Search Results for: flexible

‘Great Resignation’ offers a one off opportunity to rethink our relationship with work

‘Great Resignation’ offers a one off opportunity to rethink our relationship with work

great resignationAfter nearly two turbulent years, which for many knowledge workers have been dominated by a ground-hog day like existence, people are looking for change. This is only natural as workers around the world are re-evaluating their priorities, reigniting their passions, or simply looking for something new. This has led to a mini-exodus from businesses, which is now being dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’. (more…)

One in six employees are retrained and ready for new careers

One in six employees are retrained and ready for new careers

retrainedA new survey has revealed that nearly one in six (15 percent) employees working in the UK have already retrained for a new role or profession. Their current employers just don’t know it yet. (more…)

Pandemic highlights the need for smarter, more adaptable offices and cities

Pandemic highlights the need for smarter, more adaptable offices and cities

pandemic and smart citiesThe coronavirus pandemic is a new experience for every one of us. It has changed life as we know it – at work, at home and for public interactions. As some countries start to ease restrictions on public life, how can we go back to ‘normal’ while still maintaining social distancing and feeling safe? How do we manage crowded public spaces like shopping malls, cinemas and restaurants? How do we optimize safety in our offices and factories? More importantly, how do we avoid shutting down entire cities and countries when the next pandemic hits? (more…)

Company culture, linked to share price, funding success and growth

Company culture, linked to share price, funding success and growth

cultureA new research report from Culture Amp, claims that company workforces’ overall confidence as well as employees’ belief in their leaders are the biggest differentiators when it comes to achieving sustained stock price increases between July 2020 and June 2021. (more…)

Working from home can increase work-family conflict for women in traditional gender roles

Working from home can increase work-family conflict for women in traditional gender roles

conflictNew research by the University of Kent claims that working from home can increase feelings that family responsibilities hinder work responsibilities, but only for women in traditional gender roles. Despite its advantages, such as less commuting and more flexibility, the study published in the journal Community, Work and Family discovered that working from home can increase rather than decrease feelings that work and family demands conflict with one another. (more…)

What the 21st Century office of the future looked like in the 1960s

What the 21st Century office of the future looked like in the 1960s

refraction and the office of the futureWe’re used to hearing people predict what The Office of the Future will look like. It’s been going on for a very long time now and each new generation of commentators on the subject comes up with its own forms of wishful thinking, wild generalisations, distorted conclusions and failures to account for the inherent unknowability of future disruptive technology. The best way of reminding ourselves of these pitfalls is not to look forward, but back. Only then  can we see how an image can be refracted and make allowances. (more…)

Menopause may amount to a disability under law in some cases

Menopause may amount to a disability under law in some cases

menopauseWorld Menopause Day is held each year on 18 October and its purpose is “to raise awareness of the menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing” according to the International Menopause Society. This autumn, we have seen this awareness translated into a practical response by the UK Government. (more…)

There are thirty-eight ways to win an argument, but this ain’t one

There are thirty-eight ways to win an argument, but this ain’t one

A painting of Socrates to depict the ways we have discussions about the workplace There are 38 ways to win an argument. That is according to the 19th Century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer who laid them out in an essay called The Art of Being Right. We’ve probably added a few more since it was published in 1896, but whatever we’ve come up with since probably works on the same basis. Despite the essay’s title, the stratagems are not actually about being right at all, but about winning an argument. (more…)

Pandemic-driven shifts have made the workforce smaller, younger and more female

Pandemic-driven shifts have made the workforce smaller, younger and more female

pandemicThe pandemic has not led to mass unemployment as many feared, but has instead driven wider shifts that have increased employment among younger women, but pushed many men and older workers out of the labour market altogether, according to new research. (more…)

Winds of change are blowing through the office

Winds of change are blowing through the office

Whilst driving through Zürich in a hailstorm I passed a Mercedes with a plastic bin liner taped over a missing window. Two thoughts struck me. First: this must be the result of the owner locking himself out of the car, as car crime is a fictional event in Switzerland (bike theft is preferred). The second was how utterly pointless this flapping piece of plastic served as an attempt to seal the broken window. (more…)

Kingsley Napley’s new office supplied by Rainbow

Kingsley Napley’s new office supplied by Rainbow

International law firm, Kingsley Napley, have recently moved to Twenty Bonhill Street, London. The new space has been designed with an ‘activity-based’ flexible working model in mind. This entailed creating a range of spaces which suit the various tasks that are necessary in a modern law firm. (more…)

What big city exodus? Minority of Londoners are working from home full time

What big city exodus? Minority of Londoners are working from home full time

LondonersResearch carried out by Momentive (formerly SurveyMonkey), exploring Londoners’ changing experience and expectations of work claims that despite common beliefs, COVID-19 has not caused the end of ‘city life’ with just 14 percent working remotely full time. (more…)