August 6, 2016

Connectivity creep + Appeal of open plan + Tech and real estate ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Technology, Workplace

In this week’s Newsletter; Antony Slumbers looks at the impact of technology on corporate real estate; and Mark Eltringham describes a precursor of the scientific management theories of Frederick Taylor that continues to influence open plan design. We report on the impact Smart Cities can have on energy management; why people are opting for a ‘digital detox’; and how workers are turning their backs on the traditional 9-5 day. A new report says CRE must deliver greater value in a dynamic business environment; one in five workers miss sleep over work worries; and despite hitting an all time high, Brexit uncertainty still permeates the UK’s commercial property market. We also list the seven workplace stories you should read this week. 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.

August 5, 2016

Lack of perks leaves workers feeling less trusted and appreciated ⁰

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

Businesses are failing to provide the perks that can help employee productivity and motivation during the summer months, claims a new survey by Peldon Rose. It also suggests that workers feel less trusted and appreciated by their companies. The report argues that during the summer months, businesses can find motivation slows as employees are distracted by seasonal events and count down the days until their holiday. Those companies found to offer summer perks to help boost morale and wellbeing, summer hours (47 percent), casual dress (37 percent) and ice cream rounds (31 percent) were the most popular, indicating that these benefits are the most highly valued by workers. However, 86 percent of respondents said that their company does not offer any such perks, with the result that many employers are missing an opportunity to make employees feel appreciated and boost happiness and morale in the summer months.

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August 4, 2016

Connectivity creep is driving more people to switch off their devices ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing

Fifteen million UK internet users have undertaken a ‘digital detox’ in a bid to strike a healthier balance between technology and life beyond the screen, according to a new Ofcom study. The study of around 2,500 people suggests that our reliance on the internet is affecting people’s personal and working lives, leading many to seek time away from the web to spend time with friends and family. Ofcom’s Communications Market Report 2016 finds that one in three adult internet users (34 percent), equivalent to 15 million people in the UK, has sought a period of time offline, with one in ten (11 percent) doing so in the last week alone. Of these digital down-timers, 25 percent spent up to a day internet-free; 20 percent took up to a week off; and 5 percent went web-free for up to a whole month. The most common reasons for taking a time out were to spend more time doing other things (cited by 44 percent) and more time talking to friends and family (38 percent).

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August 4, 2016

Office workers spend half their average week working remotely ⁰

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

New research suggests that UK workers are overwhelmingly turning their back on the standard 9-5 office life with 72 percent agreeing that it’s not relevant for the 21st century. Working remotely and flexibly makes them more effective in their job said 82 percent of respondents to the TeamViewer report ‘The End of Nine-to-Five’ with 73 percent agreeing that having the ability to work flexibly makes them feel more valued and 82 percent that all employees should be offered flexible working hours without it affecting their career. With 79 percent of people rating work-life balance as more important than salary, the report suggests it is critical for businesses to ensure they are offering more than just monetary incentives, as almost half (49 percent) say that flexible working hours would be the most important factor to them when looking for a new job. According to the survey, UK office workers are already spending on average 2.5 days, half of their week, working remotely.

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August 3, 2016

Career worries lead one in five workers to miss sleep on a regular basis ⁰

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

UK workers are losing sleep because of work problems and women in particular are not seeking advice on challenges at work for fear of being labelled as a pest, claims a new study of 2,000 people by app provider rungway. One in five (20 percent) of the women polled fear they will be considered a pest if they ask for advice on workplace and career issues compared to just 14 percent of males. Among UK workers, almost half (49 percent) said they never look for guidance on workplace and career issues. Yet, almost one in five (19 percent) said that work issues affect their sleep on a weekly basis. One in 10 feel like they have no one to talk to about work problems or that no one would understand their work issue. Age also plays a part, with workers over 55 least likely to look for guidance on workplace issues – while younger workers are most concerned about bothering others with their career questions.

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August 3, 2016

Third of people have nobody to talk to about stress, claims report ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new survey by office products supplier Viking claims that a third of workers suffer from stress and yet have no one to talk to about it. The authors of the study claims that these findings correlate strongly with people’s overall levels of fulfilment at work, with 46 percent of those surveyed saying they had negative thoughts about their job several times a week. When it comes to a person’s working environment, the results showed that office workers were more stressed than those working from home. Factors that contributed to these stress levels included working overtime, not taking enough breaks, having no one to talk to, job satisfaction, pressure to succeed. It’s no surprise that a lack of breaks is causing stress, with half of office workers admitting to taking no breaks at all during the day, excluding lunch. Conversely, a massive 61 percent of people working from home said they took two to three breaks throughout the day.

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July 29, 2016

The gig economy must be harnessed to address skill shortages and uncertainty ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The legal status of people working in the gig economy must be clarified so that businesses and individuals can thrive, according to a new report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). Gig economy – The Uberisation of Work (registration needed) explores the impact of digital work platforms such as Upwork, Task Rabbit and Freelancer.com, which act as ‘marketplaces matching freelancers with a wide range of project-based work’. The report suggests that almost a third of all UK employers will use these kinds of digital work platforms by 2021. The REC has called on policy-makers to ensure that the gig economy is fair to self-employed workers and businesses, and to secure benefits for the UK wider economy. The report claims that this will become increasingly important as the gig economy becomes more mainstream, adding £45 billion to the UK economy and creating work for 766,000 people.

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July 29, 2016

Still inequalities, despite more over 50s in work than ever before ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Employers that focus only on keeping a generation of younger workers happy are ignoring the fact that an increasing proportion of the UK working population is getting older. The latest Government figures reveal that there are now more people aged 50 to 74 in work than ever before. According to Labour Force Survey statistics there are now 9.4 million people in work aged 50 to 74, with 3.7 million more in this age bracket than there were 20 years ago. The figures also show the unemployment rate for people aged over 50 has dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest level since 2009, and there are over 1.1 million people working beyond age 65. Legislation to end the retirement age and allow more flexible contracts, have, argues the Government contributed to a more positive attitude towards older workers. However, according to the Centre for Ageing Better, many over 50s are still being forced out of work or offered fewer working hours than they’d requested.

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July 28, 2016

Acas issues guidance for employers on impact of Olympic Games ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

New guidance from Acas has been issued to help employers prepare for potential problems with employees that could arise during the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro next month. With Rio 2016 taking place in Brazil between 5th and 21st August, Acas has advised employers and small businesses to have agreements in place that cover requests for time off, sickness absence, website use during working hours or watching TV during this period. It is advised that employers should start planning as soon as possible to reduce the impact that the Olympic Games could have on their business as annual leave requests could be generally higher during the summer holiday period. Employers might want to gauge the level of interest in the games with their employees, have open communications about suggested changes to working practices which balance staff request with the needs of the business to minimise any potential impact on productivity.

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July 26, 2016

Majority of employees think screening Olympics will boost productivity ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Screening sporting events in the workplace may increase productivity, according to research released by employment law specialist Peninsula. In a survey of 894 employees across the UK, 64 percent reported being more productive as being allowed to watch sporting events at work. The survey, which claims to examine how businesses managed employees during the first half of the summer of sports also revealed that 46 percent of employees want clearer policies regarding watching sporting events at work. This related to the fact that employers only showed certain games during Euro2016 and didn’t show any of the Wimbledon tournament. 51 percent of respondents also called for employers to be more flexible during major sporting games allowing them to start late, leave early or swap with colleagues. 24 percent said that a lack of flexibility would encourage their decision to call in sick in order to watch their favourite sporting event.

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July 26, 2016

Third of working parents struggle to find childcare during the summer ⁰

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

The summer can bring challenges for families and it seems the UK’s employees aren’t always that sympathetic. A new survey by Cotton Traders has found that almost a third of parents struggle to find childcare across the summer holidays (29 percent) and overall a quarter of parents have to take unpaid leave from work to cover childcare. The survey of 1,500 UK adults also found that 36 percent find it difficult to get time off work in the summer to spend time with family; almost half of parents (48 percent) think that having a more flexible workplace would help with this; 29 percent of parents dread the summer holidays due to the stress of finding childcare and 26 percent of parents work from home during the school holidays to spend more time with their children. There’s a lot of pressure on parents – 34 percent said that their children would be disappointed if they didn’t go on holiday abroad and 31 percent feel pressurised to do this.

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July 25, 2016

Many UK workers don’t think current employee benefits meet their needs ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new study published to coincide with Smarter Working Day (today, apparently) claims that almost half of UK workers (48 percent) don’t think their current employee benefits package is tailored to their needs. The study of 1,000 UK workers published by payroll lending provider SalaryFinance claims that 38 percent of UK workers currently have access to flexible working although only 26 percent say they prefer the chance of flexible working to financial and psychological wellbeing benefits. Fewer than one in five (19 percent) currently have access to benefits designed to support mental wellbeing, such as counselling services, and only one in four (26 percent) receive financial wellbeing support from their employer. In contrast, one in three (32 percent) receive ad hoc incentives such as free lunches, birthday cakes and duvet days. With 58 percent of people saying that their employer has never asked for feedback on their benefits programme, employers could be falling out of touch with the needs of staff, claims the research.