Poor home connectivity risks “jeopardising” switch to hybrid working September 6, 2021 Uncertainty around how businesses should support staff with digital connectivity issues could undermine the UK’s shift to hybrid working, according to new research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and CityFibre. The CMI/CityFibre polling of over 1,000 managers shows a significant appetite for long term flexible working arrangements, including at least some periods of home [...]
Return to work: The most pressing legal questions answered September 2, 2021 While government instructions to work from home expired in July, many employers have chosen to wait for the Summer months to pass before facilitating a return to the workplace. The transition from enforced Covid restrictions to a more personal interpretation of the rules will inevitably lead to confusion for small business owners across the country. [...]
‘Death by PowerPoint’: Next boss on Zoom and the future of remote work September 1, 2021 Next boss Lord Simon Wolfson has said endless video meetings risk “death by PowerPoint” as firms begin to feel the benefit of workers returning to the office. The retail chief, the longest serving chief executive across the FTSE 100, earlier this year likened Zoom calls to lectures – and yesterday warned digital conferences can become [...]
CEO confidence in the global economy returns to pre-pandemic levels September 1, 2021 CEOs of the world’s largest businesses are increasingly optimistic about the global economy’s immediate prospects. Despite a slower ‘return to normal’ than expected, CEOs’ expectations have finally reached above pre-pandemic levels. The KPMG 2021 CEO Outlook found that 60 per cent of leaders are confident about the global economy’s growth prospects over the next three [...]
Majority of employees opt for flexible working over a pay rise August 18, 2021 A new study has revealed that the vast majority of people would choose to work flexibly over an immediate pay rise and full-time return to the office. Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of workers would prefer flexible working over going back to the office full time even if they were handed a 10 per [...]
Exclusive: Brexit and Covid spark UK workforce rethink as war on talent heats up August 17, 2021 Nearly half of British business leaders fear losing the UK’s best talent abroad following the pandemic and Brexit, according to new research shared exclusively with City A.M. this morning. The complexity of the decisions facing leadership as they define the next era of the workplace is illustrated in the research’s findings. For a starter, 29 [...]
UK Government won’t insist workers are jabbed to return to office, but rules out Covid passports July 30, 2021 Workers being double-jabbed before returning to the office is a “good idea” but will not be a legal requirement, Grant Shapps said, and he today ruled out Covid passports for pubs and shops. The Transport Secretary said some companies will require their staff to be fully vaccinated but it won’t become law. Shapps said that [...]
UK workforce burned out as pandemic impact bites July 27, 2021 A recent survey by Tide has found that almost 40 per cent of the workforce in the UK say they have experienced burnout at work in the past 12 months. The impact of the pandemic, working from home and the stresses and strains of an unstable economy are thought to be large contributing factors. It [...]
Evening Read: Reimagining and simplifying the workforce after the pandemic July 26, 2021 It’s no surprise that some business leaders, as a result of the pandemic, are having to re-examine parts of their business and many crave new perspectives. Even when businesses try to return to work as usual’, the concept of a 9-5 job in an office will probably for many be a relic from a different [...]
Why we must resurrect the tie from this boorish open-collar culture July 23, 2021 Since the general demise of hats, the most vulnerable, because the most superficially dispensable, piece of a gentleman’s wardrobe is the tie. In politics, we have perhaps David Cameron to blame for pioneering the look of dark suit and open-necked white shirt which may have been a carry-over from his days in public relations. For [...]