Features
As a result of the pandemic, working from home has become, by default, the new normal. As many organizations are weighing up a partial return to the workplace – at least in a hybrid capacity – now is a good time to reflect on the efforts made to encourage positive interaction amongst teams throughout the WFH experiment. For many, this will involve rethinking how the office, and the new digital tools adopted over the past 18 months, fit into their business.
There’s always been something rather bittersweet about the back-to-school season. On one hand, it marks when the mornings start to feel a little more crisp, the return to the grind after that last bank holiday until Christmas. On the other, there’s a sense of hopeful optimism – a chance for new beginnings and an opportunity to return to work feeling refreshed.
As the 2021 festive season fast approaches, many small businesses will be turning their heads towards planning, utilising and thriving during the Christmas period.
After more than a year apart, many businesses are now making plans to welcome their employees back into the workplace again. Remote working has been a test for companies during lockdown; while some have thrived and experienced growth, others have suffered under the pressure to quickly adapt.
As many move back to the offices, whether full-time or hybrid, there’s a palpable sense that our lives are starting to return to normal. However, a change that must be seen in this ‘new normal’ is more open discussions at work around mental health.
Getting a new business off the ground is an intensive and time-consuming endeavour that will test even the most resilient of us, which is why so many new companies are established without working systems and processes in place.
No matter how hard you work or how much you grind you’re going to need a chunk of cash to get that startup flywheel turning. Generating that initial inertia takes energy and fuel… you’ve brought the energy, but what about the fuel?!
While some countries still refrain from even admitting problems are here, human environmental impact is becoming so obvious that the world’s greatest companies are taking action.
When you’re growing your startup, your to-do list can be never ending. From developing products and services through to building your team and securing those all-important first customers.
In a nutshell, digital transformation is the process of leveraging digitisation to transform business outcomes. So, what is the difference?
Even with a stand-out business idea, securing the funds to set your plans into motion is one of the biggest hurdles an emerging enterprise will face. Luckily, there are a number of ways in which your startup or SME can gain capital.
According to Creative Wellness Co, the global wellness market is valued at over $4.75 trillion. And if we think about the change in attitudes towards personal wellness over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no surprise that venture funding for retail health and wellness tech startups set a record in the first quarter of 2021, with $4.2bn invested across 153 deals.
How can you shop ethically, but within your means? Sustainable brands and products are on the rise, but they can often cost double what you’d pay for single-use items which are mass-produced or animal-tested. Maddie Booth, Founder of Scrubbee, told us all about her eco-friendly and affordable cosmetic brand.
You may have thought that the return to ‘normality’ would be a good thing for business. With most people now off furlough, some back in the office and others working permanently from home, there are mixed feelings from employees who are now having to adapt to the ‘new normal’. In fact, it has been estimated that over 40% of people globally plan to leave their jobs this year!
The past few decades have been all about the myriad physical benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise. We all know about the improvements in our cardiovascular health, not to mention decreased blood pressure and much lesser risks of developing various diseases.
Compliance is becoming a complex issue for organisations. As businesses engage in more remote and digital work practices due to COVID-19, governments globally are implementing a growing number of data privacy regulations for organisations to abide by.
With the furlough scheme set to come to an end on 30th September, there are widespread fears that business owners still unable to welcome back their pre-pandemic workforces will be forced to make mass redundancies leaving millions more out of work.
Chronic disease is rising rapidly in America and throughout the developed world. Today, according to the CDC a shocking 71.6% of adults are either overweight or obese. Moreover, over the last few decades, rates of hypertension, diabetes, colon cancer, Alzheimer’s, major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, insomnia, and multiple other chronic diseases are rising over time. Likewise, medical costs are rising over time year after year and today costs the US a staggering $3.8 trillion (or about 18% of GDP) per year.
Working at home and struggling to maintain productivity? For the majority of Brits currently working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for those looking to do more home working in the future, Workthere, has shared 10 tips on how you can create an office space that leads to maximum productivity.
Have you ever thought of setting up your own business? Have you already done so? What made you want to do this? In truth, the answers are very different for each of us but, looking at government statistics and Companies House records, more and more people are choosing this route; especially since the turmoil in the last few years caused by the pandemic.
