March 19, 2021
A Gartner, Inc. survey of more than 5,000 employees conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020 claims that more than one-quarter of the workforce (29 percent) described itself as depressed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The same survey claims that nearly half (49 percent) of employees who reported their organisation offers a mental well-being program participated in it in 2020. (more…)
March 18, 2021
In November 2019, just before that thing happened, there was this… 
The worst workplace related news story of 2019 is also one of the most widely reported. I’m not linking to it because I don’t want to give it any credibility, but it has been discharged into the ether by Fellowes along with a ‘behavioural futurist’ called William Higham. I will say only two things about it. Firstly, we flatly refused to publish a story about the damn thing and it’s a shame that the mainstream media couldn’t spot it for the utter drivel it is. The fact that they have picked up on it says something about the way such issues are covered in the press. That’s why you’re more likely to see a stress-related story about rats driving cars on the BBC than you are something meaningful. (more…)
March 18, 2021
During the pandemic, 1 in 4 (25 percent) employees say they’ve had no wellbeing check-ins from their workplace. The research from Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, of 2,000 employees, claims that almost a third (29 percent) of workers never discuss mental health in meetings with their employers. (more…)
March 18, 2021
The cost of poor company culture is a staggering £20.2 billion per year, according to research from HR software provider Breathe. The report ‘The Culture Economy 2021’, claims that almost a third (27 percent) of SME employees quit their job due to poor workplace culture, an increase of 6 percent from last year (21 percent). (more…)
March 15, 2021
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 lower rate. By the end of 2019, the number of self-employed people in the UK exceeded five million people for the first time. Fifteen percent of the workforce. (more…)
March 5, 2021
A new study on recruitment and workforce trends has crowned London as the world’s most desirable city to work in, with the UK capital holding onto the top spot, despite uncertainty around Brexit and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. (more…)
February 26, 2021
The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published a Framework for Defining Social Value in the Built Environment, designed to help built environment practitioners define and deliver social value on their projects. Social value is often considered especially hard to define for built environment projects, as each project serves a different community with their own unique set of requirements. (more…)
February 26, 2021
UK employers claimed £24 billion of free labour last year because of workers doing unpaid overtime, according to new analysis published by the TUC. More than three million people did unpaid overtime in 2020, putting in an average of 7.7 unpaid hours a week. On average, that’s equivalent to £7,300 a year of wages going unpaid for work done. (more…)
February 24, 2021
Employers are now more aware of their employee’s personal situation and family commitments than they were pre Covid-19, according to the Re:Me report from MetLife UK. This report, which explores the changing relationship between employers and employees amid the global pandemic, claims that seven in ten (71 percent) employees now feel ‘employers have a social responsibility to them’. (more…)
February 16, 2021
Investment in digital technology is set to increase UK GDP by £232bn (6.9 percent) in 2040, according to a new study by Virgin Media Business and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The research, which examines how more digital ways of working can support the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19, claims investment in technology could boost the economy by £74bn in 2025. (more…)
February 11, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic is driving a fundamental shift in the way companies operate, accelerating the need for an adaptable and agile workforce to drive business success. According to Mercer’s 2021 Global Talent Trends study, the financial impact and work-life disruption caused by the pandemic is causing UK employers to focus on redefining flexibility and skills development to ensure their business and employees become more resilient and agile in the face of disruption.
February 5, 2021
Workplace things we have missed, and those we hope to regain
by Emma Morley • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design