Britons see civil servants as bureaucratic, political and stuck in their ways, but also professional. Few see them as lazy – but few seem them as innovative or accessible either.
Innovation is becoming the number one strategic issue for CEOs around the world, as recognition grows about the link between innovation and organisational growth and value creation. The most valuable organisations of tomorrow will be idea-rich, have a culture where innovation is embedded as a core capability and value, and will embrace new and unusual ways of fostering innovation, for example through the creative use of venture capital.
New research from BT among people who work from home - either regularly or now and again - has revealed their day to be a balanced and relatively stress-free lifestyle allowing them time to get their work done as well as taking breaks to keep fit, do the household chores or even a spot of gardening. Some are so relaxed they even work in their pyjamas - if that, in some cases.
Over three quarters of regular PC users in France, Germany and Britain feel more should be done to improve the environment in which they use desktop PCs, according to an independent survey published by MORI. More alarming for employers, only a third of desktops are considered comfortable for long periods, despite the fact that the heaviest PC users are spending more of their time using PCs to surf the Internet and access digital information.
The UK's traditional lunch hour is under threat and could soon disappear altogether, as recent research found that only one in four workers are still taking the statutory one-hour for lunch. The national survey by break experts Kit Kat in conjunction with test Research, a member of the MORI organisation, discovered the average length of the midday break is now just 39 minutes.
Over three million (3.4m) non-smokers have to work in places where they are frequently exposed to other people's cigarette smoke, according to survey results published by ASH, the National Asthma Campaign, and the TUC.
