About Neil Franklin

Neil Franklin is Insight's news editor

Posts by Neil Franklin:

Flexible working seen as top workplace benefit by workers

Flexible working seen as top workplace benefit by workers

A survey of 1,000 UK workers by corporate gift suppliers Adler claims to identify the top benefits workers want to see offered as standard by their employer. Flexible working topped the list with half of respondents (48 percent) saying it should be offered as standard by UK companies.

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Women are less likely to negotiate terms of a job offer than men

Women are less likely to negotiate terms of a job offer than men

A survey commissioned by CV-Library claims that one of the most significant differences between men and women in the workplace is that men are generally less afraid to ask for what they want from an employer. The study of over 1,200 people claims that over half (55.1 percent) of men would negotiate on parts of a job offer, compared to just four in 10 (42.1 percent) women.  The study also claims that the terms women are willing to negotiate on also varies widely. The survey suggests that they are more likely to debate working hours (56.4 percent) than men (40.9 percent), whilst men are more likely to negotiate salary (83.1 percent) than women (73.1 percent). More →

Plans approved for “the biggest regeneration scheme in the UK”

Plans approved for “the biggest regeneration scheme in the UK”

Boots Island regeneration scheme illustrationOutline plans to regenerate the 40-acre former Boots Island site in Nottingham have been approved by Nottingham City Council planning committee. Conygar Investment Company PLC intends to transform the site, which has lain derelict for many years, into grade A office space, “creative market space”, homes a five-star hotel, retail units, a “linear’ park” and community space and student accommodation. More →

Women make up only a quarter of executive boards at top accountancy firms

Women make up only a quarter of executive boards at top accountancy firms

An online employee referral recruitment platform has analysed data from the top 25 accountancy firms in the UK and claims that women make up just a quarter of the executive boards, however statistics show that women made up 44 percent of full-time accountants in the UK. The research conducted by Real Links also claims that only two of the top 25 firms boards are nearly equal in the gender split and a further six boards were only one third women. Four executive boards had no women on them at all in 2014. More →

Stress in legal profession widely misunderstood, research paper claims

Stress in legal profession widely misunderstood, research paper claims

The latest Bellwether research paper titled, ‘Stress in the Legal Profession: Problematic or Inevitable’, published by LexisNexis UK claims that stress is an endemic issue in the legal profession with two thirds of respondents currently experiencing high levels of stress despite the confident ‘business as usual’ industry outlook. Almost 1 in 4 solicitors feel that more could be done to support them in the workplace although 4 in 5 report high levels of job satisfaction and 5 out of 10 consider they have a positive state of mind.

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London leads Siemens Atlas of Digitalization as most digitally ready global city

London leads Siemens Atlas of Digitalization as most digitally ready global city

Digitalization of citiesSiemens has launched a new web-based application which reveals the readiness and potential of six major cities to embrace digitalization and develop new ways of living, working and interacting. The Atlas of Digitalization is based around the interconnected themes of Expo 2020 Dubai – Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity – and assesses how the fourth industrial revolution has already impacted urban life around the world, and the potential it could have in the future. More →

Uncertain times demand a new approach to strategic people management

Uncertain times demand a new approach to strategic people management

A street scene of workers in LondonIs the management of people in organisations today really about growing the long-term value of an employers’ most important asset in an increasing uncertain and skills-short labour market? Or is it more to do with continuing to drive costs down and shareholder returns up; and meeting the bare minimum standards required by legislation? The Institute for Employment’s (IES) latest research, carried out in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), looks at the reality of people management and comes up with some generally positive findings and conclusions. More →

UK employees work £3.2 billion in unpaid overtime every week

UK employees work £3.2 billion in unpaid overtime every week

Three workers discuss a project around a tableThe UK is the unpaid overtime capital of Europe. This is according to new research by ADP (registration), which has found that employees are giving away an average of £5,038 of their time every year, amounting to £164.8 billion annually across the working population. The study of over 1,400 UK employees reveals that two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents regularly work longer than their contracted hours, with respondents averaging 6.3 hours unpaid per week. However, for more than a fifth (22 percent) of employees, this rises to at least 10 hours per week – twice as many as in other European countries, including Germany and France (10 percent and 12 percent respectively). More →

British organisations could save £61 billion a year by prioritising wellbeing

British organisations could save £61 billion a year by prioritising wellbeing

Vitality has published the results of its annual Britain’s Healthiest Workplace study, developed in partnership with RAND Europe and the University of Cambridge. The report claims that many businesses are failing their employees, with three-quarters of ill-health related absence and presenteeism last year, equating to £61bn, arising from factors such as depression, poor lifestyle choices, and stress – all of which can be targeted through health and wellbeing initiatives. The study also suggests that employers lose, on average, 35.6 working days per employee per year due to health-related absence and presenteeism.

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Black and other minority workers more likely to be in insecure work, claims TUC

Black and other minority workers more likely to be in insecure work, claims TUC

Black and minority ethnic workers are far more likely to be trapped in temporary and insecure work, according to a new TUC analysis published to mark the start of its annual Black Workers Conference. The analysis claims  to show how BME workers are faring worse than white workers in the jobs market. More →

Central London commercial property market investment up over a quarter

Central London commercial property market investment up over a quarter

Commercial property investment in Central London (the City and West End) rose to £3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019, a 28 percent increase on the £2.5 billion invested in Q1 2018, according to new data from Savills. The firm also claims that investment volumes in Central London in Q1 2019 were also higher than those in Q1 2015 before the UK’s referendum to leave the EU, when they reached £3.14 billion.

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Workers dislike their work colleagues even more than their boss

Workers dislike their work colleagues even more than their boss

Unlikable work colleagues, who are noisy, annoying and even steal from the office fridge top the list of workplace grumbles, according to a survey of 650 UK workers. The YouGov survey, conducted on behalf of Crown Workspace, named fellow colleagues more annoying than old or slow technology, uncomfortable office temperatures and even rude or over-friendly bosses.

Generationally, it seems that millennials (aged between 25-32) have the most to grumble about. Over half (54 percent) of millennials find their colleagues unlikable. In comparison only 36 percent of those aged 45-54 dislike colleagues, indicating that older workers are more tolerant of their younger colleagues. Old technology and unlikable bosses also score highly on millennials list of grumbles, with half (50 percent) moaning about them.

By comparison, only a third of 18-25 year olds listed old technology as an issue, and 30 percent disliked their boss. Millennials, more than any other age group, were also more discontented with: desk space (29 percent), facilities (42 percent), poor office location (30 percent) and poor décor and furniture (25 percent). Out of all of the working age ranges from 18 – 65, millennials moan about each of the top ten grumbles the most.

When it comes to differences between the sexes the research found that women are more likely than men to complain about temperatures (45 percent vs 39 percent) and poor lighting (31 percent vs 22 percent).

The UK’s top 10 office grumbles are:
1. Disagreeable work colleagues
2. Slow or old technology
3. Uncomfortable temperature
4. Disagreeable bosses
5. Poor facilities
6. Poor lighting
7. Inadequate office space
8. Poor office location
9. Inadequate deskspace
10. Poor décor and furniture