McClure Engineering-St. Louis (MEP)’s Post

WORKING FROM HOME MAKES STAFF HAPPIER BUT NOT MORE PRODUCTIVE (www.thetimes.co.uk/) The debate has raged since office life was upended during the pandemic: does working from home make employees happier and more productive, or does it hand slackers a licence to be lazy? Now the first scientific experiment to measure the effects has found that white-collar workers tend to enjoy their jobs more when they are allowed to work from home for part of the week — but this does not seem to make them any more efficient. The researchers conducted a large randomised controlled trial — the technique widely seen as the gold standard for scientific investigations — to assess the impact of working from home. More than 1,600 workers for a Chinese technology company took part, all of them university graduates. They were split at random into two groups. One followed a “hybrid” schedule, where they worked from home on Wednesdays and Fridays and came into the office on the three other days. The second set of employees, who acted as a control group, were required to attend the office every day of the working week. After six months, the two cohorts were compared. “We found that hybrid working improved job satisfaction,” the researchers report in a study published in the journal Nature, with contentment scores about 5 per cent higher for the partial WFH group. They also found that the rate at which the hybrid workers quit fell by a third, compared with the control group, while their performance in an annual review showed no significant change. Over the next two years there was no difference in the promotions the two sets of workers enjoyed. Hybrid working also had no effect on the quality of the code written by subjects working as computer engineers. “These results indicate that a hybrid schedule with two days a week working from home does not damage performance,” the researchers concluded. Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University, who co-led the study, said he thought the results would be surprising for two sets of people. The first “hate working from home and expected the productivity impacts to be really negative”. The second group “love working from home” and “their claim would be that all the time saved travelling and the quiet at home would lead to a productivity surge”. But he said the experiment found no evidence of such a boost — possibly because any gains achieved by cutting out commutes were offset by losses from less in-person mentoring and fewer face-to-face interactions. Ruobing Han, of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, another co-lead, said: “Hybrid is now the dominant working pattern for more than 100 million employees across North America and Europe, so it is an important topic in social science.” Attitudes among 395 managers in the study evolved. At the start they assumed, on average, that hybrid working had a negative effect on productivity. Afterwards, they perceived a positive effect. #kentbusiness #smes #smallbusinessowner #productivity

#GreatPlacetoWork To #GreatPlacetoGrow Whenever I come across the phrase “Great place to work,” I can’t help but feel that it’s incomplete. It’s time to expand that notion to “Great Place to Work and Grow” or simply “Great place to Grow.” The reason is straightforward: if you’re working but not growing, that place can’t truly be great. Let’s draw an analogy with a garden. Imagine we’ve planted numerous plants in this garden. From a distance, it appears lush and green. However, as you get closer, you notice that while the plants are indeed green, they aren’t thriving. Some have even withered away, hidden amidst the sea of green foliage. Now, consider the garden as an organization, and each plant as an employee. The greenness represents productivity—the visible output of their work. But what about growth? If employees aren’t developing, learning, and advancing, the organization falls short of greatness. Those who lose hope or leave become the metaphorical “dead plants.” Therefore, it’s time to shift focus from work alone to holistic growth. Because : If you’re working but not growing, that place cannot truly be great! #growth #organisation #employee #productivity #work

"The best workplaces are like well-tended gardens, where every individual is valued and nurtured to reach their full potential." - Unknown Taken from my beautiful evening hike today! #Positive #CompassGroupCanada #HumberCollege #FlowerPower #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeEngagement #NurturingEnvironment #TeamDevelopment #PositiveWorkplace #EmployeeWellbeing #GrowthMindset #TeamSynergy #ValueEmployees #LeadershipDevelopment

☃️ Winter has arrived. Is your workspace ready for the cold weather? ❄️  ❄️  Here are 5 winter safety tips for your workplace this season: tinyurl.com/4bbp3vxe #winter #winterseason #wintersafety #wintersafetytips

☃️ Winter has arrived. Is your workspace ready for the cold weather? ❄️  ❄️  Here are 5 winter safety tips for your workplace this season: tinyurl.com/4bbp3vxe #winter #winterseason #wintersafety #wintersafetytips

☃️ Winter has arrived. Is your workspace ready for the cold weather? ❄️  ❄️  Here are 5 winter safety tips for your workplace this season: tinyurl.com/4bbp3vxe #winter #winterseason #wintersafety #wintersafetytips

As we settle into our new Reading digs, we’ve been thinking about what makes an office a place you actually WANT to work in. The short answer? Plants! 🪴 There are so many benefits to having plants in your office, which is why we’ve got a cactus corner next to our boardroom. 🌵 More green means more good - swipe for seven reasons why. 👉 Source: https://lnkd.in/e2T9xr6n #Ciphr #WorkplaceWellness #HRCommunity

The average adult is spending up to 11 hours per day in front of a screen (Nielsen) 11 hours! As we increasingly spend more time in front of a screen, it's natural to feel disconnected from the outside world. The majority of this screentime is in the office. This gives us a brilliant opportunity to connect with nature by bringing planting and greenery into the workplace. Studies show that having plants in the workplace reduces stress, boosts creativity and productivity, and purifies the air by absorbing pollutants. Beyond these practical perks, being surrounded by the vibrancy of indoor plants connects us back to the beauty and joy of the natural world. It reminds us that we are part of a wondrous web of life. The assortment of greenery in the office adds liveliness and personality to the space. Workplace foliage also brings teams together. The greenery softens and brightens the office, encouraging conversations and relationships between colleagues. Incorporating living plants indoors nourishes our minds, bodies, and spirits. It reminds us of the incredible biodiversity on our planet that is worth safeguarding. #officework #workspace #screentime

☃️ Winter has arrived. Is your workspace ready for the cold weather? ❄️  ❄️  Here are 5 winter safety tips for your workplace this season: tinyurl.com/4bbp3vxe #winter #winterseason #wintersafety #wintersafetytips

☃️ Winter has arrived. Is your workspace ready for the cold weather? ❄️  ❄️  Here are 5 winter safety tips for your workplace this season: tinyurl.com/4bbp3vxe #winter #winterseason #wintersafety #wintersafetytips