Blog: The art of mobile motivation
Gone are the days when managers wanting to motivate their staff simply had to call a team meeting in the office anytime and everyone would be there. As a result of remote working and flexible hours it is very rare for most of the team to be in one building at the same time, certainly […]
Blog: Lessons from Mars – How to prevent staff burn-out
As Curiosity touched down on Mars we all saw an elated NASA team jumping for joy that their lengthy mission had successfully reached a fundamental milestone. The passion of the engineers, scientists and astronauts involved in the project was obvious for all watched the news that day, but back down here on Earth there a […]
News: Tower Hamlets implements ‘Smarter Working’ initiative
Tower Hamlets Council is enabling its entire workforce of more than 4,000 personnel to work from any location, using any computing device, as part of its ‘Smarter Working’ initiative. The borough expects its carbon footprint to reduce by over 300 tons per annum as a result of the move, which will see it introducing […]
The HRZone Interview: Dr Cary Cooper on well-being at work
Dr Cary Cooper is professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University Management School and author of more than 150 books on topics ranging from occupational stress and women at work to organisational psychology. He is also a regular contributor to TV, radio and the press and, in 2001, was awarded a CBE for […]
Blog: The crucial role of line managers in beating employee stress
Stress is a big problem within the workplace in the UK and it is not being tackled effectively. Many people are concerned about their jobs and many organisations have to take measures to reduce costs; stress needs to be tackled from the boardroom to ensure that it is a priority. So often it is […]
Blog: How family-friendly is your organisation?
Any organisation with more than a few employees will have staff that are having children. It’s a big deal, not only for them, but for the employer too. Even though this is the case, many organisations provide little in the way of learning support for these staff. Interestingly those employers that do assist their […]
Putting the Games plan into practice
“The Olympics is a big morale booster for the country this year,” believes Phoebe Leet, head of HR for UK and Ireland at IT network giant, Cisco. And as a technology partner for the Games, the vendor has naturally had the event on its mind for some time. As a result, it has already […]
News: PM pledges legal changes to allow crosses at work
Even if two British Christians lose a landmark European Court case to allow them to wear symbols of their faith at work, David Cameron plans to change UK legislation to let them do so. His stance came to light yesterday during exchanges at Prime Minister’s Question Time, when he was asked about the case of […]
Blog: The Olympics – A matter of trust?
Whether you agree with London Mayor Boris Johnson‘s comments about ‘skiving’ home-workers or not, his outspoken views last week have once again raised the bigger issue of trust. As we move closer to the Olympics, I believe we will see more evidence of companies that do – and companies that don’t – trust their staff. The Olympics is […]
Blog: The Olympics – Learning lessons in flexible working
RBS has announced that its staff will be able to work flexibly during the Olympics. This news echoes that of Whitehall who also recently announced staff would be permitted to work from home for the 7 week period covering the Olympics and Paralympics. Whilst the intentions of both these organisations is to help employees […]
Christina’s Counsel: How can I make my workplace more family-friendly?
The challenge If you are struggling to get the best people to come and work for you, have a high rate of unexplained absence or believe that your employees aren’t giving their best, not least due to stress because their work and domestic lives conflict, it may be worth reviewing how family-friendly your workplace culture […]
News: 60% of workers plan to watch Olympics – with or without consent
More than half of employers plan to enable their staff to work more flexibly during the Olympics – which is just as well as nearly three out of five employees intend to watch Games, with or without consent. According to the initial findings of a joint survey undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and […]
Legal Insight: Homeworking during the Olympics
So your company has decided that over the course of the Olympics period, it will allow staff to work from home. Great news – the business carries on as normal and employees don’t have to suffer the hassle of commuting. But it’s not just a simple case of plugging in a laptop. There are […]
Blog: Four managerial traits to ensure flexible working works
Earlier this year telecoms giant O2 announced that the vast majority of their employees (88%) were just as productive when working flexibly than when they are present in the workplace. Meanwhile a Stanford University study showed that one travel company noted a 12% rise in productivity when staff worked from home. The evidence would […]
News: Two out of five civil servants to home-work during Olympics
Up to 40% of Whitehall staff will be asked to work from home to help ease congestion on London’s transport network during the seven weeks of the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. According to the Telegraph, other employees may also be asked to change their working times or take annual leave from 21 July […]
News: ‘Dress down Friday’ becomes the new norm for workplace attire
It appears that workplace dress codes are starting to become casual, with ‘dress down Fridays’ becoming the new norm – all week. According to a survey undertaken among 2,000 UK adults by researcher Canadean Consumer, it is no longer just workers in the creative and media industries who are wearing more informal attire for work […]
Talking Point: Would you want to live in an ‘anywhere working’ city?
A study last year by the TUC found that employees in the UK spend almost 200 hours a year travelling to and from work. While an average of approximately four hours a week may not sound like a huge amount, it is the equivalent of around five weeks extra work per year. I remember […]
Blog: Cultivating your personal brand
It maybe unjust to judge a book by its cover, but its still what we do – nearly all of the time. Today it is much easier to be confused about what to wear in the workplace. There seems to be much advice on the internet about what you can and cannot wear in […]
Legal Insight: Health matters part 2 – Dealing with ‘problem absences’
In the first instalment of this three-part guide to managing sickness absence, we considered both the importance of developing a good policy and how to manage sickness absence on a day-to-day basis. And in this second article, it will become all too clear exactly how important these initial stages are when you are presented with […]
Legal Insight: How to cope with tube strikes
Passengers are expected to face widespread disruption on the London Underground from tomorrow (24 April) due to a four-day strike by maintenance workers that is likely to affect services. The action looks likely to go ahead as planned because talks to avert it ended yesterday without agreement, according to the conciliation service Acas. The […]
