The European Parliament has voted in favour of a new law governing corporate reporting of non-financial information.
Kate Lister’s insight:
This could drive more companies toward distributed work. It represents the easiest, quickest, and least expensive way for organizations to cut their Scope 3 emissions.
You might hate your open office–or love it. But does enough of your office agree with you?
Kate Lister’s insight:
While the majority ruled, the article suggests that next time, they may opt for a fervor-weighted vote.
Self employed may earn less and work longer hours but they are happier than they would be if they are more satisfied than they would be if they were employed full-time.
Kate Lister’s insight:
Yet another study showing that when people feel they have control over their lives, they are happier and willing to work harder for less. When will corporations learn this important lesson?
“The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact on users’ satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings of factors unrelated to environmental quality, including consideration of office type, spatial layout, distance from window, building size, gender, age, type of work, time at workspace, and weekly working hours. “
Kate Lister’s insight:
The study also showed that while there may be a bump in satisfaction, post LEED, it diminishes over time. The authors intend to further study what does increase satisfaction.
“Treehouse, an online service that teaches web design, app design, and coding, has a year-round three-day weekend policy. CEO Ryan Carson began taking Fridays off soon after starting his first company to spend more time with his family and since the company’s inception has made it a policy that employees do the same.”
Kate Lister’s insight:
The article suggests that the shortened workweek actually increases productivity by causing people to be more focused.
People work differently and should be given space to do their best work, says author and introvert Susan Cain.
Kate Lister’s insight:
I think this is a great move. The article also talks about how Huffington Post installed nap rooms that offer a place for people to escape. Acceptance was slow until Arianna and her executive team started using them.
When it comes to furnishings and fittings, purchasing decisions can have a direct impact on the health, well-being and productivity of employees.
Kate Lister’s insight:
Sick leave declined by 39% after moving into refurbished space that emphasized better air quality. Productivity (billings) increased by 7%.
This was supposed to be the golden age of employee flexibility. With everyone connected to the Internet — and their jobs — practically 24/7, …”
Kate Lister’s insight:
While the news is bad, I’m delighted to see it’s finally out. Flexibility is NOT available to the masses, only the elite few.
“When Inc. called the CEOs of fast-growing companies such as Instagram, Box, and Zumba, they were all eager to be, you guessed it, interrupted for an interview. In other words: The lack of focus on the job is a big concern for them.”
Kate Lister’s insight:
Driving while distracted can kill you, but working while distracted—as we all do—can really kill your productivity. Some companies, such as Google, are taking distraction seriously. They’re training their people how to concentrate.
A research team worked with 700 salaried employees of an IT department. Half of the group worked within the status quo and the other half were part of a flexible work program.
Kate Lister’s insight:
I’m so glad to see some real research emerging on the topic of workplace flexibility! The bottom line: Yes, flexibility helps employees reduce work-life conflict. No, they don’t work longer hours as result of flexibility. A key point here is that training was a fundamental ingredient in remote work success.