December 18, 2020

Events of 2020 have proved the value of personal resilience

No-one could have predicted what 2020 would deliver. A pandemic, lockdown, moving the workplace into the home. We are in uncharted waters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines resilience as being able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Resilience is an almost stoic quality, and a pandemic a time of crisis. It almost feels like they are a match made in heaven. But how does this affect organisations? What can be done? Is it really that important to build employees’ resilience? More →

December 18, 2020

Mental wellbeing needs of employees should be a greater priority for businesses

by Freddie Steele • News, Wellbeing

Data from thousands of employees across the country has been aggregated in a new report, detailing the mental wellbeing of the workforce over the course of the year. The research from 87 percent, a digital platform that provides mental health assessment and support to businesses and their employees, shows how the workforce has struggled with the mental pressures of Covid-19. Since March, circumstances at work and pressures in our personal lives have badly affected our mental wellbeing. More →

December 17, 2020

Organisations weigh up options to make workplace fit for the future

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

Avison Young, realestateworks and HLM Architects have launched a new report that assesses the impact of this year’s pandemic on workplace and corporate real estate strategies in the longer-term. Over 100 private and public sector companies were asked about their evolving approach to working culture, office design and portfolio strategies in the context of multiple forces of change, including greater resilience, the decarbonisation agenda, personalisation, remote working and the integration of the physical and virtual workspaces. More →

December 16, 2020

Less than half of employers plan to take on a young person next year

by Neil Franklin • News, Working lives

Only 46 percent of employers plan to hire a young person between the age of 16 and 24 in the next year despite new Government incentives to do so, a report from the CIPD suggests. Over 1,000 employers were surveyed for the CIPD’s COVID-19 and the youth labour market report which examines the likely impact of new incentives to boost provision of traineeships, apprenticeships, and six-month work placements through the Kickstart scheme – as outlined in the ‘Plan for Jobs’, which was presented to Parliament in July 2020. More →

December 16, 2020

Trust is hard to find in the workplace, report suggests

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

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

The majority of employees admit to boozing while working from home

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

To say that 2020 has been a tough year is an understatement, and it appears that there has been an increase in the amount of alcohol being consumed whilst working from home since the pandemic began, according to Health and Safety software company Protecting.co.uk. More →

December 11, 2020

Small businesses suffer most furlough stress

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

New research from absence intelligence company e-days, claims that stress levels have spiked twice in 2020 following the changes to the furlough schemes. These peaks were especially noticeable in organisations with fewer than 250 employees as the effects of the pandemic proved more challenging for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). More →

December 10, 2020

Corporate inclusivity efforts must include disability

by Silke Muenster • Comment, Wellbeing

When we think about inclusivity and diversity in the corporate world, we often think of racial and cultural diversity, gender, or LGBTQ+ inclusion—but one aspect that has been too long forgotten or ignored is the topic of disability inclusion. Caroline Casey, disability activist, CEO and founder of the Valuable 500 initiative, notes that though 90 percent of companies say they prioritize inclusivity in the workplace, just 4 percent of them include disability inclusion as a consideration. More →

December 10, 2020

Remote working blocks path to success for mid-size businesses

by Jayne Smith • Business, Flexible working, News

Productivity, morale and the ability to serve customers are being hamstrung by technology issues at European mid-size businesses, accordingly to research commissioned by Ricoh Europe. The research explores the remote working experience of 632 European office workers during the Coronavirus pandemic, at firms with between 250 and 999 employees. It claims that these companies are failing to adapt to the challenges of remote working, setting them up poorly for future success. More →

December 10, 2020

Tech industry employees three times more stressed working from home than others

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Wellbeing

Unify Square, the services provider for Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack platforms, has released survey results around remote collaboration and communication among enterprises. The survey highlights key perspectives of enterprise employees on workplace collaboration and communication in the midst of the global pandemic. More →

December 9, 2020

Freelancers stimulate entrepreneurship levels, claims research

by Jayne Smith • Business, News

Freelancers actively promote entrepreneurship, claims research from Trinity Business School, suggesting that a 10 percent increase in freelancers within the workforce leads to a 1 percent increase in entrepreneurial activity in the economy. More →

December 8, 2020

Covid-19 creating career lockdown for younger workers

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture, Working lives

With many continuing to work remotely for the foreseeable future, new insights from Sharp claim that a significant number of European office workers are concerned for their career prospects, with over half (51 percent) anxious about issues such as keeping skills up to date, lack of training and career opportunities when thinking long term about the future of work. More →