Topic description and stories

Getting ‘work’ right is good for people and the nation. It contributes to increasing productivity, better living standards and economic growth.

One day of paid work a week is all we need to get mental health benefits of employment

19 June 2019

Latest research finds up to eight hours of paid work a week significantly boosts mental health and life satisfaction. However, researchers found little evidence that any more hours – including a full five-day week – provide further increases in wellbeing. 

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Character with VR goggles

What is the metaverse – and will it help us or harm us?

27 Jul 2023

An interconnected world of extended reality is coming that will reshape how we work, play and communicate – and expose us to new levels of risk. What...

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A barista making a coffee

Give more people with learning disabilities the chance to work, historian argues

21 Jul 2023

Employment levels for people with learning disabilities in the UK are 5 to 10 times lower than they were a hundred years ago. And the experiences of...

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Humanoid QT robot and toy-like Misty robot

Robots can help improve mental wellbeing at work – as long as they look right

15 Mar 2023

Robots can be useful as mental wellbeing coaches in the workplace – but perception of their effectiveness depends in large part on what the robot...

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Would you prefer a four-day working week?

21 Feb 2023

Working a four-day week boosts employee wellbeing while preserving productivity, according to research on a major six-month trial in the UK.

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Innovative recruitment platform wins KPMG future of work hackathon

30 Jun 2022

The University of Cambridge's ThinkLab helped design and run a KPMG 'Future of Work' hackathon to find promising new ideas that will help transform...

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Women laughing

KPMG and the University of Cambridge unveil new partnership to reimagine the world of work, starting with mental wellbeing

21 Jun 2022

New five-year partnership on the ‘Future of Work’ will examine the big issues affecting the modern workforce and offer practical, research-backed...

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Good work?

21 Jun 2022

What do we want from work - and how can we get it? Jennifer Howard-Grenville introduces the University's new partnership with KPMG on the future of...

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Woman using laptop for team meeting

Remote working is a ‘mixed bag’ for employee wellbeing and productivity, study finds

22 Apr 2022

Adapting remote and hybrid work policies to employees’ specific work-life situations can result in increased well-being and productivity, but many...

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Businesswoman interacting with colleagues sitting at conference table during meeting in board room - stock photo

Women are ‘running with leaded shoes’ when promoted at work, says study

19 Apr 2022

Promotion at work has greater emotional benefit for men than women, says a new study on gender and workplace emotion.

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‘Generation lockdown’ needs targeted help-to-work policies – global report

21 Oct 2021

Nations the world over are guilty of “policy inertia” when it comes to supporting young people who lost work or will struggle to enter the labour...

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Man working at a laptop

One in twenty workers are in ‘useless’ jobs – far fewer than previously thought

03 Jun 2021

The so-called ‘bullshit jobs theory’ – which argues that a large and rapidly increasing number of workers are undertaking jobs that they themselves...

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UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak at a Covid-19 press conference. Sunak is credited with instigating the UK's 'furlough' job retention scheme.

Furlough ‘stemmed the tide’ of poor mental health during UK lockdown, study suggests

24 Jul 2020

Researchers say the UK government should ask employers to share out reduced hours rather than lose workers, in order to mitigate a looming mental...

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