Celebrity Life

'Lockdown' may be the word of the year, but WFH — work from home — probably comes in at a close second.

The new hybrid remote office model implemented by certain companies because of the pandemic has found favour with the majority of office employees in the past few months, according to a recent survey conducted by business communications tool Slack among office workers from the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Australia. But attitudes to remote working differ significantly among countries.

Which do you prefer, going into the office part-time, or working from home all week? Due to the Covid-19 pandemic this year, many organisations have been obliged to implement a new hybrid remote office model, which might mean working remotely on Mondays and Tuesdays, for instance, and going in to work for the rest of the week.

[caption id="attachment_212477" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Almost three out of four office workers worldwide approved of the hybrid remote office concept, which divides the week between working from home and the office. (Image: Anchiy / iStock)[/caption]

Almost three out of four (72 percent) of the 9032 participants in the Slack survey approved of this hybrid work concept, with only 11.6 percent wishing to return to full-time office work.

Germans are the most inclined to adopt such measures, with 77 percent of German respondents in favour of a hybrid remote office model. 74 percent of French workers polled would also agree to implement it.

Though the hybrid model appealed to the majority of respondents, the survey also showed that office workers in different countries see remote working differently. For instance, US workers prefer implementing a full-time remote policy while French employees would rather see their colleagues a few days a week.

[caption id="attachment_212478" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A hybrid remote office concept divides the week between working from home and the office. (Image: Mikey Harris/ Unsplash)[/caption]

Fourteen percent of French respondents said they valued going to the office rather than working remotely all week long, as opposed to just 8 percent of British workers polled. 13 percent of Japanese and Australian respondents would prefer to work entirely from the office, whereas only 11 percent of the US workers surveyed would.

In the US, working from home all week long seems to be the preferred solution for 16 percent of respondents, whereas only 8 percent of Japanese respondents would accept working fully remotely. Only 10 percent of German and 11 percent of French respondents approved of full-time home office policies.

The survey was conducted between June 30 and August 11, 2020 by Global WebIndex and Slack.

The post Could the Hybrid Remote Office Model be the Future of Work? appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Guillaume Levy-Lambert has a story to tell. Amid the pandemic, a married couple with two children visited his Art Porters Gallery in Spottiswoode Park. “They said their vacation plans were cancelled because of travel restrictions,” he says. “I almost cried when they told me about it. “However, they’d decided that they were going to use […]

The post Where to get your art fix: Local gallery updates for November appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Guillaume Levy-Lambert has a story to tell. Amid the pandemic, a married couple with two children visited his Art Porters Gallery in Spottiswoode Park. “They said their vacation plans were cancelled because of travel restrictions,” he says. “I almost cried when they told me about it. “However, they’d decided that they were going to use […]

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

A travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore was scrapped a day before its planned 22 November launch after the former announced a sudden spike in coronavirus cases.

The decision is both a blow to the two cities' battered tourist industries but also for other countries who had been hoping the scheme might be a model to replicate during the pandemic.

The two financial hubs have both suffered comparatively mild outbreaks with strict social distancing and border measures imposed soon after the pandemic first emerged. But with small populations and a heavy dependence on links to the outside world, they have been hard hit as the global economy collapsed.

Desperate to help their key tourism and aviation sectors, they came up with the plan allowing limited, quarantine-free travel between the cities as long as visitors test negative for Covid-19.

[caption id="attachment_212146" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Singapore. (Image: Hu Chen/ Unsplash)[/caption]

The travel corridor was set to kick off on Sunday morning. But on Saturday, Hong Kong announced the scheme would have to be delayed for two weeks following a sudden rise in coronavirus infections. "In the light of recent surge of local cases we have decided, together with the Singapore government, to defer the air travel bubble's launch by two weeks," commerce secretary Edward Yau told reporters.

After weeks of single-digit infections, Hong Kong health authorities have begun reporting a sudden uptick in cases in recent days. On Saturday they recorded 36 local coronavirus cases. Crucially, 13 were from unknown transmission sources, prompting fears the city has a new wave of out-of-control infections.

Vaccine crucial

Both Hong Kong and Singapore agreed that seven straight days of five or more unknown transmission cases would be enough to halt the travel bubble.

But Saturday's double-digit spike was enough for authorities in both cities to postpone the travel bubble. "This is a sober reminder that the Covid-19 virus is still with us, and even as we fight to regain our normal lives, the journey will be full of ups and downs," Singapore transport minister Ong Ye Kung wrote on his Facebook page.

Shukor Yusof, an analyst with aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, said that travel bubbles are fraught with challenges. "Although widely supported by aviation bodies, bilaterally agreed air corridors is not the answer to the crisis," Shukor told AFP.

"There is no solution until the vaccine is available to all. The more airlines swim against the COVID tide, and try to beat the odds, the worse it will become. Best to endure, stay put, refine the business model and conserve cash," he added.

[caption id="attachment_212430" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Hong Kong. (Image: Nikada/ iStock)[/caption]

Neither Hong Kong nor Singapore have domestic air routes to fall back on. So flagship carriers Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific have been hit especially hard.

Singapore is a major market for Hong Kong's tourism industry with more than 450,000 arrivals from the city-state recorded in 2019, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Hong Kong was among the top 15 visitor sources for Singapore last year, with nearly half a million arrivals, official data showed.

The planned travel bubble, which could still go ahead if infections drop, is strict. A maximum of 200 residents from each city will be able to travel on one daily flight to the other, with only those who have been in Singapore and Hong Kong for two weeks and tested negative allowed to board.

Arriving passengers will have to test negative again, and all the health checks could add substantial extra cost to a trip.

Coronavirus tests in Hong Kong cost around HK$1,500 at a government-approved laboratory or hospital, and in Singapore the price is around S$200 (HK$1,155).

(Main image: Swapnil Bapat/ Unsplash; Featured image: Guo Xin Goh/ Unsplash)

The post Amid a Surge in Covid-19 Cases, the Hong Kong-Singapore Travel Bubble Has Been Postponed appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Collins Dictionary said on Tuesday that 'lockdown' is its Word of The Year in 2020 following a dramatic increase in usage during the spread of Covid-19.

Lexicographers said they picked the word because it had become synonymous with the experience of populations across the world as governments look to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is a unifying experience for billions of people across the world, who have had collectively to play their part in combating the spread of COVID-19," publishers Harper Collins said.

Collins registered more than a quarter of a million usages of "lockdown" during 2020, against only 4,000 the previous year. Because of the way the pandemic has affected the daily use of language, six of Collins' 10 words of the year in 2020 are related to the global health crisis.

[caption id="attachment_212208" align="alignnone" width="768"] A man plays with a football in a near-deserted Chester city centre during the lockdown in England in April. (Image: Oli Scarff/ AFP)[/caption]

"Coronavirus", "social distancing", "self-isolate" and "furlough" as well as "lockdown" and "key worker" were included in the longer list of 10 words of the year. "Key worker" alone has seen a 60-fold increase in usage reflecting the importance attributed this year to professions considered to be essential to society.

"2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic," Helen Newstead, a language consultant at Collins, said. "Lockdown has affected the way we work, study, shop, and socialise.

"With many countries entering a second lockdown, it is not a word of the year to celebrate but it is, perhaps, one that sums up the year for most of the world."

Collins defines "lockdown" as "the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces". According to the dictionary, coronavirus is: "Any one of a group of RNA-containing viruses that can cause infectious illnesses of the respiratory tract, including COVID-19."

[caption id="attachment_212209" align="alignnone" width="768"] A deserted 42nd Street is seen in midtown New York in April. (Image: Timothy A Clary/ AFP)[/caption]

Significant social and political developments beyond the virus have also been reflected in the list, which has already made its way into online editions of the English dictionary.

A wave of Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the death in US police custody of unarmed black man George Floyd, spread around the world and brought a new awareness of the movement.

The abbreviation "BLM", often used as a hashtag on social media, was widely used in conversations and reporting following the protests, registering an increase in usage of 581 percent by Collins.

[caption id="attachment_212210" align="aligncenter" width="710"] A Black Lives Matter protest in Philadelphia. (Image: Chris Henry/ Unsplash)[/caption]

Social media regularly throws up new words for the dictionary. This year, Collins has included "TikToker", which describes someone who shares content on the TikTok social media platform. "Mukbang", which refers to a South Korean trend of video bloggers eating large quantities of food in videos broadcast to their followers, has also made the list.

The UK royal family influenced the shortlist in 2020. "Megxit", which refers to the withdrawal of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan from royal duties, passed into regular usage.

The word, modelled on "Brexit", which was Collins' word of the year in 2016, illustrates just how firmly established that word now is in the British lexicon.

(Main and featured image: Timothy A Clary/ AFP)

The post Unsurprisingly, ‘Lockdown’ is the Collins Dictionary Word of the Year appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

The married couple behind State Property want to change the perception that fine jewellery is just for special occasions.

The post How this couple is designing fine jewellery for everyday wear appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

The married couple behind State Property want to change the perception that fine jewellery is just for special occasions.

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Prawns grown in a petri dish, pork made out of unripe jackfruit - the future is almost here.

The post Future foods: What will we eat in 2030? appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Prawns grown in a petri dish, pork made out of unripe jackfruit - the future is almost here.

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Prolonged periods of working from home calls for a new wardrobe.

The post How the pandemic finally made our watch and fashion editor love athleisure appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Prolonged periods of working from home calls for a new wardrobe.

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Switch things up with novel staycation ideas that include a mum-focused retreat, and a stay in a shipping container.

The post A staycation on a yacht appeared first on The Peak Magazine.