January 5, 2021
The idea of a Global Village comes loaded with a number of idyllic connotations. Most of them derive from the use of the word village itself, which triggers the idea of a community in our minds. Yet even the man who coined and popularised the term in the 1950s and 60s to describe a world contracted by new media understood that there are always complications whenever technology rubs up against human beings. More →
December 18, 2020
Originally published in March, right at the start of all this. Makes me wonder how far we’ve come in nine months. In Dorian Lynskey’s The Ministry of Truth, a “biography” of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the author describes how Orwell’s book was the end point of an obsession with utopian (and ultimately dystopian) fiction that characterised the first half of the Twentieth Century, and reflected the competing political, social and economic ideologies of the era. More →
December 16, 2020
As the world prepares to close the book on the unprecedented events of 2020 and looks ahead to 2021 with renewed hope and optimism, global research from The Workforce Institute at UKG explores the importance of elevating trust to a foundational imperative to create high-performing workplace cultures that better serve customers and their communities. More →
December 15, 2020
With the continuous impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health due to isolation, work uncertainty, and anxiety over health, the topic has been dominating the news, begging the question of how we can achieve accessible and cost-effective treatment for all and prevent the expected acceleration of mental health issues in the coming months. As we juggle a different type of work-life balance brought about by working from home and the added worry of how the pandemic is affecting us, there is no doubt that our daily lives have been disrupted. The statistics are alarming; 60 percent of adults reported their mental health had gotten worse during the COVID-19 lockdown, and 51 percent said their mental health has got worse during this period. More →
December 4, 2020
When Donald Trump was pictured recently sitting uncomfortably at a table that looked like it had been retrieved from a skip, it provoked the sort of sneering commentary about furniture choices last seen when Dominic Cummings popped in to the Downing Street garden to deliver some self-serving blather from behind a rickety trestle table. More →
December 2, 2020
Most of the analysis about the effects of the 2020 pandemic on people’s working lives has tended to involve grand statements about new normals and the death of this or that, as if everybody wants the same things, has the same personal circumstances, works in the same ways, the same places and same sectors. More →
November 25, 2020
The location of a potential employer’s workplace is becoming more important to workers – despite a surge in people working remotely, according to outplacement firm Randstad RiseSmart UK. Almost half (49 percent) of workers now say location is an important factor in choosing an employer, up from just over a third (35 percent) pre-pandemic. More →
November 23, 2020
Companies are facing complex performance challenges as the COVID-19 resurgence heightens the need to reinvigorate employee engagement. JLL’s new “Human Experience” report explores these changing workforce dynamics and expectations in a post-pandemic world and offers insights for how forward-thinking companies can reimagine their approach to managing their people and workplaces to stay ahead in 2021. More →
November 19, 2020
As many of us cope with yet another lockdown, optimism is easy to misplace but, for disabled workers, this could result in monumental change for future employment. On the month commencing the 25th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act and the run-up to International Day of Disabled Persons, could this be the final push for change? As we swing in and out of remote-working, whether you love it or loathe it, one thing is abundantly clear – it can be done. Something that the 2 billion people currently living with disabilities have always known. Life can be accessible anywhere if you put your mind to it. More →
November 19, 2020
With a new national lockdown, the situation in the UK remains unpredictable and complicated, and renewed pressure to work from home has forced many organisations to reverse their back-to-work plans, according to a new study from Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA). The study has detailed the matrix of pain that employees may be suffering due to this challenging situation – from those who didn’t want to return to the office when restrictions were eased but had to, to those who are unhappy about working from home. In creating unhappy, disengaged employees, these pain points undermine the six key factors of productivity, defined by the AWA as: social cohesion, trust, perceived supervisory support, information sharing, vision and goal clarity, and external communication. More →
A new report from the
January 7, 2021
You will hear a lot more about purpose, communication and rituals at work this year
by Imke Schuller • Comment, Working culture