July 21, 2022

Digital presenteeism now a pervasive cultural pressure

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Damaging habits from the office have been imported into remote work, with a pervasive culture of digital presenteeism taking hold, according to a new report Killing Time at Work from Qatalog and GitLab Inc. The research also claims to reveal a new phenomenon which the authors have dubbed ‘async privilege’, with C-suite execs taking advantage of new freedoms to work on their own schedule, but not providing those same opportunities to junior members of staff. More →

July 21, 2022

Corporate real estate firms lagging on digital transformation

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Technology

Resistance to change and lack of resources are holding back real estate firms on digital transformation, a new report [registration] claims. The study involved more than 175 innovation leads in corporate real estate organisations at locations worldwide, including British Land, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield and Buro Happold. Authored by Swedish PropTech academic Olli Vigren, the report sets out to explain why the sector has fallen behind other industries in adopting new technology. More →

July 14, 2022

Three quarters of young people worldwide lack skills needed for employment

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Nearly three quarters of young people aged 15 to 24 in 92 countries with available data are off-track to acquire the skills needed for employment, according to a new report published today by the Education Commission and UNICEF to coincide with World Youth Skills Day. Recovering learning: Are children and youth on track in skills development? features analyses on development in early childhood, and among children of primary school age and youth. The data highlight low levels of skill among children and young people across all age groups, with young people in low-income countries the least likely to have those required to thrive, particularly in future employment opportunities, decent work, and entrepreneurship. More →

July 8, 2022

Ergotron announces acquisition by Sterling Group

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Works Magazine

Ergonomics products maker Ergotron, Inc. has announced that The Sterling Group has completed its acquisition of the company. “This is an exciting milestone for Ergotron, and we look forward to partnering with The Sterling Group to drive new opportunities and grow our global business,” said Chad Severson, CEO of Ergotron. “With the added support of our new partner and a shared commitment to employee and market-led growth, Ergotron remains focused on designing innovative solutions that help enhance employee health, comfort, and productivity.”

July 6, 2022

Hybrid working can help graduates succeed

by Lindsey Rowe • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

The pandemic has transformed how we think about and approach the workplace, with the majority of employees having alternated between remote and hybrid working over the last two years. While this experience has been almost universal, many have found this transition challenging – even for the established professionals used to adapting to change. But what does this mean for those about to enter the workplace for the first time? More →

June 30, 2022

The fifteen minute city will transform the way we think about workplaces

by Wybo Wijnbergen • Cities, Features, Flexible working, Property

For most of history, there have been a small number of immovable truisms that formed the nature of what work is, and how communities form around it. While individuals have long held some agency around the structure and pattern of their work, being present in a communal workplace has been a non-negotiable reality. This need to work from an office comes wed with parallel requirements to help facilitate it. Employees have been willing to strike a compromise between where they wish to live and where they want to work through commutes, with the financial and time cost and associated stress that comes along with it. More →

June 27, 2022

Two thirds of those working from home suspect their employer thinks they are less productive

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Employers appear to lack trust in their workers to decide where they are the most productive, with more people now returning to the office full-time. Whilst 76 percent of UK respondents said they are more productive working remotely or are just as productive as they are in the office, 65 percent also believe their employer is concerned they are actually less productive when working from home. According to the fifth quarterly Talent Index from Beamery, almost half of workers (44 percent) in the UK say they have been asked to return to the office full-time with almost nine out of ten (88 percent) saying their employer sees staff returning to the office as essential and important. More →

June 27, 2022

The raging truth about burnout

by Stephanie Fitzgerald • Comment, SF, Wellbeing, Workplace

We’re probably all familiar with an image of burnout. People sitting head in hands, or lying in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to get up and get going in the morning. Burnout is once again a topic of the moment as workplaces are left reeling by the “Great Resignation”, and those that are left behind are struggling to cover the resulting gap in knowledge and resource. More →

June 24, 2022

Physical activity could boost UK economy by up to £17 billion

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The fitness and leisure sector holds the key to encouraging physical activity which could save the UK economy up to £17bn a year, according to a new report from ukactive. The report’s authors have called on the Government and its partners to work with the fitness and leisure sector to get the nation’s workforce physically active, as new research from Deloitte shows it could benefit the UK economy by up to £17bn a year. The landmark report was commissioned by IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) on behalf of the Global Health and Fitness Alliance. More →

June 23, 2022

We need to stop misusing the term ergonomic

by Guy Osmond • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design, Works Magazine

You don’t have to search for long to find the word ergonomic; it pops up everywhere, in connection with every sort of product and device for the workplace (and elsewhere). You can – so the marketeers will tell you – buy an ‘ergonomic’ chair, desk, keyboard or mouse. What’s wrong with that? An awful lot actually. The word ergonomic has a particular meaning. Ergonomics (note the crucial addition of an ‘s’ at the end), from the Greek ‘Ergos’ for work or labour and ‘Nomos’, meaning natural law, is the discipline of designing and arranging an environment to optimise the comfort and performance of the individual. More →

June 21, 2022

Workplace discrimination remains ‘endemic’

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A poll from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) suggests that, despite the appearance of an “all-inclusive” working culture, many employees in the UK work for organisations that present them with systemic challenges when it comes to workplace discrimination and inclusion. The report claims that employees saw weaker representation of those from different backgrounds to them in management (69 percent saw such representation) and senior leadership (67 percent). More →

June 20, 2022

Birmingham BT HQ shows road ahead for its offices and the city

by Mike Hills • Cities, Features, Property, Workplace design

In January of 2020, shortly before that thing happened and before we knew much about the UK Government’s ‘levelling up’ programme, Birmingham was already a city on the rise. It had recently been announced that it was to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and was riding the crest of a number of high-profile developments and regeneration projects, not least those that arrived on the back of the controversial high speed rail station. More →