Productivity boost from volunteering ‘adds £4.6 billion to UK economy each year’ 

Productivity boost from volunteering ‘adds £4.6 billion to UK economy each year’ 

Volunteering is delivering productivity gains worth billions to the UK economy each year, a new study claimsVolunteering is delivering productivity gains worth billions to the UK economy each year, a new study claims. The report by Pro Bono Economics (PBE), commissioned by national volunteering charity Royal Voluntary Service, estimates productivity gains worth at least £4.6 billion each year, or £4,551 per volunteer, arising from volunteering by those in professional and managerial occupations. The PBE report, titled?A pro bono bonus: The impact of volunteering on wages and productivity, stresses that these productivity gains would likely be even higher if the voluntary efforts of those in other job roles, as well as the benefits of volunteering to unemployed people, were taken into account. More →

Potential of AI is putting a smile on the faces of optimistic CEOs

Potential of AI is putting a smile on the faces of optimistic CEOs

CEOs are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and investing in reskilling their people to ensure they have the capabilities to successfully exploit new technologies. The CEOs of the world’s largest companies are increasingly optimistic about future growth, with 66 percent highly positive about the global outlook over the next three to five years. This is the headline finding of the second annual Arthur D. Little (ADL) CEO Insights Study, which was launched today. The study found that whatever their strategy or sector, global CEOs are increasing their growth investments. Artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as crucial to growth, with 96 percent of CEOs having already deployed AI in some form, although, demonstrating the early stages of its adoption, just 13 percent have a compelling, enterprise-wide AI strategy in place. More →

Most firms set to invest in AI but half admit they don’t know why or how

Most firms set to invest in AI but half admit they don’t know why or how

A new poll from Orgvue, an organisational design and planning software platform, suggests that businesses continue to ramp up investment in AI despite being unclear on its business impact or how to implement itA new poll from Orgvue, an organisational design and planning software platform, suggests that businesses continue to ramp up investment in artificial intelligence despite being unclear on its business impact or how to implement it. Four in five (82 percent) of organisations have already invested, with another 33 percent saying they will increase this by more than 50 percent in the coming year.  Based on a survey of 1,000 C-suite and senior decision makers at medium and large organisations, the report, Human-first, machine enhanced: the role of AI in workforce transformation, highlights contradictions in the business community concerning technology investment and AI’s impact on the workforce. More →

The sector responds to the Spring Budget

The sector responds to the Spring Budget

Yesterday’s Spring Budget included a number of announcements that affect the various people, place and technology professions in the UK. These include a cut in National Insurance, pension fund reforms, support for working parents, AI, helping people back in to work and more. You can see the Government’s own summary here. The various industry sectors have been quick to respond to the announcements. You can see what some people have had to say below, in no particular order. More →

People are more charitable if they think their employer is environmentally and socially conscious

People are more charitable if they think their employer is environmentally and socially conscious

Employees are more likely to make donations and willingly volunteer outside of work if their employers engage in environmentally-conscious activities, finds new research from Mannheim Business School (MBS). The findings have been published in the Journal of Business Ethics. More →

A quarter of projects don’t meet their stated goals – but that’s not because of remote working

A quarter of projects don’t meet their stated goals – but that’s not because of remote working

A quarter of all projects do not meet the business goals that their organisations set for them but remote working is not a major factor in outcomesA quarter of all projects do not meet the business goals that their organisations set for them, according to research published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the 15th edition of its Pulse of the Profession report – The Future of Project Work. The newly released report, based on the responses of over 2,000 project professionals and 300+ senior leaders around the world, paints what the report says is a concerning picture of project outcomes across various industries globally. The report also highlights the reasons for this and excludes remote working as a major factor. More →

People overestimate their ability to handle unknown situations

People overestimate their ability to handle unknown situations

New research suggests that people tend to be overconfident in their ability to handle unknown situations, which has implications for business and entrepreneurship. A team of international researchers has shared findings on what they describe as overconfident behaviour, which can lead to negative outcomes in business and personal decision-making. Professor Mohammed Abdellaoui, lead researcher and professor at HEC Paris, and colleagues including Han Bleichrodt from the University of Alicante, Spain, and Cédric Gutierrez from Bocconi University in Italy, revealed that our own attitudes to uncertainty play a role in how we assess our own abilities. More →

Leaders who vanish in times of crisis increase stress and likelihood of burnout

Leaders who vanish in times of crisis increase stress and likelihood of burnout

Leaders who are not present during a time of organisational crisis increase workers’ stress levels and the likelihood of them burning out, according to new research from a number of UK business schools, including Durham University Business School. The researchers show that when leaders are absent it creates a more toxic workplace, turning workers against management, as well as increasing workers’ stress, levels of absence and even turnover. More →

Anger is not an energy in the workplace after all

Anger is not an energy in the workplace after all

A new study debunks the consensus that people in the workplace who express anger are judged to be competent and hold a high statusWhile a large body of previous research suggests that workers who express anger are judged to be competent and hold a high status—resulting in more power and money—a new study by Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) and Princeton University researchers debunks this consensus. In a new study published in Frontiers in Social Psychology, the researchers revisited these claims in U.S. experiments using similar methods as in previous work. In four preregistered, robust studies, the researchers revisited the paradigms that tested whether expressing anger could help a worker gain status in the workplace. Specifically, they asked: do workers gain status when they express anger? Is anger perceived to be a signal of competence? And at the most basic level: do others like anger in the workplace? More →

Middle managers are the secret sauce of productivity, say knowledge workers

Middle managers are the secret sauce of productivity, say knowledge workers

Research from ClickUp claims to reveal the crucial role that middle managers play in driving productivity.Research from ClickUp claims to reveal the crucial role that middle managers play in driving productivity. The study found that 81 percent of knowledge workers who responded to the survey think that middle managers, defined as those below top level management and typically in charge of departments or groups, are the people most responsible for driving team productivity, with 68 percent rating the middle managers they work with as very or extremely effective. More →

Status seeking drives non-executive directors to outstay effectiveness

Status seeking drives non-executive directors to outstay effectiveness

Long-serving non-executive directors (NEDs) who can’t wean themselves off the social status attached to belonging to the corporate board are failing shareholdersLong-serving non-executive directors (NEDs) who can’t wean themselves off the social status attached to belonging to the corporate board are failing shareholders and damaging the companies they are meant to serve, new research from the University of Bath and Queensland University of Technology suggests. Board members who exceed their tenure are putting the identity and self-worth they gain from being a director ahead of their duty to shareholders, compromising board renewal and its financial and strategic performance. More →

Half of UK businesses expect 2024 to be easier than 2023

Half of UK businesses expect 2024 to be easier than 2023

UK businesses are hopeful for 2024 according to new research from Pleo. The CFO’s Playbook for 2024, which polled over +500 UK financial decision makers, found that almost 50 percent of UK businesses believe 2024 will be “easier” than 2023 (vs. 35 percent believing it will be harder and 15 percent anticipating that it will be the same as last year). As such, with a waning concern around inflation – a 20 percent decrease since 2023 –  businesses are targeting more ambitious goals. Nearly three quarters are prioritising cash growth, and while this was also the primary objective of businesses last year, findings show a 163 percent increase in British businesses focussed on this ambition. More →