Search Results for: productivity

Hygiene remains main concern of people returning to work

Hygiene remains main concern of people returning to work

As lockdown measures begin to ease, many UK office workers are concerned about going back to the office – with worries rife over being able to maintain social distancing (59 percent) and appropriate hygiene and cleaning standards (44 percent), according to new research. The YouGov poll, for the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) surveyed office workers across the country to reveal that over a third (34 percent) are concerned about getting used to a corporate office culture again after the lockdown. (more…)

The language barrier to wellbeing in the workplace

The language barrier to wellbeing in the workplace

In a recent piece for the Architects Journal, incoming BCO President Paul Patenall extolled the virtues of a Danish idea called Arbejdsglaede, (almost) literally the joy of work. There is no equivalent word in English, of course, but it also taps into our assumption that we can learn a thing or two from our Scandinavian cousins about wellbeing and the ways in which we should find happiness in our daily lives and surroundings.

(more…)

Remote working has a number of hidden risks

Remote working has a number of hidden risks

Many of us have had little choice but to resort to remote working in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. It is just days since Google, Apple and Twitter were making headlines by ordering their employees to work from home, but you could now say the same about lots of companies. (more…)

Organisations think empowering people is the route to success (but only a few act)

Organisations think empowering people is the route to success (but only a few act)

Nearly 90 percent of organisations say their success depends on empowering frontline employees to make decisions in real, but only 7 percent offer people the tools they need, according to a new report from  Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, sponsored by ThoughtSpot. The report, The New Decision Makers: Equipping Frontline Workers For Success, analyses the sentiments of 464 business executives from 16 industry sectors in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.  Only one-fifth of organisations say they currently have a truly empowered and digitally equipped workforce while 86 percent agree their frontline workers need better technology and more insight to be able to make good decisions in the moment. (more…)

The six best ways to increase engagement in remote workers

The six best ways to increase engagement in remote workers

We exist in an era in which the ways in which we engage employees shift  continuously in parallel with their working hours. Technology and innovative workforce policy allow businesses to include remote workers anywhere and at any time. While this opens up a number of opportunities for work-life integration, it may also pose a number of specific challenges. (more…)

Organisations should seize this opportunity to look at their values

Organisations should seize this opportunity to look at their values

Not since 911 has one event triggered such global impact and uncertainty across all businesses and industries. The unprecedented speed and scale of organisational change has challenged even the prepared leadership team. (more…)

Team building exercises have never been more important

Team building exercises have never been more important

team building These days, almost every company implements team building exercises — and rightly so, as decades of research have shown how beneficial they can be. Indeed, in a Forbes article O2E Brands CEO Brian Scudamore argues that team building activities are the most significant investment companies can make. (more…)

The lockdown gives us a chance to reconsider business ethics

The lockdown gives us a chance to reconsider business ethics

The past few weeks have been a time of extreme disruption and tension caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but there has been a sliver of good news – people around the world have been quick to notice the environmental benefits of people remaining in their homes. (more…)

Third of people say they have been bullied at work

Third of people say they have been bullied at work

According to a new study from employment law firm Kew Law a third of people claim to have been bullied at work in the last three years and nearly three quarters say they have either been bullied themselves or witnessed a colleague being bullied. According to the survey of employees of 131 companies in the UK, most of the instances involved unfair treatment, overwork and general undermining of an individual. (more…)

A brief history of workplace disruption

A brief history of workplace disruption

Office work has existed in some form ever since people started writing on tablets and papyrus. Depictions of clerical staff are common in the Bible and on the walls of pyramids. In the mid 14th Century the Church of San Nicolò, commissioned the artist Tomaso da Modena to create the fresco in the chapter room of the church depicting forty monks of the order hard at it at their desks. The word office itself derives from the famous Uffizi in Florence, created in 1560. (more…)

Parents struggle to balance working from home with home schooling

Parents struggle to balance working from home with home schooling

working from homeJob board, CWjobs has released new research which claims parents are struggling with anxiety and stress as a result of having to home-school their children whilst they are working from home during lockdown. While previous research from the firm claimed that 80 percent of IT decision makers believe remote working would increase productivity in their business, productivity gains right now are unlikely for parents as they face an additional challenge: the balance of working from home and educating their children in light of continued school closures. (more…)

One in three SMEs plan to increase flexible working after pandemic

One in three SMEs plan to increase flexible working after pandemic

The coronavirus crisis has already cost UK SMEs an average £277,893 each – and 64 percent expect their revenues to decrease by half in coming months, according to a nationwide survey released by Fiverr. The study of 1,000 SME owners and decision makers in 19 cities across the UK also claims that nearly one in three (29 percent) of UK SMEs plan to increase flexible working post-pandemic. (more…)