February 26, 2021
One of the most interesting developments in the way we talk about the design of buildings in recent years is how the issue of wellbeing has found an overlap with environmental concerns. We know instinctively that these are natural partners. What is good for the environment almost always has a direct beneficial effect on people’s physical and mental health, as well as their productivity. More →
February 24, 2021
In March 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic forced countless employers around the globe to send their non-essential employees home. Few organisations had a contingency plan for such a scenario, meaning the overwhelming majority of employers had to rethink their operations and communication functions on the fly. More →
February 17, 2021
Two and a half million Brits are expected to be unemployed this year after the fall out of the pandemic. A concern for many has been how disabled people will fare with the aftermath. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is more than twice those who are able bodied. More →
February 16, 2021
The circular economy is the ‘holy grail’. Few people would deny the ambition of keeping resources in use for as long as possible, extracting the maximum value from them, then recovering and regenerating products and materials at the end of each service life. Is this achievable within the furniture and furnishings sector? Many manufacturers and suppliers can justifiably boast impressive ‘green’ credentials, such as manufacturing techniques, the use of innovative and sustainable materials as well as recyclability of products. The production and supply of new furnishings doesn’t address, however, the short and longer term issues relating to sustainability. ‘Cradle to cradle’ is a great concept – but who is responsible? More →
February 11, 2021
One important concept the pandemic has taught us is that irrespective of where we work and whatever form the future workplace takes, our brand must remain strong. With much of our workforce now working from home, how do we bridge the gap between corporate and home life? As head offices re-form into social hangout hubs, and dining tables become makeshift desks, one message is loud and clear – connection with and delight in a brand is everything. From our internal talent and culture, and supply partnerships, to external customer persona, we must strengthen our culture both inside and out. More →
February 11, 2021
The CIPD has launched a new research report ‘Inclusion at work: Perspectives on LGBT+ working lives’ to highlight how LGBT+ workers tend to have a more negative experience of work. More →
February 5, 2021
Let’s be honest, work life pre 2020 had its flaws, whilst the longing for variety of scenery, change of pace and even a train journey (somewhere…ANYWHERE) would be welcomed by many of us right now, many of us had become a bit ‘hamster wheel’ in our approach. Commuting was stressful, expensive and time hungry; our natural and individual rhythms squeezed into a set 9-5 schedule and workplace design had become a bit ‘quantity over quality’ – desks have been reducing in size year upon year in order that capacity could be increased. We had reached a point at which everything was ripe for change but there was largely a resistance to both flexible working requests and embracing much of the technological advancements that were already at our fingertips. More →
February 4, 2021
The CIPD has launched its new professional qualifications. Based on the CIPD’s new Profession Map, the qualifications focus on the ever-changing landscape of HR and learning and development. The Profession Map sets out the knowledge, behaviours and values underpinning today’s people profession in the modern world of work and helps professionals to thrive in their career. More →
February 3, 2021
When it comes to understanding motivation, the stepping off point for most people is Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The theory is now nearly 80 years old and its endurance is some kind of testimony to its insight. Yet a recent paper published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, authored by William Compton of Middle Tennessee State University argues that some of the ideas we most commonly associate with the theory seem to be myths. These include its most fundamental concept, the Pyramid of Needs.
January 21, 2021
The past year will go down in history as one of dramatic change. One of the most notable upheavals was the almost overnight transition to full-time remote working for millions of ‘non-essential’ employees. With England now in its third national lockdown, many of us will likely not be going back to our offices until April 2021, over a year since we left them. Even when people are able to return to our old workplaces, just 12 percent of employees want to do so full-time, according to Future Forum. This leaves no doubt that, when we are finally able to leave the pandemic behind us, hybrid working (partially from home and partially in the office) will remain. More →
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 →
March 5, 2021
A shift from competition to community has never been more important
by Hannah Koole-Browne • Business, Comment