Our Publications and Research
We have undertaken a variety of unique research projects both independently and in collaboration with our clients. From snap-shot reports to large-scale research projects, we have committed not just to learning, unlearning and relearning, but to sharing our insight as widely and accessibly as possible. You can find some of our most recent projects below.
Mental Health at Work Report: The Cost of Coping 2022
It’s no secret that the last few years have been tough on a lot of people’s mental health, and that leaders in the workplace are struggling to reverse a tide of burnout, underperformance and the ‘Great Resignation’. This summer, we researched over 3000 workers to try to understand what’s happening and what can be done. It highlights that people from minoritised communities are disproportionately suffering. And a need for systemic, long term cultural change.
Masculinity in the Workplace Report 2021
In 2021, we undertook research in order to better understand how workplaces and gender roles had or hadn’t shifted in response to the upheaval caused by the pandemic. What we discovered is that employees’ ability to be collaborative is dependent on their gender, age and seniority, with young and junior men feeling completely unable to collaborate even in decision-making with significant repercussions. Why is this?Read about this in the report.
Google Rare: The Allyship Toolkit
We developed the Beyond Optical Allyship for Google Rare. Beyond Optical Allyship is an open-source training programme for creative industries professionals, teaching best-practices and processes at the individual and institutional level.
Masculinity in the workplace 2020
To coincide with our Masculinity in the Workplace event in 2020, we carried out original research to understand how people are feeling in the workplace in relation to masculinity. This white paper presents the results and details what kind of leadership traits people want to see in the future, how the impact of traditional masculinity is harming everyone during this pandemic and specifically underrepresented groups. We also present solutions for how employers can help accelerate change.
Universal Music: Creative Differences Report
Utopia created Universal Music’s Creative Differences report, a first of its kind report exploring how the creative industries could embrace neurodiversity. Full of practical solutions companies can adopt to make their workforces more accessible in areas including recruitment, mentorship and career progression, this report provides valuable insights for employers and employees alike.
Under 35s in the workplace
This report provides insight into the ways in which Millennials and Gen Z (under 35s) are clashing with certain norms, feeling tremendous pressure to succeed but also susceptible to poor mental health as they are afraid to ask for emotional support at work. We offer solutions for employers to attend better to the needs of younger employees to ensure a mentally healthier and more inclusive workplace.
BIPOC employees in the workplace
Original research we conducted revealed that BIPOC workers feel under immense pressure to uphold a standard of professionalism that favours their white colleagues and are pressured to mask parts of themselves in order to assimilate. This report offers insight into how BIPOC employees are feeling in the workplace and opportunities for employers to start driving change to ensure everyone feels valued and included in the workplace.
Do The Right Thing Report
This report explores the importance of ensuring your business is always doing the right thing and provides a toolkit to build more purposeful workplaces, where the right thing permeates through the business. It specifically covers four key areas: insights into redefining purpose and belonging; redesigning the way we work and a focus on the mentally healthy workplace; finding the problems to hack the solutions; and recommendations for change.
The Great British Diversity Experiment
Launched in 2016 by co-founders Nadya Powell, Daniele Fiandaca, Laura Jordan Bambach, Jonathan Akwue, Alex Goat and Tolu Farinto this groundbreaking experiment was the first piece of social science research, in association with Flamingo, to make a causal link between diversity and creativity. This report provides practical insights into why diversity works and how you can design businesses that leverage the benefits.
The Business of Creativity
Developed by Utopia with their Brand Social community and The Akin, The Business of Creativity reveals that creativity doesn’t simply inspire; it also delivers measurable value for your business. The report encourages a fresh approach to the “pretty pictures vs hard numbers” dichotomy and provides practical insights into how investment in creativity pays back while creative stagnation can impact revenues.