HSBC top brass forced to hot desk as HQ scraps executive floor
18 Apr, 2021 09:00 PM
3 minutes to read
HSBC s headquarters in the east London financial quarter of Canary Wharf. Photo / 123RF
Financial Times
By: Stephen Morris
HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn has abolished the entire executive floor of its Canary Wharf skyscraper in east London, as the bank becomes the latest to drive through sweeping changes to post-pandemic working practices. Top managers have been booted out of their 42nd-floor private offices, which have been turned into client meeting rooms and collaborative spaces, Quinn told the Financial Times. Executives the CEO included now hot desk on an open-plan floor two storeys below.
April 19, 202112:05 AM UTC
Asia PacificJapan firms brace for further COVID hit amid fears of new wave of infections
Tetsushi Kajimoto
3 minutes read
Japanese companies think the country will suffer a fourth round of coronavirus infections, with many bracing for a further blow to business, a Reuters monthly poll showed.
Japan has so far seen far fewer COVID-19 cases than many Western countries, but concerns about a new wave of infections are rising fast.
A delay in vaccinations versus other Group of Seven advanced countries and a lacking sense of crisis among the public will trigger a new wave of infections, some firms wrote in the poll.
›Are you setting up to fail this year at work? Here is an 8-point failure checklist to find out
Are you setting up to fail this year at work? Here is an 8-point failure checklist to find out
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Are you setting up to fail this year at work? Here is an 8-point failure checklist to find outBy Devashish Chakravarty, ET CONTRIBUTORS
Last Updated: Apr 19, 2021, 06:30 AM IST
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Synopsis
If you have survived last year, then it is a good thing. But what about now? Will you make the current year count? Or have you picked up wrong habits last year, that are setting you up for failure? Here’s a failure checklist for your trip to your career destination.
Companies have asked a lot of managers during the last year.
Team leaders have been tasked with keeping subordinates motivated and productive in the midst of a global pandemic, all while maintaining a steady presence as the ground has shifted beneath them. They’ve not only had to manage their teams, but also the shift to remote work, the vitally important conversations around race and equality this year has prompted, and the impact the pandemic has had on their personal lives.
Recently published research quantifies the impact of the pandemic on managers’ mental health in its early months. Researchers from Germany, Australia, and the US surveyed almost 650 managers in 49 countries last May to assess their levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, and the major contributing risk factors. The age, income, work status of the managers, as well as the level of instability at their companies, were all seen as predictors of of those conditions.
On Sunday, the Gauteng government announced that the transfer of patients to other facilities was completed.
“The site has been handed to the fire and safety investigation officer for the commencement of the investigation around the cause of the fire,” it said.
The provincial government also set up a call centre to assist family members of patients affected by the fire.
“Families and loved ones can contact the Gauteng citizen relationship management on 0800-22-8827 or 0800-428-8364, or email hotline@gauteng.gov.za.”
On social media, many applauded the job done by the hospital s staff to evacuate patients without any casualties: