious about going back to their work space. A TUC survey issued 27 April 2020 confirmed that 39 percent of workers returning to the office are concerned about safe distancing from their colleagues. (more…)

June 19, 2020

We are in danger of reanimating some bad ideas about work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Working culture

Did you hear the one about a Swiss court ruling that firms should pay to rent space in the homes of remote workers? It’s a hell of a thing, especially when so much has been made of the cost savings of a reduction in office space. It’s a notion that is extremely likely to be tested in other countries, so brace yourself. It also illustrates why so many of the narratives about working life after lockdown aren’t as straightforward as they might appear. (more…)

June 18, 2020

Half of workers feel more productive working from home

by George Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Productivity has increased due to the current lockdown situation, according to around half of UK workers. The majority (56 percent) of workers who don’t usually work from home feel more productive than in the office. Despite this, 50 percent of those currently working from home are looking forward to their workplace reopening, although 70 percent hope their employer lets them work from home more often in future. Nearly half (45 percent) of workers would therefore welcome a flexible office arrangement that allows them to split working time between the office and home. (more…)

June 17, 2020

Time to apply the lessons we learned during lockdown

by Louise Bancroft • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing

So far, 2020 has not gone to plan. For businesses, and the people they employ, the next few months may be just as bumpy, as each country, state and city takes its own approach to a phased return to work after lockdown. Today, in Houston, offices are limited to 25 percent capacity, in London, the underground is capped at 13-15 percent capacity, while in New Zealand and other countries hospitality and retail are returning with heightened hygiene measures and social distancing in place. (more…)