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Most workplace festivities will be virtual this year – but, on the evidence of this lot, maybe that’s not such a bad thingWe were a party of about 15 in All Bar One, which was filled with other office parties. It was a sit-down Christmas dinner and, after the main course and cracker pulling, I wiped my mouth with a large cloth napkin and...

If you started a new job in 2020, or began working from home, you’re missing out on more than the Christmas party. Here’s why office friendships matterYou never forget your first. I met Abi in early 2009 when we were assistants on a fashion magazine. We sized each other up like a pair of cats on a suburban lawn, then quickly became inseparable. She:...

Anthropologist James Suzman says now is the perfect time to rein in our unsustainable work habits. But is it possible?Three encounters loom large in the anthropologist James Suzman’s memory of his brief but informative stint in the corporate world. The first was early on, when he told a colleague that he didn’t need to spend the half-million pounds allocated for a task because he...

It helped create the suburbs, with countless towns thriving due to good transport links. Now it is under threat, with potentially huge consequences for our cities and social livesIt is 7.45 on a Monday morning and I am heading for the office. It is my first visit to the Guardian for more than four months, but the prime minister wants us back at work....

Covid-19 has forced millions into the unfamiliar world of the home office, where new security threats loom. Here’s how to protect yourself and colleaguesBusinesses are used to being prepared for a disaster and most will have had a well-rehearsed continuity plan in place in case one struck. But even the best plan couldn’t have effectively anticipated the wholesale overnight shift to home working that...

Overworked employees are using their annual leave to catch up on tasks they should have left behind at the office. And it isn’t just precarity and smartphones to blame‘I can’t wait for my holiday,” a colleague told me. “I’m going to get so much work done!” At the time, I wasn’t shocked. Many professionals I know use their holidays as an opportunity to work....

Reduced working hours, as promised by the new Finnish PM, can boost productivity and cut carbon emissions. Here’s the evidence behind the ideaFinland’s new prime minister, 34-year-old Sanna Marin, has announced plans to introduce a four-day week. It sounds quite glorious, doesn’t it? However, critics of reduced working hours, such as the Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, think the idea is bonkers. He believes we...

City firms experimenting with tech that flags harassment but critics question effectivenessArtificial intelligence programmers are developing bots that can identify digital bullying and sexual harassment.Known as “#MeTooBots” after the high-profile movement that arose after allegations against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, the bots can monitor and flag communications between colleagues and are being introduced by companies around the world. Continue reading...

Many of us find someone who rubs us up the wrong way and the typical advice is to try to avoid those negative feelings. But what if we could harness them for our own good?‘Do you have a nemesis?” I asked the two men, friends of my flatmate, to whom I had just been introduced. We were at a gig, waiting for the band...