BUSINESS NEWS


‘Business leaders are realising what used to work doesn’t work any more,’ says Blaire Palmer


Leaders urged to reform workplace environment


Author Blaire Palmer tells Ian Taylor why ‘industrial age model’ needs updating


Business leaders need to rethink how they lead, according to business consultant and author Blaire Palmer, who will make the case for “a workplace reformation” when she addresses Abta’s Travel Convention in October. Palmer argues: “We talk about


mental health, wellbeing and workplace culture, but we operate very much on an industrial age model at work.” She suggests the Covid-19


pandemic “surfaced the deep frustration” of a lot of employees at


48 12 SEPTEMBER 2024


work: “People are asking ‘Is my work worth the sacrifice?’ A new generation is saying ‘I’m not going to work beyond my hours’. “Business leaders are realising what


used to work doesn’t work any more. They see a tension between what employees want and what they need from employees.” There has been a widespread


switch to flexible working, but Palmer says: “We’ve misunderstood what hybrid working should be about, [thinking] it’s about a better work-life


balance [when] the real question is ‘How can people do their best work?’” She notes: “There is work that


requires deep thought where there is no advantage to being in an office, and there is work that requires collaborative effort that requires you be in the office.” The problem, says Palmer, is that


most leaders “don’t really trust people”. Yet she argues: “Most people find huge


Continued on page 46 travelweekly.co.uk


BUSINESSNEWS


PICTURE: Walter Branco


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52