November 24, 2020

Work really has become much harder during the pandemic

by Eva Selenko • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The pandemic has seriously altered how we work. According to statistics published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in September 2020, US$35 trillion (£26 trillion) has been lost globally in labour income. There has also been an estimated loss of 17 percent of working hours worldwide since 2019, with young people and women being hit hardest. And many of those still in jobs are working under very different conditions. More →

November 24, 2020

Legal and mental health concerns mount as businesses brace for redundancies

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Despite the last-minute extension of the furlough scheme, new research conducted among UK business leaders claims that great concern remains around making redundancies and in particular the legal risk. The survey of over 440 UK business leaders, conducted by employment law and HR support firm Ellis Whittam, also claims two-thirds (66 percent) believe the prospect of making redundancies has negatively impacted their mental wellbeing. More →

November 19, 2020

Six key factors of productivity for organisations disrupted by lockdown

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture

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 →

November 18, 2020

Life scientists want to help society, while engineers focus on advancing their own career

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

New research from Professor Henry Sauermann of ESMT Berlin, and colleagues, claims academics from different fields have different motives for engaging in commercial activities. With life scientists considering social impact important and engineers focusing on career advancement. Interestingly, money was not a motive for engaging in commercial activities at all. More →

November 16, 2020

How to manage workplace capacity in 2020

by Freddie Steele • Company news

The pandemic has totally shattered workplace norms, so it’s going to take a while before we see organizations returning to work at full capacity. When it does happen, it will require extensive planning and constantly evolving styles of people management. In addition to the logistics of phasing people back into the office and staggering shifts, you’ll need to work with your team to address their anxieties and make sure they feel comfortable in their environment. More →

November 6, 2020

Human error has posed cybersecurity challenges during the pandemic

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Technology

80 percent of companies say that an increased cybersecurity risk caused by human factors has posed a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in times of heightened stress. This is according to Cyberchology: The Human Element, a new report that explores the role employees and their personality play in keeping organisations safe from cyber threats. More →

November 4, 2020

Fear of job loss is making workers less open about mental health

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

Workers have become less open about their mental health struggles since the coronavirus outbreak because of fears they could lose their jobs if they speak up, claims new research from the Enterprise Research Centre. More →

November 3, 2020

Employees are twice as motivated and productive if they’re resilient

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

Aon plc, has released new research that highlights the impact on employee motivation and productivity if they are resilient. The data, gained across five European countries, including the UK, claims that employees are nearly twice as likely to be motivated and therefore productive, if they are resilient. More →

October 29, 2020

Workplace culture is not something to be changed with hashtags

by Kirsty Ritchie • Comment, Wellbeing

The state of the nation’s mental health and subsequent pressure on organisations to do ‘something’ has resulted in a PR opportunity for those who see it and take it. While mental health is high on the agenda of workplace culture improvements, several organisations, including Barclays, Eon and Unilever to name a few, have signed an open letter to The Times pledging to prioritise mental health as employees return to work, after research showed that more than a third of workers were struggling. More →

October 29, 2020

Oslo tops list of cities with the best work-life balance

by Jayne Smith • Business, Flexible working, News, Working lives

Cloud-based access control company Kisi has released their 2020 work-life balance city index, highlighting how major cities from the 2019 edition have since been impacted by the global pandemic. While every city in the index suffered economic, social and structural consequences, the results of this year’s edition claim that having a safety net in place for workers made a large difference in how a city navigated the crisis. More →

October 28, 2020

It`s not just businesses that need to wake up to changes in the way we work. Governments do too

by Jeremy Stein • Comment, Workplace design

We have come a long way since the government began encouraging home working in March, ahead of the national lockdown. It seems wildly naïve now to assume that we would all be back in the office two or three weeks later as if nothing had ever happened. After many months of mixed messages regarding ‘stay at home’ versus ‘go back to work’, many business owners and employees quite rightly feel that the whole process seems like one step forward, two steps back. And yet, one thing that has become clear for all office-based businesses is that working life has changed forever. More →

October 28, 2020

Millions of workers experience low levels of job satisfaction at work

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

A new survey conducted by Just Eat for Business, asked workers about their workplace behaviour, stress levels, mental health and job satisfaction, to get an idea of what Brits’ working lives look like and how they can be improved through a focus on employee wellbeing. The survey claims almost one in ten (8.2 percent) UK employees admit to experiencing quite or very low levels of happiness while at work. More →