Search Results for: relationships

Call for work life balance to help preserve relationships and health

Call for work life balance to help preserve relationships and health 0

Flexible workingMore than a third of UK workers (35 percent) say that their work schedule is detrimental to their relationship with their partner, nearly one in five (18 per cent) say their job has caused arguments, and eight per cent admit that work was a major factor in the breakdown of their relationship. This is according to research, commissioned by Coople that suggests the extent to which work is ruining relationships, causing arguments with partners and even taking a toll on sex lives. Nearly one in 10 (nine per cent) say the pressures faced at work has had a negative impact on their sex life and one in five (20 per cent) report their work has led to a decline in their health and wellbeing, citing stress and depression. Unsurprisingly, the survey also found that 54 per cent of people value a good work life balance in a job the most, above wages, career progression, doing something meaningful in their work or any employee benefits.

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Modern romance: advice to employers on managing workplace relationships

Managing workplace breakups

 

Despite all the cautionary tales regarding the dangers of office romance, countless employees start up relationships with co-workers every year. Whether sparks fly over the work photocopier or more likely, on a Friday night in the pub after work, the workplace still beats the internet for finding romance. The sheer number of hours we spend with colleagues together with the stresses and strains of work, can lead to close friendships that may go on to become a relationship further down the line. Research shows that couples who met at work are most likely to marry. However, the fact is that many relationships can and do fail and this is no less so for workplace relationships. Whilst clearly there are issues for the people involved to manage, it can also create headaches for employers. (more…)

Corporate real estate strategy will be defined by resilience now, report suggests

Corporate real estate strategy will be defined by resilience now, report suggests

Resilience, not scale or speed, will define the next phase of corporate real estate strategy across EMEAResilience, not scale or speed, will define the next phase of corporate real estate strategy across EMEA, as occupiers face a convergence of pressures reshaping how and where they operate. A new report from Colliers, Building Resilience: 5 Megatrends Redefining Corporate Real Estate, identifies five long-term megatrends – AI-enabled workforces, demographic shifts, energy scarcity, climate risk and a shifting global order – that are fundamentally changing how organisations choose locations, design workplaces and manage risk. While the full impact will play out over time, many companies remain underprepared for the scale of disruption. (more…)

Why your emotional journey through change makes complete sense

Why your emotional journey through change makes complete sense

When organisations embark on change, whether a restructure, a merger, a new strategy, or a shift in ways of working, enormous energy goes into the logic of it. The business case is crafted, the project plan is built, the communications are drafted and then, almost without fail, leaders are surprised by the messy, unpredictable, deeply human reality of what actually unfolds. People don’t move through change in a straight line. They don’t read the business case, nod along and transition smoothly into the new world. They feel their way through it. Understanding that emotional journey, really understanding it, not just paying lip service to it, is the difference between change that lands and change that unravels. (more…)

Re-humanising the workplace: why prevention, support and standards matter more than ever

Re-humanising the workplace: why prevention, support and standards matter more than ever

There is growing recognition that the workplace needs to become more human again, not less.There is growing recognition that the workplace needs to become more human again, not less. For all the talk of performance, productivity and retention, too many organisations still treat stress, ill health and emotional wellbeing as secondary matters. They are not. They sit at the heart of business success. The figures from the Keep Britain Working report, an independent review commissioned by the UK government and led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, the former chair of John Lewis, are a wake-up call. The value at stake is enormous. Employers face an estimated £85 billion a year in lost output and costs linked to ill health. For government, the additional burden in welfare payments and NHS demand is around £47 billion annually. On top of this lies the wider cost to the economy through lower participation, and the human and social costs of lost opportunity, stalled careers and reduced life chances. (more…)

Memories of the Office Age 

Memories of the Office Age 

memories of the office ageOriginally published in November 2021. No author uses the built environment like J G Ballard. In his 1975 novel High-Rise, the eponymous structure is both a way of isolating the group of people who live and compete inside it and a metaphor for their personal isolation and inner struggles. Over the course of three months, the building’s services begin to fail. The 2,000 people within, detached from external realities in the 40-storey building, confronted with their true selves and those of their neighbours, descend into selfishness and – ultimately – savagery.  (more…)

British workers happier and more productive than US and German contemporaries. Hey. We just report this stuff

British workers happier and more productive than US and German contemporaries. Hey. We just report this stuff

A major international study claims that team enjoyment is the strongest perceived driver of productivity, challenging long-standing assumptions about how organisations improve performance and that British workers claim to be happy and productive A major international study claims that team enjoyment is the strongest perceived driver of productivity, challenging long-standing assumptions about how organisations improve performance. The Global Workplace Happiness Report, published by The Happiness Index in partnership with employee benefits provider Pluxee, draws on responses from 80,000 employees across 115 countries. It suggests that social and emotional factors play a more significant role in productivity than operational systems such as workload management or process design. The poll also found that British workers are more likely to say they are happy and productive than their US and German contemporaries.  (more…)

Greater use of AI linked to more collaborative work patterns, survey claims

Greater use of AI linked to more collaborative work patterns, survey claims

Employees who make frequent use of AI tools are spending less time working alone and more time collaborating and learning with colleaguesEmployees who make frequent use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools are spending less time working alone and more time collaborating and learning with colleagues, according to a new global workplace survey from the Gensler Research Institute. The Global Workplace Survey 2026, based on responses from more than 16,000 office workers across 16 countries, suggests that as routine tasks become automated, work is shifting towards more human-centred activities, including mentoring, problem solving and teamwork. (more…)

Finland is yet again the world’s happiest country. UK and Canada slide

Finland is yet again the world’s happiest country. UK and Canada slide

Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for a record ninth consecutive year, according to the World Happiness Report 2026, as new findings highlight a more complex and uneven global picture of wellbeing, particularly among younger peopleFinland has been named the world’s happiest country for a record ninth consecutive year, according to the World Happiness Report 2026, as new findings highlight a more complex and uneven global picture of wellbeing, particularly among younger people. The Nordic nation retained its position at the top of the rankings with an average life evaluation score of 7.764 out of 10. Its continued dominance comes amid widening contrasts between regions, with several European countries maintaining relatively high and stable levels of wellbeing while English-speaking nations continue to slip down the table. (more…)

AI users report stronger workplace connections, according to Gensler survey

AI users report stronger workplace connections, according to Gensler survey

New research from Gensler suggests that employees who make the greatest use of artificial intelligence tools are also among the most connected to their colleagues, challenging assumptions that increased use of technology leads to more isolated ways of working.New research from Gensler suggests that employees who make the greatest use of artificial intelligence tools are also among the most connected to their colleagues, challenging assumptions that increased use of technology leads to more isolated ways of working. The firm’s 2026 Global Workplace Survey gathered responses from more than 16,400 office workers across 16 countries. Around 30 percent of respondents were identified as “AI power users”, defined as people who regularly use AI tools in both their work and personal lives. (more…)

Rebuilding belonging: how offices can overcome loneliness  

Rebuilding belonging: how offices can overcome loneliness  

In the coming weeks it will be six years since the UK entered lockdown and working life changed overnight. While much has stabilised, the impact of the pandemic still shapes how people experience work, particularly when it comes to connection and belonging. Loneliness is widely recognised as a growing societal issue and government data shows that around a quarter of adults in Great Britain report feeling lonely at least some of the time, rising significantly among younger age groups. Hybrid working has not created this challenge but it has highlighted that for many people the workplace was a consistent source of social interaction. (more…)

ULI Europe publishes new guide on asset-level collaboration to accelerate decarbonisation of occupied buildings

ULI Europe publishes new guide on asset-level collaboration to accelerate decarbonisation of occupied buildings

ULI Europe has published a new Asset Sustainability Committees Best Practice Guide through its C Change programme to support collaboration between owners, occupiers and property managers in decarbonising multi-let commercial buildingsULI Europe has published a new Asset Sustainability Committees Best Practice Guide through its C Change programme to support collaboration between owners, occupiers and property managers in the decarbonisation of multi-let commercial buildings. Across Europe, the commercial real estate sector has made significant progress in setting net zero and sustainability commitments. However, translating these ambitions into measurable action within occupied buildings remains a persistent challenge. (more…)