October 8, 2015

Employers admit to an ad-hoc approach to flexible working practices ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Organisations tend to take a flexible approach to the provision of flexible working a new global report into agile working trends claims. According to a study by WorldatWork and FlexJobs, while the majority of companies surveyed (80 percent) offer flexible work to employees, only 37 percent have a formal, written philosophy or policy to support employee flexibility options. From 2011 to 2015, flexibility programs have varied according to the type of programme offered and the organization’s demographics, industry and culture, with the most prevalent flexibility programmes being telework days on an ad-hoc basis, flex time and compressed workweeks. And according to the data, mastering a culture of workplace flexibility is not something that organizations do on the first or even second try. It’s an evolutionary process that occurs as employees tap into what they need to achieve work-life effectiveness.

October 7, 2015

Why Jeremy Hunt is wrong about the need to work long hours ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

This week the UK’s Health Secretary found himself at the centre of a storm because of some comments he’d made suggesting that eroding one of the UK’s welfare platforms would encourage people to work as hard as the ‘Chinese and Americans’. Most of the backlash against these comments was political, so make your own mind up on that score, but they don’t stack up from a practical point of view either. The British already work some of the longest hours in Europe so encouraging people to work more will do little or nothing to resolve the productivity puzzle, as a 2014 report from the Bank of England confirms. Of course, we should all have worked out by now that long hours and productivity are not the same thing. It’s been a longstanding issue in the UK where people manage to combine some of the longest working hours in Europe with levels of productivity that fall habitually behind those of our partners on the mainland.

October 7, 2015

Millennial workers value variety over job security and tenure ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Employers may continuously be looking at ways to engage staff to ensure they still loyal to the organisation, but according to new research it seems they needn’t bother. Over one third (37 percent) of US workers — regardless of their satisfaction level — are seriously considering leaving their organizations, up from 33 percent of the workforce who were considering leaving in 2011. According to Mercer’s latest Inside Employees’ Mind research, which surveyed 3,000 people representing a complete cross-section of the US workforce, nearly one out of two employees who said they are very satisfied with their organizations and their jobs (45 percent and 42 percent, respectively) are still looking to leave. And perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s the Millennial workers who seem to value accelerated career paths and diversity (in the workplace and the work itself) over job security and tenure.

October 5, 2015

Collaborative work goes hand in hand with better talent retention ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

Companies are rethinking the tools they use to keep employees engaged and loyal – especially at a time when flexibility and choice are increasingly important to an workforce that craves mobility and choice. A newly released survey from Jive Software claims that as the workforce continues to evolve and new future of work trends emerge, seven out of ten (72 percent) employees want to use more technology in the workplace that enables them to work from anywhere. Furthermore, the same percentage state that the freedom to try tools make them more effective in their job, with 43 percent finding it a powerful loyalty driver. According to the study of 1,000 US based employees, firms are also catching on to future of work trends and the impact that technology can have for employee retention. Eighty-four percent of employers want to implement technology that enable workplace flexibility.

October 3, 2015

Death of the office + Gen Z at work + Transformational management ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Flooring, Newsletter, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; Mark Eltringham on why the facts don’t support the myth that the office is dying; and what Anaïs Nin can teach us about the way we design and use workplaces. The CIPD issues a new set of case studies that demonstrate the important role of HR in aiding transformational change; the BSIA explains why Generation Z is the first tribe of true digital natives; and human error is still the leading cause of data loss for UK organisations. More Americans than ever choose to work from home, but homeworking Brits are growing increasingly disconnected from their colleagues. And evidence that a caring and supportive boss is the missing link between employee engagement and mental health. Visit our new events page, subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and weekly news here. And follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

October 1, 2015

US sees biggest jump in working from home since 2008, claims study ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Wellbeing

According to an analysis of the just-released 2014 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com, approximately 3.7 million US employees (2.5 percent of the workforce) called home their primary place of work in 2014. This represents a 6.5 percent increase and the largest year over year growth in the number of people working from home since before the recession. The ACS data is based on a nationwide survey of answers to the question “What was your primary means of travel to work during the survey week—’Worked at Home’ is one of the choices. The count only includes those who work at home at least half of the time. According to Global Workplace Analytics far more people work at home on a less frequent basis and many work in “third places” such as coffee shops, co-working facilities, libraries, and just about anywhere there’s an internet connection.

October 1, 2015

Employers plan to woo returning mothers with flexible working ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A fifth of UK businesses are planning to hire more returning mothers than they did a year ago, and are offering flexible working to attract them. New research from Regus claims returning mothers are valued by businesses because of their experience and skills, as well as reliability and time management. They are seen as less likely to change jobs, saving firms the cost of recruitment and re-training. Because the contrasting demands of motherhood and work are one of the main reasons women don’t return to work, respondents emphasised the important role flexible working plays in attracting female talent; with 81 percent believing that flexible working is key to attracting and retaining women. These workers are also valued for their experience and skills according to 73 percent of respondents and are seen as more reliable (24 percent) and organised (29 percent) than other staff.

September 28, 2015

More people are working from home, but they can end up feeling lonely ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

More and more British workers are working remotely, from home and other locations, but they are growing increasingly disconnected from their colleagues. Those are the findings of two studies into new ways of working conducted independently by Plantronics and Regus. According to the Plantronics survey of 2,500 staff, flexible working was given another boost over this Summer in response to the (intermittent) good weather and industrial action by London public transport staff. During August, more than half (55 percent) of the workforce chose to work from home or remotely more convenient to them, the audio communications firm’s study found. On the flipside, the survey of 4,000 workers by serviced office provider Regus claims that almost two-thirds of employees who work from home miss mixing with colleagues and can feel lonely as a result.

September 26, 2015

Visions of the future of work + Gen Y hype + flexible firms ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Flexible working, Furniture, Newsletter, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; legend of the UK office furniture sector, John Fogarty reflects on his five decades of experience; Mark Eltringham argues the TMT sector no more fell from the heavens than Gen Y, and Charles Marks weighs up the pros and cons of the BREEAM environmental standard. The financial sector dominates the annual list of Top Employers for Working Families and we reveal there’s a tendency to drift into caricature when describing multigenerational working. Activity in Europe’s commercial property markets is at its highest level since 2007 and colleagues, not bosses can make people feel more engaged at work. Check out our video evidence which shows how some visions of the future of work can be remarkably prescient while others get it completely wrong. Visit our new events page, subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and weekly news here. And follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

September 24, 2015

Unhelpful generalisations about generations based on hype, claims report ⁰

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

For the first time, the age span of people in any workplace is now routinely between 16 and 75, as more people work past 60 than ever before. This means the UK is experiencing the widest working demographic in living memory. Yet generalisations about generations may simply be unhelpful, a new study into employee benefits has concluded. The report by Martha How, reward partner at Aon suggests a trend towards generational segmentation is much too simplistic and not necessarily supportive of employees or employer’s needs. She argues that the common view that we now have five generations in the workforce, each with differing needs and preferences are being overplayed. In fact, there is often too much of a tendency drift into caricature – for example, that twenty-somethings aren’t interested in pensions, while fifty-somethings worry mainly about pension and health.

September 22, 2015

The worldwide demographic timebomb is transforming the workplace ⁰

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

There are a number of reasons why we shouldn’t be drawn into blindly accepting the narrative about Generation Y’s impact on the workplace. It seems the most important is also the least talked about. It is that the workforce is actually ageing in the world’s leading economies. While it may be true that 27 is middle -aged for employees at technology companies, for pretty much everybody else, shifting demographics, longer lives, improving health, falling pensions and changing personal preferences are likely to mean they stay in the workforce for longer. This is true in both the UK and US, where Millennials may make up the largest demographic grouping in the workplace but are still in a minority within an increasingly diverse workforce. The dynamics of these changes are playing out in different ways in different countries, but the forces are essentially universal.

September 22, 2015

Top employers for working families praised for flexible approach ⁰

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

The financial sector is well represented in this year’s annual list of Top Employers for Working Families as announced by charity Working Families. American Express, Barclays Bank, Citibank, Deloitte and Lloyds all made the list, while just two public sector organisations Ministry of Justice and Southdown Housing Association were in the top ten. Employers with up to 250 employees that reached the Small Employer’s Benchmark – ranged from law firm Sacker & Partners LLP to Bristol Students’ Union. To enter the awards, which are sponsored by Computershare, organisations must complete a benchmark survey which examines in detail their flexible and family friendly working policies and practices. As flexible working becomes embedded in more organisations, Working Families is calling on employers to ‘adopt a ‘flexible by default’ approach, to continue the rise in flexible working and help everyone to achieve a work life balance that works for them.’