July 27, 2018
Half of CIOs say Artificial Intelligence will lead to more jobs and improve productivity
Fears that Artificial Intelligence will destroy the job market are not shared by more than half (51 percent) of UK CIOs who see AI as a job creator. This is more than three times the number who say that it will diminish workers’ job prospects (16 percent). For the survey UK CIOs were asked, ‘Artificial intelligence is changing the way that companies operate and people work. Do you think AI will have a positive or negative impact on job creation and recruitment?’ Their largely positive response closely reflects that of a recent PWC report which predicts AI could create as many jobs as it displaces in the UK over the next 20 years. More →
Sexual harassment in the workplace is widespread and commonplace, with unwanted sexual behaviours such as sexual comments, touching, groping and assault seen as an everyday occurrence and part of the culture in workplaces, and the Government, regulators and employers are failing in their responsibilities to tackle the problem says an influential group of MPs. Employers and regulators have ignored their responsibilities for too long, found the Women and Equalities Committee following a wide-ranging six-month inquiry and often legal protections are not available to workers in practice. The Committee found that despite 40 percent of women and 18 percent of men having experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in the workplace there has been a failure to tackle unlawful behaviours, despite the Government’s obligations under international law. The report calls on Government to focus on five priorities to put sexual harassment at the top of the agenda for employers.
At the risk of stating the obvious, with the Met Office suggesting temperatures could reach their peak on Friday (27 July) in some areas of the UK, Britain’s largest employer organisation is encouraging companies to consider ‘a range of measures to keep employees comfortable during the heatwave’. Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director, said: “While the current hot spell has provided welcome fillip for consumer-facing sectors, large numbers of employees are feeling the heat as they carry out their day-to-day tasks, especially those working outdoors. Responsible employers take the welfare of their employees very seriously, particularly during this unusual weather. Companies can help keep their employees cool by considering a range of measures, from flexible working to help those with punishing commutes to relaxed dress codes, so staff feel more comfortable in their place of work. Ultimately a common sense approach is needed, as some employees will have less flexibility than others, for example those wearing safety equipment on construction sites. In all cases, staff should have easy access to drinking water as temperatures soar to help keep them healthy and productive.”
Improved living standards, deflating pension pots and legal protection against age discrimination have all helped to nudge up the retirement age. The result is that for the first time since the Industrial Revolution five generations of employees are now working side by side. According to a new survey, two thirds of organisations (66 per cent) say that an age diverse workforce helped the company to have a more comprehensive skillset and knowledge base and more than seven in ten (71 per cent) felt that a multi-generational workforce brought contrasting views to their organisation. However, in the YouGov survey of middle market businesses commissioned by RSM, four in ten companies (41 per cent) said that a multi-generational workforce also increased the risk of conflict in the workplace. 
The majority (82 percent) of employees have ideas about how their company can help improve the business claims a new survey, but over a third (34 percent) say their ideas are being ignored by their employers. The findings were announced alongside the launch of Sideways 6’s inaugural State of Employee Ideas report, which explores how employees at all levels, at businesses of all sizes, all over the world feel their company treats their ideas also reveals that 39 percent of females felt that their ideas are not being listened to, compared to 30 percent of males. Interestingly, despite the number of ideas they have, many employees remain fearful of voicing them. According to the findings, one fifth (18 percent) of those same ideas are never heard because employees are afraid to put them forward. The results also identified a clear disparity in levels of confidence to put forward ideas between younger and older employees. When surveyed, 64 percent of senior level employees strongly agreed that they have ideas and aren’t afraid to voice them, compared to 42 percent junior level employees.
The majority of employees are disappointed with their company’s lack of investment in technology, and despite the fact three quarters (76 percent) want to request flexible working – almost half still don’t have the option of working more flexibly, a new report from a technology company claims. According to the survey by technology company Ingram Micro Cloud UK, in collaboration with technology company Microsoft, despite the fact that Millennials and Centennials are often thought to be the driving force behind changing workplace practices – and are often derided in popular discourse for having unreasonable and unrealistic expectations – the calls for change are coming from all segments of the workforce. However, 85 percent of Millennials admit to procuring their own workplace technologies such as instant messaging, Skype, file hosting and sharing tools (all available from Ingram Micro Cloud) that aren’t supported or provided by their employer, which raises major security issues, acco.
Employers with over 250 employees are more likely to have a significant absence issue among staff says new research from Group Risk Development (GRiD). According to HR decision makers companies with over 250 employees have the highest absence rates – averaging 7.5 days per year yet micro businesses with between 1-9 staff only see their staff take an average of 2.8 days absence per year. Five per cent of HR decision makers also admitted to not recording or monitoring absence at all, although this is more prevalent amongst SMEs (6 percent) than those with over 250 employees (1 percent). 
Built environment organisations are calling for urgent action on issues such as consumption, innovation and infrastructure to prevent the UK slipping behind other nations on poverty, equality and the environment as a new report released today (3 July 2018) highlights the UK’s inadequate performance against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those for the built environment. The report, Measuring up, from the UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (UKSSD), is the first comprehensive assessment of the UK’s performance against all 17 SDGs and highlights a significant danger that quality of life in the UK will worsen if action is not taken. Just some of the findings of the report include; that the UK is performing well (green) on only 24 percent of its targets; no industry, innovation and infrastructure targets have achieved a ‘good’ performance rating, with gaps in policy coverage and inadequate or deteriorating performance and large scale, sustained investment in replacing ageing infrastructure and creating additional resilient and low carbon infrastructure of all kinds is required.
A major global report has revealed a lack of confidence in data is limiting corporate success in the emerging era of robotics and automation. The global research launched by Qlik, has revealed an escalating skills gap preventing business decision-makers asking the right questions of data and machines. Despite 
Nearly half of UK managers (45.1 percent) are ill-prepared for the role, and a quarter (25 percent) of employees say their manager does not have the right skills for effective management, claims new research by Bridge by Instructure. The study, based on interviews of 1,000 managers and employees across the UK on their attitudes towards both management and learning and development, revealed that more than half of those who responded (53.4 percent) think managers need more training to perform as a manager and, almost half (45 percent) think managers need to be given time to operate as a manager rather than having those responsibilities ‘bolted on’ to their existing role. 
The way to measure an employer’s speed of innovation includes how they find talent, their appraisal process, how employees recommend the organisation they work for to others, and how much employees collaborate, claims a new European study by Cornerstone OnDemand and IDC. “Future Culture: Building a Culture of Innovation in the Age of Digital Transformation” explores the relationship between European organisations’ speed of innovation and talent management, with the research showing that firms with a steady stream of new products and services are more likely to have an ongoing feedback process with employees, rather than an annual performance review, while organisations with a slower rate of innovation often use coaching and mentoring to develop employees.
