February 15, 2021
Issue 5 of IN Magazine opens up new dimensions for the workplace
The digital edition of IN5 is now available, exploring the very latest thinking on people, places and technology with print copies on their way soon. In the new issue: the different responses of nations to the pandemic; how some furniture makers are using new materials to do something real about the environment; interviews with Marie Puybaraud and Neil Usher; masks and helmets at work; the new opportunities for the workplace professions; how a new office in Athens combines ancient wisdom and modern thinking; the potential for us to drift into a new form of feudalism; and all the latest, news and commentary you need; plus some other stuff you didn’t know you needed. (more…)
More than 40 percent of young people aged 16-24 surveyed in the UK say they are putting their career or education plans on hold until the pandemic is over. The research, commissioned by 
Let’s be honest, work life pre 2020 had its flaws, whilst the longing for variety of scenery, change of pace and even a train journey (somewhere…ANYWHERE) would be welcomed by many of us right now, many of us had become a bit ‘hamster wheel’ in our approach. Commuting was stressful, expensive and time hungry; our natural and individual rhythms squeezed into a set 9-5 schedule and workplace design had become a bit ‘quantity over quality’ – desks have been reducing in size year upon year in order that capacity could be increased. We had reached a point at which everything was ripe for change but there was largely a resistance to both flexible working requests and embracing much of the technological advancements that were already at our fingertips. 
Microsoft has announced Microsoft Viva, which it claims is the first employee experience platform to bring tools for employee engagement, learning, wellbeing and knowledge discovery, directly into people’s workflow. Viva is designed to help employees ‘learn, grow and thrive’ in the new era of working life, and is designed to work alongside existing solutions such as Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams. 
Workers in Britain are facing inequality due to a stark difference in employers’ approaches to flexible working, with nearly half (46 percent) of employees saying they do not have flexible working arrangements – such as flexi-time, part-time working, compressed hours or job shares – in their current role. This is according to new research from the 
The uncertainty and fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic have wreaked havoc on the mental health of nearly all of us. In a recent conversation with an HR leader, she shared with me that every single person on her leadership programme reported suffering disrupted sleep due to their anxiety around business uncertainty. The irony is the business is in better shape than it has been for years thanks to the effective management of the firm’s finances during the pandemic. Regardless of reality, the uncertainty is impacting on everyone’s resilience levels. 
New research from Opinion Matters, commissioned by 
A new report of over 1,000 small business owners and decision makers by 
With data science lauded as the answer to COVID-19 recovery, organisations are planning to significantly increase their data science headcount this year. This is according to the latest research from 
As SME leaders plan for the year ahead, 
February 16, 2021
We must seize the chance to go full circle on sustainable office design
by Joanna Knight • Comment, Environment, JK