March 3, 2025

Young men and boys lagging behind female contemporaries in pay and other ways

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Young women are now consistently out-earning their male counterparts for the first time, according to a new report that warns of a growing crisis among young men. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank has published findings showing that women aged 16 to 24 in both white-collar and blue-collar jobs are earning nearly 10 percent more than men of the same age. The report, titled Lost Boys, highlights how young men are falling behind in education and employment, with growing feelings of isolation and lack of purpose. More →

February 20, 2025

We may think we are pretty aware of the effects of AI. But posterity may draw different conclusions

by Jo Sutherland • AI, Comment, Wellbeing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the world around us at breakneck speed, unlocking opportunities we could not have even imagined a few years ago. But with its potential comes an immense set of challenges. How we handle this transformation will define the future of our workplaces, economies, and societies. Recent events, including Trump’s revocation of Biden’s executive order addressing AI risks, Labour’s ambitious plans to integrate AI across the UK, and Facebook’s unsettling U-turn on content moderation, highlight the urgent need for businesses to take an ethical, informed, and responsible approach to AI adoption. More →

February 19, 2025

Sustainable Design Awards call for entries

by Freddie Steele • Environment, News, Workplace design

The Sustainable Design Collective (SDC), a think tank group of leading design professionals working in the office workplace sector – is inviting entries for its annual awards. The announcement follows confirmation that the third SD Forum will be held on 24th April 2025 at the Crypt on the Green in Clerkenwell, London. Free to enter, each entry will be assessed completely independently by a panel of eight industry experts against specified criteria. New to the team, this year’s panel includes award-winning product designer, Luke Pearson and Sophie Thomas, founding partner at Thomas.Matthews. Assessments include: whole life carbon performance including contribution to the circular economy; contribution to the health and wellbeing of the occupants; and social value. More →

January 31, 2025

We need to address the UK’s creative skills shortage

by Chris Meredith • Comment, Workplace

The UK’s creative industries, from film and television to the dynamic video game sector, are cultural flagships and economic cornerstones. Valued at £125 billion annually, the creative industries are named one of the UK government’s eight growth-driving sectors in its Industrial Strategy. Yet, a significant obstacle looms over their continued success: a persistent and growing skills shortage. This gap threatens to stifle innovation and global competitiveness, particularly in the booming video game industry. More →

January 28, 2025

A break in the workspace-time continuum

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing

The fracturing of time and place underlies every one of the great workplace issues of our time. Everything that springs from this – the where, when, how, what and why of work – is defined by the shattering of any fixed idea we may once have had of a time and a place to work. Because the challenge to these traditional ideas is now so inextricably linked in our minds with new technology, we might often forget that people have been asking questions about how we can get the most out of each day for thousands of years. Tempus fugit after all, and as a consequence we’ve always known that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. More →

January 27, 2025

How employee benefits offer value for money

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace

If you want to provide great employee benefits but are constrained by budget, there are some company perks that not only keep your employees happy, but can also provide serious value for money. Whether it’s leveraging tax-efficient Salary Sacrifice schemes or taking a more holistic approach such as flexible working, it’s definitely possible to offer great benefits while boosting your bottom line. More →

January 14, 2025

Five predictions for how the public sector will tackle challenges and lead digital transformation in 2025

by Tony Holmes • News, Technology

The UK government is committed to modernising and becoming tech-first, but widespread skills shortages and legacy IT systems within the public sector remain an obstacle to digital transformation. While we are seeing steps to digitise, and the £2bn set aside to improve IT across the NHS is a good case in point, capital investment is only one part of the puzzle. As we look to the new year, we can expect the public sector to continue to face challenges in keeping pace with technology innovation, particularly in adopting AI and cloud solutions, combating talent gaps, and modernising workflows. More →

January 7, 2025

Here’s how to support neurodivergent employees at work

by Stephanie Clarke • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

Businesses have much to gain from neurodivergent employees. According to a recent Deloitte report “teams with neurodivergent professionals in some roles can be 30 percent more productive than those without them”. Benefits of neurodivergent individuals to the workplace – according to the CIPD, range from “problem-solving, to creative insights and visual spatial thinking.” More →

December 20, 2024

Workplace politics: When free speech becomes a faux pas

by David Browne • Features, Workplace

$Tt's important for firms to understand how to approach the potentially fractious issue of workplace politics$ After a politically turbulent year, many employers are finding their workplaces more divided, with political views being brought into the office and the lines between free speech and inappropriate discussion increasingly blurred. So it’s important for firms to understand how to approach the potentially fractious issue of workplace politics. Just recently, a former UKIP councillor claimed that she was subject to bullying and harassment by her charity employer for expressing pro-Brexit views, which she argued was a legally-protected belief. More →

December 6, 2024

Emotion tracking tech in the workplace puts people’s wellbeing at risk

by Marvin Gort • AI, News, Wellbeing

A new report from the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW) explores the increasing use of affective computing in the workplace. Affective computing is a branch of artificial intelligence which focuses on recognising and responding to human emotions through technologies like biometric sensors, emotion-tracking software, and wearable devices. Once primarily used in consumer products, these systems are now finding applications in the workplace, often marketed as tools to enhance safety, productivity, and employee wellbeing. The use of AI-powered technologies that monitor and interpret employees’ emotions and behaviours is known as Algorithmic Affect Management (AAM) and is rapidly transforming the landscape of employment, raising significant questions about privacy, ethics, and the future of work, according to the report. More →

November 28, 2024

These are very early days in our relationship with Generative AI

by Jo Sutherland • AI, Comment

The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 marked a milestone moment for artificial intelligence, bringing what was once a niche technology firmly into the mainstream. Suddenly, AI and especially Generative AI, wasn’t just the prerogative of data scientists and tech developers. It was a feature in everyday conversations, a presence in business strategies, and a catalyst for innovation across industries. In the months since, platforms like Gemini and Perplexity have emerged, pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve while expanding its role in the workplace. More →

November 27, 2024

Majority of ‘digital content creators’ don’t check facts but use likes on social media to gauge reliability of information

by Neil Franklin • AI, News

At a time when digital content creators have become a major source of information for people, a new UNESCO survey suggests that 62 percent do not carry out any sort of rigorous fact-checking of information prior to sharing it. As well as demonstrating that fact-checking is rare, the survey finds that content creators have difficulty with determining the best criteria for assessing the credibility of information they find online. According to the poll, 42 percent of respondents said they used “the number of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ a post had received” on social media as the main indicator of reliability. More →