Baker Stuart’s Insight: The case for human adaptability, beautifully put by Manish Bahl: “We do anything and everything we can to survive and thrive when things are against us. I fervently believe humans can and will adapt to the future of work; however, I am very much concerned about the adaptability of businesses and higher education […]
Problems with noise at work? A lot of it is in our heads
Baker Stuart’s Insight: The problem of noise at work is particularly important at the moment because most UK employees are now working in open plan offices that are on average about 20 percent smaller than they were ten years ago. But much of the effect of workplace noise is due to psychological factors such as context […]
IKEA designs future autonomous cars that work as hotels, stores, and meeting rooms
Baker Stuart’s Insight: Is this the future of the mobile office? Ikea Labs thinks their autonomous cars which can serve as an ‘Office on Wheels’ could be. Their designs are envisaged as a way for us to work smarter; so in the future we could be holding meetings while watching the world go by, without having […]
Free Food May Be Good For Office Morale, But It Promotes Overeating If Kept At A Close Distance
Baker Stuart’s Insight: Whilst more and more companies are offering free food in the workplace because of it’s morale-boosting potential, there is evidence that it can promote over-eating. Researchers at Google’s New York office found that when snacks are located close to the beverage station, the likelihood of snacking almost doubles, for men and women. This […]
Top global industries leading the way in remote work
Baker Stuart’s Insight: Remote working is on the up. Whilst this isn’t news in itself, the sectors leading the trend might not be quite what you expect. IT and Marketing are at the top of the leaderboard with 29% and 24% of employees working remotely – but the rest of the leaderboard, including business administration, app […]
42% overeat or eat unhealthily because of workplace stress
Baker Stuart’s Insight: ‘Tis the season to be jolly… and to overeat. But it’s not just festive indulgence we need to think about. This research shows that 42% of workers admit to overeating and choosing unhealthy foods due to stress in the workplace. More than four in 10 (42%) employee respondents overeat or eat unhealthy foods […]
Conversations may be more productive when held in the great outdoors
Baker Stuart’s Insight: Conversations may be more productive if they are had outdoors, research from the University of Manchester and Cardiff University shows. Their findings have potential parallels in workplaces, offering more evidence that getting out of the office, and into nature, can bring benefits. As the researchers write: “our research demonstrates that natural environments can […]
The Workplace Experience Revolution: Unearthing the Real Drivers of Employee Sentiment
Baker Stuart’s Insight: Leesman’s new report, ‘The Workplace Experience Revolution’ looks at 401,362 global employees’ experiences of work. Findings show that only 52% of employees believe their workplace is somewhere they would be proud to bring visitors to, and just 57% of employees believe that their workplace positively contributes to a sense of community. So what’s behind […]
What is the Function of Fear in Leadership?
Baker Stuart’s Insight: Does fear have a function in terms of leadership? No, argues Amy Edmonson, in her book ‘The Fearless Organisation’. Instead, she argues that we should try to create workplaces where employees feel that their opinions count, because psychological safety builds a better organisation . Recently, the president of the United States was quoted […]
Research shows that busy people make healthier choices
Baker Stuart’s Insight: New research has found that people who self-identify as ‘busy’ are likely to make healthier choices and have better self esteem. This could have impacts for workplace design. By using branding that suggests busyness to employees, these behaviours and positive self-identity could be encouraged. “Every day, we make many decisions that involve […]
