The UK government has recently announced forthcoming legislative changes to current flexible working legislation.   Among these changes, one of the most significant is the provision that flexible working will be available from the first day of employment, replacing the existing requirement of 26 weeks of service. It is also proposed that employees will be able …

Embracing the Future: Preparing for UK Legislative Changes in Flexible Work  Read More »

Wellbeing champions are employees who volunteer to support the wellbeing of their fellow colleagues, supporting organisational wellbeing initiatives and helping to share health and wellbeing messages.  Creating a wellbeing champion network can be a powerful way to promote and raise awareness about wellbeing in the workplace.  Finding willing champions can be the easy part – but …

10 Steps to an effective Wellbeing Champion Network Read More »

A major trial into the potential of the four-day working week has begun here in the UK.  Under this approach, employees work for four days (or 80% of their normal working week) but are required to maintain the same productivity that they previously achieved whilst working full time.   The four-day week is based on the assumption …

Understanding the four day week Read More »

The desire for hybrid work arose while many of us were working from home.  Our approaches, policies and principles were devised there too.  Design took place in the abstract.  The return to offices was gradual, and has once again been disrupted.  Few really got going with their hybrid experiments, and we may need to wait …

7 Lessons From Hybrid Work (so far) Read More »

Personal effectiveness when hybrid working  Most of us are very familiar with the office environment.  It was, until the global pandemic, the default working space.  We rapidly became used to remote working, but now hybrid is the new kid in town.  This involves thinking differently about what work we do, and where we do it.  …

What work, where? Read More »

It is now fairly well established that many employees want a more hybrid or blended approach to work in the future, with some time spent in the office and the remainder at home.  This will of course mean different things to different organisations and individuals.  There is no one single way to ‘do’ hybrid.  Even …

Hybrid working – key considerations Read More »

The global pandemic has necessitated a period of enforced and long-term homeworking for many of the UK’s workers.  In late 2019 around 7% of the population regularly worked from home; by the end of April 2020 Covid-19 had increased this to just under half of the workforce.  This has led to many organisations considering their position …

5 things to consider when updating your flexible working policy Read More »

I recently attended a lecture by Professor Sir Cary Cooper from the University of Manchester Business School.  Professor Cooper is a leading expert in all things relating to health and wellbeing in the workplace.  He reflected upon the role of the manager in wellbeing – noting that when you look at sickness absence data the …

Wellbeing and the role of people managers Read More »

What is work life balance?  Just like ‘wellbeing’ it is an imprecise term that means different things to different people.  It’s a phrase that not everyone likes, as it brings with it the implication that work and life are two separate elements rather than interconnected aspects of who we are.  Here at the Work Consultancy …

Finding the balance Read More »

Wellbeing interventions in the workplace are generally defined as being of a primary, secondary or tertiary nature. Primary interventions aim to prevent work related stress or wellbeing issues from arising.  They address problems at source. These interventions will be strategic, systemic, structural.  Examples of primary interventions include job design, working patterns, leadership development or resource …

Wellbeing in the workplace – where are you now? Read More »