September 23, 2020
Fairness around office rota decisions and implementation is a top employee concern, claims new research by HSM. As employers now consider the impact of a second wave of Covid-19, the Government is now encouraging people to work from home and grapple with decisions around how and when to bring people back to the office. (more…)
September 22, 2020
More than 11 million UK working adults have taken time off work for poor mental wellbeing, costing businesses an estimated 40 million working days each year, claims new research from healthcare provider, Benenden Health. As many as a third (35 percent) of UK employees took time off work due to poor mental health in 2019, with workers absent for between two and five days on average, costing UK businesses an estimated 4o million individual days of work. (more…)
September 21, 2020
It almost goes without saying that this year has seen a rapid shift towards remote working, with many companies now moving to a flexible working model. From a business perspective, many employees are proving that they can still get their work done working from home. But what is the psychological impact of this? And are companies doing enough to research and prevent any negative psychological effects of remote working? (more…)
September 18, 2020
Fitwel, the healthy building certification system operated by The Center for Active Design (CfAD), has announced the formal launch of its Viral Response module, with additional commitments for adoption from companies, including BentallGreenOak, Boston Properties, Brookfield Properties, DLC Europe, Hudson Pacific Properties, Kilroy Realty Corporation, Nuveen Real Estate, and The Tower Companies. (more…)
September 17, 2020
A new survey by UK job board Totaljobs, claims that despite increased appetite in the UK for remote working practices to continue into the future, the disconnection from the day-to-day social interactions of the workplace and the encroachment of work on our home lives has seen feelings of loneliness and isolation take hold, in a workforce already struggling to adapt to the challenge of the ‘new normal’. (more…)
September 17, 2020
New research by the CIPD claims the shift to home working over the pandemic has been a positive experience for most employers, who report people’s improved work-life balance (cited by 61 percent of employers), enhanced employee collaboration (43 percent) and improved focus (38 percent). Overall, 28 percent of employers report that the increase in home workers has boosted productivity, while 37 percent say it has not impacted productivity levels, with 28 percent of employers reporting a decrease. (more…)
September 16, 2020
A report by HR software and employment law advice service BrightHR claims that 28 percent of UK workers have cancelled annual leave in 2020. The report, which uses data from over 300,000 BrightHR users, also claims that, predictably, the two highest months for cancelled leave were while the UK was in full lockdown. April had the highest number of leave cancellations, with 31,762 users withdrawing holiday requests. It was followed by May, which saw 25,083 users cancel their leave. (more…)
September 15, 2020
The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on commercial buildings was immediate – offices emptied overnight as people made the sudden shift to home working. Several months later, and although restrictions are being lifted, an unease about the possibility of localised lockdowns and an uncertainty about the potential health implications of being indoors with larger groups, means fewer people than expected are choosing to go back to office-based working. Something that might help reassure them that the office is a safe place is knowing that the air they’ll be breathing is clean. (more…)
September 8, 2020
Seniority in the workplace could be directly correlated to how often you listen to music whilst you work, claims a poll of 1,000 UK office workers. The research, which was carried out by London office developer CO—RE, suggests that business owners and C-suite executives were the most likely to listen to music in their working environment. (more…)
September 7, 2020
What can we learn from 2020? Maybe one of the most important lessons is that we had got to accustomed to functioning, working and thinking like machines rather than humans? The deadly Covid-19 virus reminded all of us that the mortal human can never relax and believe all is ‘’OK’’. (more…)
September 7, 2020
While city centres are taking time to recover, there’s better news elsewhere, suggests Vodafone research into small business employees. Local economies are benefitting from the rise in homeworking, with 25 percent of homeworkers spending at least once a day at their local coffee shop or café. The research, which surveyed 1,003 small business employees, also claims that working from home has not hindered Brits’ productivity, with 40 percent of workers putting in an average of 642 additional hours, equal to 26 extra days, since lockdown began back in March. (more…)
September 22, 2020
No need to sideline form in our quest for function
by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design