October 11, 2016

American workers prefer the 9 to 5 but would take a pay cut in exchange for home working ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

According to a new study by researchers at Princeton University and Harvard University, the average American worker is indifferent to flexible working hours and instead prefers a set 40-hour workweek. According to the study, most workers aren’t willing to take even a small pay cut to determine their own working hours. However, if given the option to work from home, many workers — especially women — would take an 8 percent wage cut to do so. The findings, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), also show that workers consistently dislike irregular work schedules set by employers on short notice. They would even give up one-fifth of their salary to avoid working evenings or weekends. Nearly half of jobseekers would not take an irregular-schedule job even if it paid a quarter more than a 9 to 5 job. This is true even of workers who currently have irregular work schedules.

October 11, 2016

Home workers take fewer sick days than office based colleagues ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Working from home has long been branded ‘shirking from home’ but a new survey suggests that home workers actually take fewer sick days. The research by CartridgePeople.com and published in the SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) Workers Report, found that home workers are not only happier but they are also healthier than their workplace-based counterparts – taking an average of 2.4 sick days per year, in comparison to the 2.6 taken by those working from company premises. Of course, that doesn’t tell us if they are in fact healthier, or that they’re more prepared to carry out their work duties from the comfort of their bed. But the survey of 1,096 British workers, including both home workers and those who work from their employers’ premises, also revealed that the majority of workers (60 percent) did feel happier when working from home.

October 10, 2016

Workers spend just a third of their time performing their actual job ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

In the ongoing quest for workplace productivity the fact people spend too much time checking their emails has recently been noted, but it seems that workers are so frequently distracted in the workplace that only 38 percent of their time is actually spent on performing their primary job duties. A survey by Workfront claims the top three things that get in the way of work include: wasteful meetings (62 percent), excessive emails (52 percent), and excessive oversight (39 percent). A quarter (26 percent) of workers said uninterrupted blocks of time would help them be more productive at work, followed by more efficient work process (26 percent), and more/better qualified people and resources (19 percent). And over two third (37 percent) of office workers agree that email will no longer be the main mode of communication in five years, with over half (57 percent) saying that the majority of workers will work remotely in the coming years.

October 7, 2016

The American workplace is more skilled, but workers are concerned they are becoming irrelevant ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The ‘Tectonic changes’ that are reshaping the US workplace and the response to them are the subject of a major new research project from the Pew Center in association with the Markle Foundation. The study of over 5,000 US workers carried out over the Summer found that the nature of jobs is undergoing a fundamental shift with greater emphasis on knowledge as well as analytical, interpersonal and communication skills. In response, workers are retraining and reassessing their abilities to adapt to the demands of employers. Despite this, a growing number are worried that they are becoming irrelevant and have diminishing faith in the ability of politicians, the education system and their employers to address their concerns.

October 7, 2016

High earners much more likely to be offered flexible working ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

We may all be aware that the way to attract and retain working parents – particularly mothers – is by offering them flexible working options, especially with the growing body of evidence that the gender gap increases among working women with children. But although it’s still a challenge for any working women who aspires to moving up the corporate ladder, they usually have more options than their lower paid colleagues who can’t afford expensive childcare. This is why it’s all the more depressing to learn that it’s only the high earners who are being given the option of flexible working. According to research carried out by charity Working Families to promote National Work Life Week (Oct 3-7), high earning parents who bank more than £70,000 a year are 47 percent more likely to work flexibly than those earning between £10,000 and £40,000. More →

October 7, 2016

Are we seeing the workification of home or the homification of work? ⁰

by Anna King • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Thinking and theories about working environments continue to be much debated, of course. As part of this ongoing discussion, Bisley recently hosted an event at its London showroom to continue the aspects of the debate that focus on how offices seem to be morphing in to homes, and how our homes are, conversely, functioning as places of work. The panel discussion was led by Professor Jeremy Myerson of The Royal College of Art and WORKTECH Academy. He was joined by Kirstin Furber – People Director at BBC Worldwide, Sebastian Conran – a leading product and furniture designer, David Barrett – Head Buyer of Living, Dining and Home Office at John Lewis and Amelia Coward – Founder and Creative Director at Bombus.com.

October 6, 2016

UK Government kicks off tender process for vast public sector property framework ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Government will this week start the latest tendering process for the Estates Professional Services framework. Originally set up in 2008, the framework covers all central and local government property as the administration sets to rationalise and modernise the country’s entire public sector property estate and help to reduce the £8 billion annual spend. The terms of the framework were updated in an August 2016 briefing, laying out a series of case studies highlighting best practice as well as offering guidance t those firms who wish to bid for work across a range of product and service delivery models. The last set of contracts for services are due to expire in March 2017 and the Government remains committed to the inclusion of smaller providers. The framework covers a range of property-related services, including the reduction and divestment of parts of the estate, the renegotiation of leases, a reduction in running costs, support for the government’s sustainability agenda and the facilitation of flexible working and property sharing initiatives.

October 6, 2016

Employers must create modern cultures to retain working mothers ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

When it comes to working mothers, too many US organisations continue to follow policies created in the 1990s, if not the 1950s. In the report Women in America: Work and Life Well-Lived by Gallup one factor emerges that has the greatest influence on women’s decision to stay in the workforce or leave, children. In the US, more than 5 million jobs are available, but women continue to drop out of the workforce in troubling numbers because despite employers introducing family friendly policies their cultures remain out of date. Because of this, far less than half of female employees polled (35 percent) are engaged in their jobs, and nearly half of women say they are looking for or considering new jobs. Organisations have to create cultures that enable women to maximise their full potential in and out of the workplace; and those that continue to enforce outdated policies will not be able to keep up with employers who offer more choice and flexibility and greater trust and transparency.

October 2, 2016

Apple HQ + Limits of workplace design + Workplace effectiveness ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; Tim Oldman argues that businesses are failing to understand the basis of workplace effectiveness; Mark Eltringham looks at ways of using workplace design to influence the feelings and behaviour of others; and takes part in a podcast with Hari Kalymnios, author, trainer and Leadership Speaker at The Thought Gym. HSBC moves 300 staff into a coworking space in Hong Kong; Apple reveals it is to occupy the redeveloped Battersea Power Station and post-Brexit employment levels maintained by the growing gig economy. The global introduction of sustainable building regulations remains slow; the UK’s commercial property market remains robust in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union; and evidence that offering flexible working to Mums could boast the economy by billions. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

September 28, 2016

Offering flexible working to mums could boost economy by £62.5 billion ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

More than two thirds of stay-at-home mothers with young children would go back to work if flexible working was an option, a new study from Digital Mums and the Centre for Economics and Business Research claims. The survey of 1,600 mothers also suggests that more than a third of those already in work would put in more hours if they had better childcare arrangements based around flexible working. The WorkThatWorks report claims that women (and presumably some fathers) would contribute billions to the economy if more organisations were to offer parents more flexible work conditions. The report claims that currently, some 2.6 million mothers are out of the labour market although two thirds (68 percent) feel unable to return to work because of the lack of flexible working options. In addition, 60 percent of mothers already in work do not have access to flexible work despite the introduction of legislation in 2014 that offers them the right to request it.

September 28, 2016

Nearly third of workforce believe daily commute is a waste of time ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

The anytime, anywhere connectivity potential of mobile technology has supposedly made the daily commute more bearable, but a new survey claims it is still regarded as wasted time for nearly a third of professionals. Regus surveyed its customer base (which presumably includes those already partial to using flexible workspaces) to establish whether commuting time was viewed as personal time, work time or simply wasted time. For 31 percent of UK respondents, the daily struggle to and from the office is regarded only as time wasted. According to the TUC, UK commuting times rose by three minutes a day between 2004 and 2014, from an average of 52 minutes to 55 minutes. For many professionals, this time could be usefully spent responding to emails or drafting copy. At the very least, commuters want the time to themselves to read, make personal calls or listen to music. However, the nature of today’s commute means that neither work nor personal tasks can be completed.

September 28, 2016

Gig economy boosts UK employment rate despite Brexit summer lull ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

There were fewer job vacancies on offer in August, due to the traditional summer lull and the after effects of the Brexit vote, but employment levels were maintained by a rise in self-employment and the growing gig economy. The latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna.co.uk reveals that 1,123,365 job vacancies were advertised in August, dropping 2.7 percent from 1,154,993 in July. The post-Brexit summer period of uncertainty, combined with a seasonal slowing in the market, lay behind this blip, but hiring is 0.6 percent higher than six months ago and the jobs market is proving resilient in the face of political uncertainty. Despite vacancies falling, the employment rate was 74.5 percent – its joint record highest level since comparable records started in 1971, according to the ONS. This has been partly propped up by the rise of the gig economy and growing self-employment as job-seekers look to alternative forms of employment amidst the growing entrepreneurial environment.