While the world’s getting used to hybrid workplaces – with some staff in the office, some working remotely and many mixing the two – not everyone’s keen to knock off, a Microsoft study shows. Also this month, a classic marketing book gets an update, a sit-stand desk tiny enough for the home office and, with a note-taking app’s business version, you can share Eureka moments with your team.

The Best Book on Consumer Behaviour: 'Nudge' – The Final Edition

The best business book for this month is [ITALS]Nudge – The Final Edition

In 2009, the original edition of 'Nudge' introduced the business world to the term 'choice architecture', a concept about presenting an option in a way that prompts consumers to opt in or buy. The authors, Nobel Prize-winning behavioural economist Richard Thaler and law professor Cass Sunstein, have revised their bestseller, updating it with new research and insights from government work (they subtitled it 'The Final Edition' to guarantee they’ll never again undertake such a mammoth project). Tips you might find applicable for your business include how the past year saw many businesses use “fun” as an incentive, offering freebies such as doughnuts, flights, fries and lottery entries to vaccinated customers.

The Personal Device That Works for Business: Amazon Echo Show 8 2nd Gen

The Amazon Echo Show 8 2nd Generation is a good business resource for managing your day.

Once you’ve downloaded the Alexa app, you can use voice commands to manage your meetings, schedule, reminders and inbox. Link your device – the Amazon Echo Show 8 2nd Generation is the 2021 iteration – to your work email and calendar, then ask it to “tell me about my workday” or “read my email” (to which you can respond, delete, flag or mark as unread). Alongside productivity tasks, you can set up your assistant to join conference calls and act as a shared device in meeting areas.

The Clever Office Furniture: Professional Sit Stand Desk

The best business buy for your office this month is the Professional Sit Stand Desk.

Nineteenth century American author Mark Twain liked to write in bed, but the rest of us might consider standing and sitting during work hours. The Professional Sit Stand Desk is easy to adjust between those states, moving smoothly up and down using a gas spring into your preferred position. It has a groove for your tablet and, if you want to work on two screens, it’s big enough to easily fit two monitors at once, or for use with single or dual monitor arms.

An Idea to Think About: Digital Presenteeism

For an insight into our working lives, the Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index is the best business resource this month.

Long working hours are often seen as a symbol of employee commitment and with many of us working from home, or balancing the juggle of hybrid workplaces, it’s never been easier for work to spill into our personal time. Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trend Index – findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries – reports that the average Teams user is sending 42 per cent more chats per person after hours than a year earlier and that 50 per cent of people respond to chats within five minutes, matching pre-pandemic speeds. “Presenteeism”, reported the BBC, has “simply gone digital”.

SEE ALSO: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Remote Working Team

The Classic Note-Taking App: Evernote

The best business resource for collaboration to try this month is Evernote Business.

One of the first note-taking apps to hit the market, Evernote remains a leader. With real-time collaboration tools, Evernote Teams integrates with Slack, Salesforce and other major software systems and works across devices even when offline. After a free 30-day trial, its Teams plan is $16.49 per month but if you just want to jot down reminders and good ideas on the go, Evernote Basic is free.