June 3, 2021
Half of businesses have provided support for workers’ mental health during the pandemic
Half of workers in the UK (50 percent) say their employers have provided support for their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, while two-thirds of employees globally reported the same (65 percent). This may illustrate a growing awareness and concern from businesses about the potential psychological impact on staff, according to a new study People at Work 2021: A Global Workforce View by the ADP Research Institute. More →
Employees feel they need to go back into the office in order to be promoted according to new research conducted within the “Reinventing Work” chair at 
HR leaders, heads of real estate and IT decision-makers have not always spent huge amounts of time working together – their roles and responsibilities have often been siloed. But in the new world of work, that’s all changing. These three groups of senior leaders are being asked to collaborate on one of the biggest challenges corporate occupiers, as they try to figure out when and how to return to office-based working and shape the future of work. Failure to collaborate will increase the probability of workplaces having low occupancy rates, low employee engagement and decreased productivity. 
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has released new figures suggesting that over two thirds (66 percent) of businesses surveyed now offer flexible working to employees. The data, from a survey of over 900 businesses conducted in April 2021, also shows nearly three quarters of businesses expect to have at least one employee working remotely over the coming year, with the average expectation among those firms being just over half of their employees working remotely. 
BT has today announced plans to develop a brand new, multi-million pound contact centre in Dundee which will become the new home to around 1,000 employees. The new office will be at West Marketgait in the heart of the city centre, close to the waterfront and part of a £1bn regeneration area. When the building is complete, expected in late 2023, the contact centre will be one of around 30 of BT’s new future-fit offices in the UK, developed as part of its ‘
Mobile access company 
Ten years ago, the day after I left my full-time job at FM World magazine* to set up Magenta I wrote a blog called 
When it comes to conversations about work and workplaces, the past year has offered a fully immersive experience. Everybody now has an opinion. Inevitably some of them are better informed and more rooted in experience than others. So, after a full year of talk and as we return to some form of routine working life, the time has come to take stock. Few organisations and people will remain untouched by the sudden shift in attitudes towards working life, so we asked four workplace experts for their views on the current state of play. 
New research conducted by 
When the global pandemic struck last year, many companies were forced to close offices and enable employees to work remotely – bringing forward their digital transformation roadmap by a good few year. A year on, and while it seems that the Covid-19 restrictions are reducing, there is unlikely to be a complete shift back to the office. Instead, most companies are now planning to adopt a hybrid work model; with employees working a mix of in-office or remotely. 
June 3, 2021
Engineered familiarity in the new era of work
by Robin Bayliss • Comment, Working lives, Workplace design