About Neil Franklin

Neil Franklin is Insight's news editor

Posts by Neil Franklin:

October 1, 2018

Workers attracted to employers with perceived strong ethical standards

New research by UK pharmaceutical company, MSD, based on an online survey of 2,000 people aged over 18, claims that three quarters (74 percent) of young workers (18-34) and 66 percent of over 35-year-olds would be happier working for a company with a positive impact and purpose in the world. Younger workers go even further with over two-fifths (42 percent) saying they would take a pay cut if it meant they could work for a company that had a positive impact and purpose in the world, with 23 percent of over 35-year-olds in agreement.

September 27, 2018

With six months to go before Brexit, only 630 finance jobs have left UK, claims Reuters

by Neil Franklin • News

As few as 630 UK-based finance jobs have been shifted or created overseas with just six months to go before Brexit, a far lower total than banks said could move after Britain’s surprise vote to leave the European Union, according to a new Reuters survey. Many bankers and politicians predicted after the June 2016 referendum that leaving the EU would prompt a mass exodus of jobs and business and deal a crippling blow to London’s position in global finance.

September 26, 2018

CIPD and Mind launch guidance for managers to support mental health at work

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and Mind, the mental health charity, have today jointly published a revised mental health guide for managers to improve support for those experiencing stress and mental health issues at work. The updated guidance follows recent CIPD research which found that less than one in three organisations (32 percent) train line managers to support staff with poor mental health.

September 24, 2018

Quarter of employees say they have experienced a data security breach

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

New research by 247meeting claims to have uncovered worrying lapses in data security in the workplace, with senior management often being the biggest culprits. According to the report: a quarter of senior managers have experienced a stranger on a conference call; 26 percent of employees with access to customer data haven’t been trained on GDPR; over a third of employees don’t know where their security policy is saved; and almost half of employees admit to using technology tools to communicate at work without them being password protected

September 20, 2018

Working parents would like more flexible working, but most don’t have the option

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

According to new research commissioned by McDonald’s UK, working parents want to move to a more flexible working culture, but around three quarters simply don’t have it as an option. The study was conducted over the summer by YouGov with 1,100 parents across the country. The research found that over three quarters of respondents think flexible working would allow them to juggle work with home commitments, yet 73 percent say they do not have that option in their current role.

September 19, 2018

New report aims to debunk myth that AI will be intrinsically bad for people at work

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology

The latest report that claims to debunk the myths surrounding AI in the workplace arrives from Tata Communications who worked with academics at UC Berkeley to interview 120 business leaders about their attitudes to AI. The report, AI and the Future of Work (registration required) claims to shift ‘the conversation from dystopian fears toward human collaboration and cognitive diversity, the study identifies how AI can diversify human thinking rather than replace it. The study identifies opportunities for businesses and employees based on insights from leaders such as Tony Blair, Executive Chair of the Institute of Global Change and former UK Prime Minister, who predicts that, AI will allow us to do what it is that we are uniquely meant to do: focus on high-level thinking, strategy, and paving the way for innovation.’

September 19, 2018

Better urban design could improve the lives and wellbeing of millions of people

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Wellbeing

Adjusting the planning system to put good design at the heart of urban development could lead to a £15 billion boost to the UK economy and improve the wellbeing and mental health of millions of individuals across the UK. The new report, A Design for Life, commissioned by British Land says that improving mental health and wellbeing in our cities could have significant and positive impacts in several ways, including boosting productivity in the workplace, reducing absenteeism and bringing down the NHS and welfare bills.

September 18, 2018

Half of all workplace tasks will be performed by machines within seven years

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The world is going through a workplace revolution that will bring a seismic shift in the way humans work alongside machines and algorithms, according to new research by the World Economic Forum. By 2025 more than half of all current workplace tasks will be performed by machines as opposed to 29 percent today. Such a transformation will have a profound effect on the global labour force, however in terms of overall numbers of new jobs the outlook is positive, with 133 million new jobs expected to be created by 2022 compared to 75 million that will be displaced. The research, published in The Future of Jobs 2018, is an attempt to understand the potential of new technologies to disrupt and create jobs. It is also seeks to provide guidance on how to improve the quality and productivity of the current work being done by humans and how to prepare people for emerging roles.

September 17, 2018

AI will be commonplace in the working lives of staff very soon

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Experts at Henley Business School have announced that the majority of the graduate workforce in the UK will be working with artificial intelligence on a daily basis by 2030, with technology such as ‘AI assistants’ expected to be commonplace in the next decade. New research released at the Henley annual World of Work 2030 conference, claims that a third (35 percent) of UK workers are excited about the prospect of their own personal AI assistant. With the average worker currently spending 3.5 hours a week on admin tasks, assistants’ could give workers back 12 working days a year (over two working weeks) by taking on these activities and freeing up time for more productive tasks.

September 14, 2018

Nearly half of employees worldwide could do their jobs in 5 hours or fewer each day

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

According to a global survey of nearly 3,000 employees across eight countries conducted by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated, nearly half (45 percent) of full-time workers say it should take less than five hours each day to do their job if they worked uninterrupted, while three out of four employees (72 percent) would work four days or less per week if pay remained constant. Yet, 71 percent of employees also say work interferes with their personal life.

September 13, 2018

Call for employers to do more for older workers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new report from the charity and lobbying group the Centre for Ageing Better has called for employers to be more age-friendly and inclusive of those over 50, including doing more to tackle age discrimination in the workplace. According to the study, significant numbers of older workers feel they are being discriminated against at work because of their age, including believing they have been turned down for jobs (9 percent) and being offered fewer opportunities for training and progression (32 percent).

September 12, 2018

A new era of technology could resolve UK low productivity at last

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

A new McKinsey study sets out to address the reasons why the United Kingdom experiences chronically low productivity and what can be done to use technology to improve its performance. In the report, Solving the UK’s productivity puzzle in the digital age, the authors argue that “Britain stands out as one of the worst productivity performers among its peers”. They argue that there are four distinct reasons for the weakness since the economic crisis: “boom and bust” in the financial sector, the strength of employment growth, weak investment and uneven “digitisation”. It claims that the UK is operating at only 17 per cent of its digitisation potential, indicating how much scope for improvement there is.