Employers appear to lack trust in their workers to decide where they are the most productive, with more people now returning to the office full-time. Whilst 76 percent of UK respondents said they are more productive working remotely or are just as productive as they are in the office, 65 percent also believe their employer is concerned they are actually less productive when working from home. According to the fifth quarterly Talent Index from Beamery, almost half of workers (44 percent) in the UK say they have been asked to return to the office full-time with almost nine out of ten (88 percent) saying their employer sees staff returning to the office as essential and important.  More →

Almost half of workers feel working from home has diminished their feeling of ‘belonging’ to an organisation, according to the Employee Job Satisfaction Report [registration] from recruitment firm Morgan Phillips. According to the poll, UK workers feel they are treated well by their employer (58 percent quite well and 27 percent very well), but half are still considering changing their jobs, with 17 percent looking for a change in 2022. More →

Three quarters of HR leaders feel that hybrid work challenges employees’ connection to organisational culture, according to a survey from Gartner. The poll of more than 200 HR leaders claims the most challenging aspect of setting their hybrid strategy is adjusting the current organisational culture to support a hybrid workforce. While 40 percent of HR leaders reported they have increased their culture budget since the beginning of the pandemic, the survey of more than 3,900 hybrid / remote workers in December 2021 suggests only one in four are connected to their organisation’s culture. More →

New research from LinkedIn claims to highlight a potential impending ‘flexidus’ amongst women in the UK workforce, with 52 percent saying they’ve considered leaving, or have left, their role due to a lack of flexibility. According to the research, a perceived lack of flexibility at work is having a significant impact on women’s careers. Of the women who have left a job because of a lack of flexible working, more than one in five (21 percent) say their career progression has been hindered, and 25 percent decided to take a career break as a result. More →

Remote workers might soon be able to do their jobs and shop for groceries at the same time, under a new “Spaces” project between Tesco and flexible office operator IWG. A trial at a branch of Tesco in New Malden that will start later in this month and will accommodate 12 private desks, 30 co-working spaces and a meeting room. The 3,800 sq ft space within the store would normally have been used for electrical goods, music, and other forms of entertainment, most of which are now mainly purchased online. The aim is to make better use of floor space and, if successful, Tesco stores across the country could become flexible working hubs. More →

Flexible working is the new hybrid working as a third of European workers would decline a job if flexible hours were not offered. That is the key claim of a new report from Owl Labs, a collaborative technology company. The annual State of Hybrid Work study polled 10,000 full-time employees across UK, Germany, France, Netherlands and Scandinavia – which suggests that flexibility is key to retaining top talent in 2022 and beyond. Over a third (37 percent) of European employees are prepared to decline a job if flexible hours are not offered and just over two thirds (69 percent) would accept a pay cut to have flexible hours. More →