This report was authored by former Senior Behavioural Scientist Jenny Robinson and former Head of Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Gregg Hutchings.
************
Ahead of closing our doors for business in 2023, we want to share as much as of our work as we can, and that we have been told by our members, partners and many other bodies and organisations they continue to find valuable.
2020 and 2021 were unique years for firms and businesses across all sectors, throwing up challenges that we are still grappling with today, not least of those being the question what is the future of workplaces? Previously only published in summary, below is the full report we produced using data from our 202 Employee Survey and qualitative research during 2021.
Future of Workplaces Full Report
This Summary Report presents the key findings of our enquiry into the Future of Workplaces, which brought together data from the FSCB 2020 Employee Survey and qualitative research carried out in the first half of 2021. Bringing both these sources together, 14 interconnected themes emerged. We have tied together the issues pertaining to these themes into six key prospective challenges for all organisations considering what next for the future of their workplaces.
Future of Workplaces Summary Report
- Leaders need to think carefully about their actions because what they do is noticed as much by employees as what they say and is interpreted by them as a signal of desirable behaviour.
- There is a danger that social capital becomes the preserve of those who can and want to work in offices. This has potential long-term implications for diversity and inclusion.
- Leaders are making decisions now for people whose circumstances differ vastly from their own. Good corporate listening will be a key enabler of organisational justice.
- Connectedness and collaboration are different. Whilst many employees felt that they had remained connected to their peers, certain forms of collaboration were more of a challenge.
- It is not enough to spend money on wellbeing initiatives while issues around workload and the impact of workload on wellbeing remain unaddressed. Line managers’ skills need further development to enable teams to meet the challenges of new working models.
- Working environment is an important contributing factor for employee wellbeing. Both employers and employees face new challenges in their shared responsibility for wellbeing in future working models.
Watch Senior Behavioural Scientist Jenny Robinson in conversation with Head of External Affairs Laura Conaghan:
