UK GDP could be boosted by 4 percent – or £83 billion – if local areas with below-average productivity levels could make up half of the gap, according to PwC’s latest UK Economic Outlook. The report examines UK regional productivity, revealing wide variations in domestic productivity per job, as well as from an international perspective. PwC concludes that UK output per worker is around 10-15 percent behind Germany, France and Sweden and more than 30 percent behind the US. (more…)

Forty percent of workers already consider themselves entrepreneurs according to The Myers-Briggs Company research report, Type and entrepreneurship, which investigates the relationship between personality and entrepreneurship in the workplace. The research suggests that entrepreneurial businesses perform better financially, and thus, creating a work environment where employees of all personality types can embrace their entrepreneurial qualities is beneficial to businesses. (more…)

A new study from The Institute of Leadership & Management claims there is a significant gulf between the organisational values held by UK businesses and the personal values of their workers, and highlights the different values considered important to men and women, younger and older workers and between sectors. (more…)

A fifth of of UK businesses say they are planning to axe contractors completely to ensure they are fully tax compliant ahead of the IR35 changes planned for next year, according to a survey from recruitment firm Harvey Nash. The 2019 Harvey Nash IR35 Sentiment Survey (registration) of 1,200 businesses and contractors claims to reveal the confusion that still reigns around IR35 legislation among both contractors and the businesses that rely on them. The findings suggest that 83 percent) of businesses believe IR35 will impact negatively on their industry. Meanwhile 60 percent of contractors say they have experienced increased anxiety, stressing or worrying about how the new rules will affect them. (more…)

The latest Hampton-Alexander report shows that women now hold 32.4 percent of all FTSE 100 board positions, up from 30.2 percent last year and up from only 12.5 percent in 2011. The FTSE 100 is very close to meeting the 33 percent target for Women on Boards and will do so ahead of the 2020 deadline. The report also shows that women hold 29.6 percent of all FTSE 250 board positions, up from 24.9 percent last year and only 7.8 percent in 2011. The FTSE 250 has had its strongest year yet and if the same rate of progress continues next year, the FTSE 350 will be on track to meet the 33 percent target by the end of 2020 deadline. (more…)

More news on the patchy effects of Brexit on the UK economy comes in the latest Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD. The report claims that Brexit uncertainty has yet to take its toll on employers’ hiring expectations, with both public and private sector employers expecting staff numbers to increase in the final quarter of 2019. There has been a surge of confidence among public sector employers on increasing both pay and staff numbers in the next quarter. Although still positive, private sector pay award expectations have decreased, narrowing the gap between the public and private sector. The forward-looking indicator surveyed 1,016 UK employers in September 2019 on their recruitment, redundancy and pay intentions. (more…)

British businesses are facing a crisis of leadership, according to new research from Tiger Recruitment, which claims that 58 percent of employees are rarely or never inspired by the leader of the company they work for. Furthermore, according to British employees, many business leaders are setting a poor example around the issues that matter to them today, including work-life balance (28 percent), managing stress (29 percent), flexible working (21 percent) and staying mentally healthy (21 percent). (more…)

A new survey new research from The Predictive Index found that psychological safety is a leading factor in employee dissatisfaction with management. While there are overt ways managers undermine their own employees’s feelings of safety with practices such as bad-mouthing people or displaying favouritism, the 2019 People Management Report (registration) also reveals the subtle ways managers sabotage their teams, ultimately causing employees to quit or disengage. (more…)