November 19, 2020

Covid-19 is levelling the playing field for disabled workers

by Ruby Gullon • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

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 13, 2020

People working from home should be taxed for the privilege, says Deutsche Bank

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

People working from home should be taxed at a higher rate to compensate for the money they aren’t spending on commuting and other expenses, according to a new report from economists at Deutsche Bank. The report argues that the move could generate billions in additional revenue which could then be redistributed to lower paid workers and those who cannot work remotely. The report argues that this should have happened anyway given that the number of Americans who regularly worked from home had already increased by 173 percent between 2005 and 2018. (more…)

November 12, 2020

New to working from home? Here is how you should set up

by Freddie Steele • Company news

The past year has been something of a game-changer in many ways and perhaps one of the most unexpected has been how people have had to embrace the idea of working from home. (more…)

November 2, 2020

Third of fathers unaware of their flexible working rights

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new study in the British Sociological Association’s journal Work, Employment and Society has found that 10 percent of mothers and 30 percent of fathers do not know that they have the right to ask their employer to consider changes to how they work as part of flexible working regulations introduced as much as 17 years ago. (more…)

October 21, 2020

Future of work has arrived sooner than expected, WEF report claims

by Neil Franklin • AI, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

The Future of Jobs 2020 report from the World Economic Forum claims that COVID-19 has caused the labour market to change faster than expected. The research suggests that what was recently considered the future of work has now arrived. By 2025, automation and a new division of labour between humans and machines will disrupt 85 million jobs globally in medium and large businesses across 15 industries and 26 economies. (more…)

October 15, 2020

Working women face new challenges in the era of Covid

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

The latest edition of the Women in the Workplace survey from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) claims working women across the green building industry are facing historic challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Of nearly 500 women surveyed, 86 percent are feeling supported by employers, yet nearly 90 percent note they are still facing challenges when it comes to financial, familial and professional responsibilities. (more…)

October 15, 2020

Work-life balance suffers for millions, as remote working increases

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

A new report from Dynata, a data and insights company, raises global concerns about the economy, and a “down but not out” resilience across the UK. The report claims that we are now a nation of home workers (as opposed to shopkeepers), juggling a work-life balance as the end of furlough approaches, and many predict a steep rise in redundancies. Dynata’s Global Trends Report: The Economy Edition surveyed over 9000 people across 9 countries globally, including over 1,000 respondents from the UK. (more…)

September 30, 2020

People still prefer permanent jobs despite rise in number of freelance roles

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives

Workers (82 percent) would rather have permanent jobs than “be their own boss” in a freelance or contract role, even as the self-employed and gig economy has grown rapidly in recent years, claims new research from the ADP Research Institute. Many workers believe that permanent work is preferable for a host of reasons including regular hours, better pay, timely payments, and the ability to get credit. (more…)

September 11, 2020

The mental health consequences of COVID grow increasingly clear

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

The number of self-employed people saying they have “poor” or “very poor” mental health has increased from 6 percent to 26 percent since the beginning of the pandemic (a 300 percent rise), claims new research by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed). The number saying they had “good” or “excellent” mental health has also dropped significantly since the beginning of the pandemic – from two-thirds (68 percent) to just over a third (39 percent). This was most severe among women (a drop of 54 percent) and young freelancers aged 16-34 (a drop of 49 percent). (more…)

September 2, 2020

Remote work and the coming race to the bottom

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives

One of the most significant consequences of the 2008 economic crash was a remarkable shift in the nature of employment. The recession led to a surge in the number of people categorised as self-employed. The numbers have been increasing ever since, albeit at a more stable rate. By the end of 2019, the number of self-employed people in the UK exceeded five million people for the first time. That’s fifteen percent of the workforce. (more…)

August 18, 2020

The challenge for the office is to stay relevant

by Ben Capper • Comment, Workplace design

The world is going through some painful changes at breakneck speed. As a result, the word unprecedented has reached number one spot on our ‘words to avoid’ list. What’s the big deal with unprecedented anyway? Our obsession with all things unprecedented taps into our fear of the unknown. But life itself is an unknown: Life is beta. Nothing is permanent. Every single day things happen that are unprecedented. Damn, said it again. (more…)

August 14, 2020

People increasingly confident about return to offices

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Half (49 percent) of employed British adults feel positive about the prospect of returning to their place of work after lockdown, with less than one in five (18 percent) feeling negative, an Aviva study claims. The findings paint a relatively positive picture for businesses that have supported their people through lockdown, such as regularly communicating with workers and taking necessary steps to manage the risk of infection in the workplace. However, where businesses have not embraced risk management and prevention strategies, employees may decide not to return to work at all. (more…)